MS Treatment Gets Funding Boost from Manitoba

The controversial 'liberation therapy' is gaining traction from provincial governments.

The Manitoba government is the latest province to announce funding for research into a controversial treatment for multiple sclerosis known as "liberation therapy." Premier Greg Silinger pitched $5 million to partner with neighbouring Saskatchewan to set up clinical trials of the treatment, in which a balloon is inserted into a vein in the neck to relieve pressure on the brain. Canadian MS patients can currently only get the operation abroad, typically in eastern Europe or Central America, as the federal and provincial governments have been hesitant to fund the unproven operation.