Fifteen-year-old Richard Kusi Yeboah lies on one of the hospital beds in the Renal Unit of the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital (KBTH) with two flexible tubes inserted into the veins on his left arm.

He shrugs in his bed, as if to reposition himself from his posture of lying still, as blood passes through the tubes into a machine with special filters located close by.

He has to lie for three to four hours in that position for the machine to filter his blood and circulate it back into his body.

Richard’s kidneys are not functioning and must go through dialysis, a process in which a filtering machine cleans the blood to get rid of waste and unwanted water from the body.  

 “Sometimes I feel bad,” says Richard who has been on dialysis for a year now. “Sometimes I think that by this time I would be at home studying, but am on dialysis instead.”

Richard, a first year general arts student at Accra Academy Senior High School, has to go through this process three times a week if he is to continue living.

“He was eating one day after he had returned from school when he collapsed,” says Janet Donkor, Richard’s mother who takes care of him alone. “There was blood coming from his nose and mouth,” she says.

She says with the help of her neighbours, Richard was taken to the Amasanam Hospital where doctors diagnosed him as anaemic and referred him to Korle-Bu for further treatment.

“He collapsed again after he was discharged form Korle-Bu and was re-admitted for two weeks,” she says.

Janet says Richard was taken back to Korle-Bu because he once again collapsed and this time, “he chewed his tongue.”      

She says Richard could not walk and would not also respond when spoken to. “We had to carry him and put him in the car because he couldn’t walk or talk.”

Doctor’s reports showed Richard’s kidneys had been damaged and that he was suffering from End–Stage Kidney Disease (ESKD).  

“The doctors said they had to put him on dialysis, if they didn’t, he was going to die,” Janet says. “It was hard for me.”

Alarming Increase of Kidney Disease

The Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital recorded a total of 2,687 kidney cases at the out-patients department in 2011, against 2,131 cases in the previous year.

Dr. Charlotte Osafo, head of the Renal Unit at Korle-Bu and President of the National Kidney Foundation, says the difference in the cases represent a 31 percent increment.

She further says the unit has subsequently recorded an increase in the treatment of kidney diseases.

“People on dialysis in the unit increased from 225 in 2010 to 235 in 2011,” Dr. Osafo says.

Dr. Vincent Boima, a nephrologist at the renal unit, says 10 percent of hospital admissions at Korle Bu are due to kidney diseases.

Most people affected with the disease are between the ages of 20 and 50.

 “The young are being silently killed. these are people who are the productive group of society,” he says.

Dr. Osafo says the situation is worrisome. She attributes the increment of recorded kidney diseases to awareness creation which is making people report their situation at the hospital and not necessarily an increase in the disease among people.

“We have been having awareness campaigns to educate and sensitize the general public on the disease, so more people are coming to report their cases which formally were not happening,” she says.

She says doctors are also referring kidney cases at their early stage to the unit as a result of the awareness campaigns.

Kidney disease can be caused by the progression of diseases as diabetes, hypertension and the inflammation of the kidneys.

Dr. Osafo says other risk factors include high cholesterol, effects of some drugs and other systemic conditions such as prostate problems.

“These are all risk factors that can make the (kidney) disease progress very fast,” she says.

She says the unit uses preventive measures to halt the progression of those diseases when detected at its early stage.

“For hypertension, we advise patients to modify their diet, reduce salt intake and take medication to lower blood pressure,” Dr. Osafo says. “If you have diabetes, we will encourage you to bring your sugar down and bring it under control.”

Dr. Boima says most people are aware they have these health conditions that can trigger kidney disease yet do not visit the hospital for regular check-ups.  

“Even those who are aware (that they have the disease), how many comply with medication? how many go to the hospital regularly?” he asks.

He says most of the people come to the hospital “crash landing” after the disease, which is less symptomatic in the early stages, has progressed.

“By the time they start to show symptoms, it is beginning to be an emergency and we are forced to put them on dialysis,” he says.

Dr. Boima adds that although it is appropriate for the disease to be detected at the early stage so health officials can institute corrective measures to delay the progression of the disease, people come in at the end stage.

“You are hopeless because you see somebody dying and you know the person is going to die,” he says. “They would have a better chance if they came to the hospital earlier before the disease progresses.”

Treatment Cost

The dialysis unit at Korle-Bu has 135 patients on dialysis. each patient must have at least three to four sessions per week to function normally.

Patients must pay a deposit of GH¢5,000 before starting dialysis treatment, which cost GH¢140 per session.

Dr. Boima says this is to give the unit the assurance that the patients will keep up with the treatment and keep paying in the long run.

“If you start dialysis, you need to be able to keep it up because if you stop mid-way, you have wasted money and you are going to die,” he says.

He says majority of people affected with kidney failure cannot afford renal replacement therapy. That comprises dialysis and a kidney transplant, which can cost up to GH¢40,000.

“Some families have lost everything, all their belongings and property to pay for the dialysis and then they lose their loved one when they can no longer afford the treatment,” he says.

Dr. Osafo says the people who are currently on dialysis at the unit are people who can afford the treatment.

She explains that being on dialysis is not the actual treatment for kidney failure but kidney disease.

“For kidney failure the only treatment is a transplant,” she says.

She also says the unit has lost a lot of patients because they are sometimes too weak to do regular kidney dialysis and subsequently, a transplant.

Janet Donkor, like the majority of the families who do not have the money for dialysis and a transplant, solicited funds from organizations to enable her son to undergo his treatment.

“For the past year I’ve struggled to take care of him,” she says.

She is however hopeful one of her kidneys, which she will be donating, will save her son’s life.

National Kidney Foundation

The National Kidney Foundation was established to create awareness and educate the public on kidney disease. it has held successful meetings and campaigns to sensitize the public on the need for regular check-ups at the hospital.

In addition to its awareness campaigns, the foundation has also helped finance treatment for people who cannot afford the renal replacement therapy.

The foundation has screened more than 2,000 people for the kidney disease in the past few years: it has also financed free medical check-ups for patients.

“We help pay for dialysis and antibiotics- especially chronic cases under the age of 30, we help with the initial dialysis,” says Dr. Osafo.

In spite of the foundation’s activities to help curb the issue, insufficient resources are limiting its activities.

Dr. Osafo says the foundation has some projects that are not being implemented because of lack of finances.

Dr. Boima says the unit’s 18 machines, each costing about €15,000, are under pressure. “In the near future, they will break down,” he says.

“We want to buy a sterilizer that can sterilize the artificial kidneys and also train people to use it,” Dr. Osafo says. “All these cost money.”

She says artificial kidneys can be re-used ten times if the unit has a sterilizer.

She encourages the general public to channel their donations and contributions to the foundation’s Ecobank Main Office Account Number 3034404971801 to enable it to save more lives.

She suggests organizations should bring their donations to the foundation and not directly to the patients because some patients prefer to continue with the dialysis than to undergo a kidney transplant.

A transplant is the only permanent cure for a kidney failure.

“Some of them come to my office after they have secured funding from these organizations and tell me they do not want to have the transplant anymore even though we have placed them on the transplant list,” she says.

 Dr. Osafo says that once the money deposited in the foundation’s account states the name of a particular patient, it will be used for that patient’s treatment.

Way Forward

Renal replacement therapy is not covered by the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) for patients who have chronic kidney disease. That includes most patients in Korle-Bu’s renal unit.

Dr. Boima suggests government should “meet patients halfway” to subsidize treatment of the disease.

He also says civil society can help pay for the transplants. “Even saving one person is a help,” he says. “We probably can’t cover everybody (for chronic kidney disease) but should cover those who would get the greatest benefit from treatment.”

The Christian Council Micro-Financing Limited, the business arm of the Christian Council of Ghana, has initiated the ‘Save a Cedi to Save a Kidney’ campaign to provide a kidney dialysis center for the 37 Military Hospital in Accra.

Rev Dr.  Fred Deegbe, General Secretary of the Christian Council, says the initiative’s goal is to have a new kidney center where people can go in for kidney dialysis and eventually a transplant.

He says the public has responded well to the campaign.

“For me, what is refreshing is to get a call from London (on Rainbow FM) that Ghanaians over there in Britain and the US also want to join and give a cedi,” he says.

He says the council will extend the help to other regions in the country after the initial one at 37, to enable those outside the Greater Accra Region to also have a place for treatment.

Bertrand Eshun, head of operations and marketing at Christian Council Micro-Financing Limited, says the campaign requires the public to text the word “kidney” to short code 1962 on all networks to donate GH¢1 towards the center or deposit their contributions to the Ghana Commercial Bank Account  number 1141130008798.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                

He says the council is expecting to raise $500,000 to establish the center at 37 Military Hospital.

“We are hoping we can get funds to sustain the kidney center after its establishment,” Eshun says.

 By Jamila Akweley Okertchiri

what causes indigestion and how can u prevent it

you've got to slow down when you eat. take smaller bites, and chew better. as well, watch what you eat. Acidic foods will often cause heartburn and indigestion. If it is chronic, and these ideas dont work for you, you can always take my favorite- (it works really well) Zantac 75. You can take it before a meal to prevent it, or take it while its happening to relieve it. good luck

Sounds like heartburn to me.

symptoms of indigestion may be stomach pain, and feeling sour at the end of your tongue… your chest hursts not because of indigestion, it may be of too much cholesterol on your veins,,, i dont think it's serious, it will pass away after a moment… if it persists, the best thing to do is to consult a physician

you will hurt in you chest. sometimes hot liquid will come up in your mouth. you can burn all the way down from your throat to you stomach. get checked out if it is there are medic ans you can take now to help

About a month ago a bar hit my ankle and it swole up immediatley. Two weeks later still swollen and blood looks like it seeped across my whole foot. It's been a while and my ankle still hurts It's still sore do you have any suggestions

Yes, you may have bruised the muscle and sounds like veins are
popping out.My only hope is that you directly applied ice to it? The
veins popping out could be a sin of your lack of blood to the foot,
which is not good! That's lack of blood circulation and if the swelling hasn't gone down any, your going to need a Dr. Please do that, it's been 2 weeks too many!

Summer

go to the doctor

GO TO THE DR. MAYBE YOUR BROKE A SMALL BONE

a worried 16 year old male here

Rhoids occur inside or outside the anus and become painful or bleed a little when defecating. The veins are swollen so a hard stool irritates the tissue and becomes painful. Colon cancer is in the colon, or your stomach area. It can also produce some bloody discharge, but at 16, it's pretty safe to say you are not a cancer patient. if you are worried, see your doctor.

"Rhoids" occur much closer to the "end process" than bowel cancer would under most circumstances.
They are also many, many times more common.
If you are really concerned, see a doctor.
The idea of sitting at home worrying about cancer scares me much more than any treatment that may be required.

Evan you do not have colon cancer.

By Jenifer GoodwinHealthDay Reporter Latest Neurology News

TUESDAY, Jan. 18 (HealthDay News) — Preliminary research and reports from patients suggest that a controversial treatment for multiple sclerosis can help relieve fatigue and other symptoms, but many physicians remain highly skeptical of the claims.

The debate started in 2009, when Dr. Paolo Zamboni, a vascular surgeon from Italy, published an intriguing study that suggested that a blockage in the veins that drain blood from the brain and spinal cord and return it to the heart might contribute to multiple sclerosis (MS).

Calling it chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency, or CCSVI, Zamboni’s theory was that the blockages disrupt the flow of blood from the brain and spinal cord, causing blood to back up and damage the brain and the spinal cord.

Zamboni began surgically treating people with MS with balloon angioplasty to open their veins. Other CCSVI researchers have tried stents, in which a wire mesh is placed in the vein to prop it open.

The methods of Zamboni and the others set off a heated debate among physicians and patients. many MS physicians consider the claims utter hooey. but many people with MS, desperate for relief, pressed for research, and some, unwilling to wait, sought out physicians abroad who’d do the surgery.

Despite the skepticism, U.S. researchers began investigating venous blockage. in June, the National Multiple Sclerosis Society announced $2.4 million in funding for CCSVI studies, most of which are trying to answer the basic question of whether there is actually a link between venous blockages and MS.

Among those conducting CCSVI research is Dr. Michael Dake, a professor of cardiothoracic surgery at Stanford University School of Medicine.

Dake followed 30 people with MS who had stents implanted to open their veins. Two months after surgery, they reported feeling 50% less fatigued than before surgery, Dake said. they continued to be less fatigued at the one-year mark, even improving slightly from where they were two months after surgery, he said.

People who saw the most benefit were those with the relapsing-remitting form of MS, in which periods of remission, when the person feels relatively good, are followed by MS flares, Dake said.

People with more aggressive or more advanced forms of MS, including primary and secondary progressive MS, reported about a 40% drop in fatigue two months after the surgery, but the effect did not last at the one-year mark, Dake said.

MS is believed to be an autoimmune disease in which the body’s immune system attacks myelin, or the substance that insulates nerve fibers of the central nervous system. The damage disrupts nerve signals traveling to and from the brain, which can lead to numbness, movement difficulties and blurred vision. Other symptoms can include fatigue and cognitive problems, sometimes described by those with MS as being in a fog.

Vein opening is unlikely to help regenerate damaged myelin, which causes the movement difficulties, Dake said, but opening blocked veins looks like it may help alleviate fatigue, at least in people with relapsing-remitting MS.

“It’s a stretch to think opening up veins is going to deal with or reverse an injury that is due to demyelinating plaque, whereas the symptoms that are more general, such as fatigue and brain fog that are much more related to an obstruction in venous outflow from the brain — those could potentially be reversed,” he said.

Dake was scheduled to present his findings this week at the International Symposium on Endovascular Therapy in Miami Beach.

He cautioned that his research was not a randomized, controlled, clinical trial but rather a review of his clinical experience with 30 patients.

Therein lies the problem with CCSVI and its treatments, said Dr. Lily Jung, medical director of the neurology clinic at the Swedish Neuroscience Institute in Seattle.

“There is no clear evidence that MS has anything to do with blocked veins, and to then jump to therapy for blocked veins is premature,” Jung said.

The research done on CCSVI has not consistently established that people with MS are more likely to have venous blockage than are healthy people or those with other neurological diseases, Jung said. nor is it known when venous blockage occurs during the course of the disease or why such a blockage, if it occurs, would cause symptoms of MS.

Until much more is learned, Jung warned people against seeking treatment for CCSVI because of the danger of complications. According to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, a Canadian man with MS died after seeking angioplasty in Costa Rica, and another had to have emergency open heart surgery to retrieve a stent that dislodged.

“It is not ready for prime time,” Jung said. “We need to first establish how firm the basis for the theory is and, secondly, have a widely accepted agreement about how to diagnose CCSVI before you try treatment for it,” she said.

Dr. James Benenati, president of the Society of Interventional Radiologists, described MS as a heterogeneous disease — meaning that not every person with MS has venous blockages, and not every person with venous blockages has MS. And that, he said, makes the research more difficult.

Benenati said he plans to begin offering the treatment to MS patients at Baptist Cardiac & Vascular Institute in Miami as part of a research study.

“My feeling and the society’s feeling is we don’t have enough data yet to say 100% yes or no,” Benenati said. “But to basically condemn something because there isn’t good data at this time is premature — and not very scientifically sound, either. my own feeling is it is going to pan out to be something of great value.”

In the meantime, not everyone with MS seems willing to wait for the lengthy clinical trials to be completed. “We’re getting a huge number of calls on this,” Benenati said. “It can be overwhelming.”

Copyright © 2011 HealthDay. All rights reserved.

SOURCES: Michael Dake, M.D., professor, cardiothoracic surgery, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, Calif.; James Benenati, M.D., medical director, peripheral vascular laboratory, Baptist Cardiac & Vascular Institute, Miami; Lily Jung, M.D., medical director, neurology clinic, Swedish Neuroscience Institute, Seattle; presentation, Jan. 17, 2011, International Symposium on Endovascular Therapy, Miami Beach

Blood clots, heart attack, and stroke are often symptoms of conditions or diseases such as cancer, but could also be side effects associated with certain medications and medical devices. Below is a list of diseases and conditions associated with symptoms like blood clots, heart attack, and stroke, as well as a list of medications and medical devices related to similar side effects.

Please contact your doctor if you are experiencing any of the following symptoms or side effects, or similar health issues.

Blood Clots, Heart Attack, and Stroke could be associated With:

Obesity increases your risk of developing many life-threatening conditions and health problems that lower quality of life. Complications of obesity can include heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke, and sleep apnea. People who are obese are more likely to develop blood clots, possibly connected to leptin, a hormone produced by fat cells.

Antiphospholipid antibody syndrome (APS) is an autoimmune disorder in which the body creates antibodies that attack certain components of blood or cell membranes. The damage from these attacks causes clots to form. APS can cause blood clots in the arteries and veins, and clots that move into the lungs. it can cause also cause stroke, miscarriage, heart attack, and heart valve problems. nearly half of all lupus patients also have APS.

Immobility: Prolonged sitting, such as in a very long car or plane ride, and other types of immobility such as bed rest, can cause blood to pool in the veins in your legs leading to deep vein thrombosis (a clot in the deep vein of your leg). The clot can move into your lungs causing pulmonary embolism. Having developed DVT increases your risk of developing blood clots in your arteries which ca cause heart attack or stroke.

Cancer: Cancer can increase the risk of blood clots and the heart attacks and strokes they can cause due to multiple factors. The disease itself can cause metabolic and circulatory problems that make the blood more likely to clot. Bed rest, chemotherapy, and indwelling venous infusion catheters, sometimes necessary during cancer treatment can also increase the risk.

Blood Clots, Heart Attack, and Stroke are also side Effects associated With:

Yasmin is a birth control pill that contains a combination of synthetic hormones. Yasmin contains drospirenone, a progestin (synthetic progesterone) that is known to be associated with blood clots, stroke, heart attack, gallbladder disease and other health problems. Yasmin can have other serious side effects including personality change and decreased sex drive.

Ortho Evra is a birth control product that is administered in the form of a transdermal patch rather than a pill. Ortho Evra can cause blood clots, heart attack, and stroke in young women who are not in a high risk group for cardiovascular events because it delivers a higher dose of estrogen than most birth control pills.

Plavix is used to prevent blood clots. it works by inhibiting the ability of platelets to clump together. although it is supposed to prevent clotting it sometimes causes a condition called thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP) in which blood clots form throughout the body.

Drug Eluting Stents are metal mesh tubes used to help keep arteries open and prevent heart attack. Drug eluting stents release a medication that is supposed to prevent reintosis, the formation of clots and blockage of the stent. however, they can cause a condition called late stent thrombosis which involves the formation of a clot inside the stent and leads to heart attack

There could be many other health issues, medical devices or pharmaceutical drugs that are associated with symptoms and side effects like heart attack, blood clots and stroke. it is best to consult with a qualified physician and be honest about your other treatments and lifestyle so he or she can help diagnose the source of the problem.

Were you affected? Click Here for a free case evaluation! Comments

Check out this video about a neurologist’s point of view of Multiple Sclerosis and MS CCSVI, after his son is diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis.

This video discusses another way of doing a “study” for people, diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis in connecton with the blood flow blockages to the veins in the the neck or the upper chest that has been called chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency or CCSVI.

This video discusses another way to classify studies for MS and CCSVI, as data collection, that focuses more on the venous insufficiency rather than the Multiple Sclerosis.

This way of viewing the blood flow blockages appears to allow for legitimate funding for the study, that is being done, while making it possible for more of the costs of testing and having the procedure done to open up blood flow blockages to be covered by insurance, rather than making it so the the MS patients have to cover the cost of the testing and the procedure.

This is the first study that is being conducted in this way with MS patients and the venous blood flow blockages, but there is the potential for this type of study to become a way of doing more studies throughout the USA, making it possible for doctors to collect more data, scientifically, while allowing MS patients to be able to be tested and evaluated for CCSVI, as well as actually having the procedure done too.

Click on the link below to watch the video for more details.

komonews.com/home/video/106175483.html?tab=video

Interesting, but only available in San Diego, CA area at this point.

Have you heard about this, yet?

Please leave your comments, as to what you think about this video or if you know anything else about this.

****

It is common observation that heart diseases are on the rise and they are no longer restricted to people of a certain age or gender. every person has the potential to suffer from a cardiovascular complication. in such a situation, it is very important that people know about its causes and signs so that timely steps can be taken.

There are different types of cardiovascular diseases. the most common of them all is coronary heart disease or CHD. it develops when plaque blocks or narrows the veins or arteries of the body. Plaque is usually caused by fats, dead cells, high cholesterol and calcium deposits in the arterial walls. When arteries become completely blocked, a person can also suffer from heart attack and strokes. it has been reported by the Centre for Disease Control that sixty percent of all deaths are caused by coronary heart disease. This is due to the fact that CHD has no obvious signs and symptoms.

Another type of heart disease is congestive heart failure or CHF. When the heart is unable to pump sufficient amount of blood needed by the body, then congestive heart failure occurs. This is one of the most alarming kinds of cardiovascular diseases. its causes include hypertension, myocarditis, an infection-like disease of muscles, and coronary heart problems.

Atherosclerosis is also a form of cardiovascular disease in which arteries become hard. This is caused when high levels of cholesterol become deposited in the walls of the arteries. as these deposits grow in size, they first narrow and then completely block the arteries. This in result makes it harder for blood and oxygen to be distributed in the body. This is why some parts of the body like brain, eyes, kidneys and the guts suffer from a lack of oxygen.

The best way to prevent any type of heart disease is to exercise and to avoid foods that contain fats and lead to plaque deposits in arteries. Smoking is also injurious to health and should be stopped altogether. Add Omega 3 fish oil supplements to your diet. Checking your cholesterol levels regularly is an effective way of knowing what is happening inside your body. Try to keep your cholesterol within normal limits because this will go a long way in safeguarding you from heart disease.

Does anyone know how these two inherited diseases start, show and can be cured?

CF is hereditory – there is no cure as of yet. Drugs and organ replacement can prolong life. Life expectancy is 31 years – 40 years depending on the article you read. you need 2 carrier parents and a pinch of bad luck to produce a child with the disease.

Edit – CF makes your lungs go crazy with over production of phlegm. you cannot digest food properly and require drugs to assist with the breakdown of food. Gas produced by the body can smell foul. When you get a regualr cold its ten fold as worse, imagine the worst cold you had, and mutltply it, thats what its like. To watch people you love in pain with this is heartbreaking. it requires a mass amount of time in hospital, and extreme cases, ports directly into the veins of the heart are necessary so drugs get to where they are needed quicker.

This really isnt a nice thing to have, however, it is quite manageable.

On a sad note, the parents will usually outlive the children.

Canadian medical bodies should assess as quickly as possible whether there is merit to Paolo Zamboni’s theory of multiple sclerosis: that vein blockages play a key role, and that a simple treatment that opens the veins alleviates many of the symptoms.

Putting Dr. Zamboni’s theory to the test may, as critics say, give false hope to patients who suffer greatly from a neurological disease that may disturb their ability to hear, see, remember and move. Then again, the tests may prove promising. the real question is whether there’s a credible case for pressing ahead with more study.

It is not as if Dr. Zamboni, of Italy, dismisses the idea that multiple sclerosis is an autoimmune disorder. far from it. He says that vein blockages draining blood from the head back to the heart may also contribute to the disorder. his preliminary work suggests it does.

St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton, a leading Ontario hospital affiliated with McMaster University, believes Dr. Zamboni’s theory is worth testing. the hospital is not offering to unblock people’s veins. it will use magnetic resonance imaging and ultrasound to determine whether people with MS are more likely to have vein blockages than those who don’t have MS. the University of Buffalo has begun a similar study, and preliminary results confirmed Dr. Zamboni’s suspicions; 56 per cent of the MS patients had the blockages, more than twice the rate as in those without MS. But studies from Sweden and Germany have reported no differences in the rate of vein blockages.

MS wouldn’t be the first disease to undergo a rethinking. In 2005 Barry Marshall and J. Robin Warren won the Nobel Prize in medicine for challenging “prevailing dogmas” (as the Nobel committee put it) on peptic ulcer disease. (Dr. Marshall drank a glass of bacteria and infected himself to prove the skeptics wrong.) “Revolutionary ideas don’t sit comfortably with the medical community,” says Ian Rodger, the vice-president of research at St. Joseph’s. Skepticism is justified, but it shouldn’t shut down exploration.

Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall gave life to a national debate when he announced that his province would fund clinical studies of the treatment. this week, Manitoba’s Health Minister, Theresa Oswald, called on her provincial counterparts to support multi-site trials. Quebec Health Minister Yves Bolduc expressed interest on Wednesday. They are right to be having this discussion. Saskatchewan has the country’s highest rate of MS, and with up to 75,000 patients, Canada has among the highest rates in the world. There’s an obligation not to sit on our hands.

Canada should examine its options for testing Dr. Zamboni’s hypotheses, and answer definitively whether the hope is false or real.