Liberation therapy warning taken in stride
Posted May 11, 2012 06:57:15 AM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
A Nova Scotia man who had a controversial procedure to help manage his multiple sclerosis says a stern warning about the surgery probably won’t stop other people from getting it.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has issued a warning about “liberation therapy,” saying deaths and other injuries, including paralysis, have been linked to the experimental procedure.
Alkenbrack, who had liberation therapy a couple of years ago, tells News 95.7, the warning appears to be based on some outdated information.
“They said for example, that there is no clear evidence of the safety of this procedure,” he said. “I find it strange to make a statement like that because for me, that’s outdated information. There are already four safety studies published in peer-reviewed medical journals on the safety of angioplasty for MS patients.”
Alkenbrack says it’s good to know the FDA is concerned with patient safety, but points out that all MS treatment programs – including medication – come with risks that must be weighed against the benefits.
“There are hundreds of people who have died from MS medication,” he said. “There are not hundreds of people out of the 40,000 or about 30,000 people, worldwide who have had this procedure. There have been a handful of very serious complications, and yes, there are complications, and there are complications with this…procedure as there are with any procedure.”
Canada has one of the highest MS rates in the world and a few thousand Canadians are reputed to have traveled to foreign countries to undergo liberation therapy — with varying results.
