Newfoundland Begins Trials of Controversial MS Treatment

Memorial University has begun recruiting patients to undergo ‘liberation therapy.’

The debate over liberation therapy increased earlier this month when a Canadian man named Mahir Mostic died after receiving the treatment in Costa Rica. The treatment is not performed in Canada because the science behind it has not been proven. The therapy was pioneered by an Italian doctor named Paolo Zamboni, and is based on the theory that multiple sclerosis is caused by blocked neck veins. Memorial University is now seeking eight MS patients to travel to Italy to receive the treatment in a study that will receive $320,000 of provincial funding. Earlier this year Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall called for clinical trials of the treatment, but federal health agencies said there was not enough evidence to warrant trials at this stage.