The perfect crime? CCSVI not leaving a trace in XXXX .

@entity1 @entity850 @entity15 @entity4096
BACKGROUND: @entity15 ( @entity15 ) is a chronic, inflammatory demyelinating disease of the central nervous system, believed to be triggered by an autoimmune reaction to myelin. Recently, a fundamentally different pathomechanism termed 'chronic @entity4096 ' (CCSVI) was proposed, provoking significant attention in the media and scientific community. METHODS: Twenty @entity15 @entity1 (mean age 42.2    13.3 years; median Extended Disability Status Scale 3.0, range 0-6.5) were compared with 20 healthy controls. Extra- and intracranial venous flow direction was assessed by colour-coded duplex sonography, and extracranial venous cross-sectional area (VCSA) of the internal jugular and vertebral veins (IJV/VV) was measured in B-mode to assess the five previously proposed CCSVI criteria. IJV-VCSA  <= 0.3 cm(2) indicated ' @entity850 ,' and IJV-VCSA decrease from supine to upright position 'reverted postural control.' The sonographer, data analyser and statistician were blinded to the @entity1 /control status of the @entity1 . RESULTS: No @entity1 showed retrograde flow of cervical or intracranial veins. IJV-VCSA  <= 0.3 cm(2) was found in 13 @entity15 @entity1 versus 16 controls (p=0.48). A decrease in IJV-VCSA from supine to upright position was observed in all @entity1 , but this denotes a physiological finding. No @entity15 @entity1 and one control had undetectable IJV flow despite deep inspiration (p=0.49). Only one healthy control and no @entity15 @entity1 fulfilled at least two criteria for CCSVI. CONCLUSIONS: This triple-blinded extra- and transcranial duplex sonographic assessment of cervical and cerebral veins does not provide supportive evidence for the presence of CCSVI in @entity15 @entity1 . The findings cast serious doubt on the concept of CCSVI in @entity15 .
