Paolo Zamboni | |
---|---|
Born | |
Citizenship | Italy |
Awards | ISNVD Gold Medal |
Scientific career | |
Fields | Vascular Diseases |
Institutions | Ferrara, Italy |
Paolo Zamboni (born 25 March 1957, Ferrara, Italy) is an Italian doctor and scientist. He is full Professor and Director of the School of Vascular Surgery at the University of Ferrara in Italy.
He is known for his description and proposed cure of the vascular disease chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency (CCSVI) strongly related with multiple sclerosis and other neurodegenerative diseases such as Ménière and Parkinson's, but the existence of this disease is very controversial, with significantly more detractors than supporters, and there is no good evidence that the surgery helps MS patients.
Graduated with honors in Medicine and Surgery in 1982, Zamboni specialized in General Surgery in 1987 and in Vascular Surgery 1992. In 1992 he obtained the fellowship at the Department of Vascular Surgery of the University of California in San Francisco. From 1993 to 2000 he was visiting professor at the Department of Surgery of the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences of Bethesda, Maryland and from 2008 to 2012 at the Jacobs Institute of Neurology in Buffalo, New York, and at the Neuroscience Department of Harvard University (2010) and Chicago University (2012).
Since 2004 he is director of the Vascular Disease Center of Ferrara University. [1] In 2008 he announced the discovery of a new venous pathology, called chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency (CCSVI) and postulates a controversial correlation between this pathology and multiple sclerosis [2] [3] [4]
During 2010-2011 he was the president of the International Society for Neurovascular Diseases (ISNVD).
In 2008 Zamboni described Chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency (CCSVI or CCVI), the compromised flow of blood in the veins draining the central nervous system. [2] [5] He hypothesized that it might play a role in the cause or development of multiple sclerosis (MS) [6] [7] and devised a surgical procedure which the media nicknamed a liberation procedure or liberation therapy, involving venoplasty or stenting of certain veins. [8] Zamboni's ideas about CCSVI are very controversial, with significantly more detractors than supporters, and any treatments based on his ideas are considered experimental. [9] [10]
There is no scientific evidence that CCSVI is related to MS, and there is no good evidence that the surgery helps MS patients. Zamboni's first published research was neither blinded nor did it have a comparison group. [8] Zamboni also did not disclose his financial ties to Esaote, the manufacturer of the ultrasound specifically used in CCSVI diagnosis. [11] The "liberation procedure" has been criticized for possibly resulting in serious complications and deaths, while its purported benefits have not been proven. [8] [10] In 2012, the United States Food and Drug Administration states that it is not clear if CCSVI exists as a clinical entity and that these treatments may cause more harm. [12] In 2017 they emphasized that this use of balloon angioplasty is not an approved use. [13] In a 2017 study Zamboni et al. stated "Venous PTA cannot be recommended for patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis." [14] In 2018 a study in Neurology concluded "Our data do not support the continued use of venoplasty of extracranial jugular and/or azygous venous narrowing to improve patient-reported outcomes, chronic MS symptoms, or the disease course of MS." [15]
Research on CCSVI was fast-tracked, but researchers have been unable to find a connection between CCSVI and MS. [16] This has raised serious objections to the hypothesis of CCSVI originating multiple sclerosis. [17] Additional research investigating the CCSVI hypothesis is underway. [18] A 2013 study found that CCSVI is equally rare in people with and without MS, while narrowing of the cervical veins is equally common. [19] [20] [21]
Zamboni has conducted research on lower extremity Chronic venous insufficiency, testing a minimally invasive and conservative treatment of the saphenous vein: the CHIVA method. On this topic he conducted several randomized clinical trials [22] [23] and published books. [24] [25]
The CHIVA and the stripping methods are equivalent regarding recurrence of varicose veins, but the CHIVA method may slightly reduce nerve injury and hematoma. The CHIVA method is also equivalent to either radio frequency ablation or endovenous laser therapy regarding recurrence and side effects. [26]
Cell therapies for the treatment of severe vascular ulcerations of the lower limbs are another Zamboni field of study. Randomized studies with autologous stem-cell derived from adipose tissue were conducted by his team. [27]
The cerebral venous return was investigated by Professor Zamboni also in the Space, as PI of the study Drain Brain of the International Space Station, promoted by NASA, ESA and ASI. A novel post processing analysis of jugular vein ultrasound and strain gauge plethysmography allowed to monitor the astronaut cerebral venous drainage in microgravity condition. [28] [29] [30] Space trials involved the Italian astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti.
Zamboni also described other anomalies of cerebral venous return which generates neurological symptoms, [31] [32] as well as models in physiology of brain drainage [33] [34]
Initially started as a hobby, identify disease processes in paintings and canvas is lately one of the Professor Zamboni' research fields. Diagnosis ranges from the Raphael's Michelangelo, Rembrandt's Bathsheba at Her Bath and Caravaggio's Bacchus. In "The medical enigma of Rembrandt's Bathsheba", Zamboni solves the mystery of the controversial detail of the woman's left breast, furrowed by an irregular, slightly swollen mark of a color between bluish and brownish. The model for the Bathsheba, admired by millions of visitors to the Louvre, was suffering from thrombophlebitis of a superficial vein of the breast, a condition described by Mondor in 1939," states the professor. So not mastitis or carcinoma, as believed for centuries. According to Zamboni, the varicose veins on the legs and knees are evident in Michelangelo, in the role of Heraclitus, frescoed by Raphael in The School of Athens. The evident anemia, brown skin, and acanthosis nigricans of Young Sick Bacchus of Caravaggio exhibited at the Galleria Borghese in Rome, according to Zamboni suggest the diagnosis of Addison's disease, a condition described in the 1800s affecting the adrenal glands. [35] [36] [37] [38]
Zamboni was appointed "Commander" of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic in 2017. [39]
He is listed on topitalianscientists.org. [40]
Varicose veins, also known as varicoses, are a medical condition in which superficial veins become enlarged and twisted. Although usually just a cosmetic ailment, in some cases they cause fatigue, pain, itching, and nighttime leg cramps. These veins typically develop in the legs, just under the skin. Their complications can include bleeding, skin ulcers, and superficial thrombophlebitis. Varices in the scrotum are known as varicocele, while those around the anus are known as hemorrhoids. The physical, social, and psychological effects of varicose veins can lower their bearers' quality of life.
Veins are blood vessels in the circulatory system of humans and most other animals that carry blood towards the heart. Most veins carry deoxygenated blood from the tissues back to the heart; exceptions are those of the pulmonary and fetal circulations which carry oxygenated blood to the heart. In the systemic circulation, arteries carry oxygenated blood away from the heart, and veins return deoxygenated blood to the heart, in the deep veins.
The great saphenous vein (GSV) or long saphenous vein is a large, subcutaneous, superficial vein of the leg. It is the longest vein in the body, running along the length of the lower limb, returning blood from the foot, leg and thigh to the deep femoral vein at the femoral triangle.
Vascular surgery is a surgical subspecialty in which vascular diseases involving the arteries, veins, or lymphatic vessels, are managed by medical therapy, minimally-invasive catheter procedures and surgical reconstruction. The specialty evolved from general and cardiovascular surgery where it refined the management of just the vessels, no longer treating the heart or other organs. Modern vascular surgery includes open surgery techniques, endovascular techniques and medical management of vascular diseases - unlike the parent specialities. The vascular surgeon is trained in the diagnosis and management of diseases affecting all parts of the vascular system excluding the coronaries and intracranial vasculature. Vascular surgeons also are called to assist other physicians to carry out surgery near vessels, or to salvage vascular injuries that include hemorrhage control, dissection, occlusion or simply for safe exposure of vascular structures.
The jugular veins are veins that take blood from the head back to the heart via the superior vena cava. The internal jugular vein descends next to the internal carotid artery and continues posteriorly to the sternocleidomastoid muscle.
Venous ulcer is defined by the American Venous Forum as "a full-thickness defect of skin, most frequently in the ankle region, that fails to heal spontaneously and is sustained by chronic venous disease, based on venous duplex ultrasound testing." Venous ulcers are wounds that are thought to occur due to improper functioning of venous valves, usually of the legs. They are an important cause of chronic wounds, affecting 1% of the population. Venous ulcers develop mostly along the medial distal leg, and can be painful with negative effects on quality of life.
Diosmin, a flavone glycoside of diosmetin, is manufactured from citrus fruit peels as a phlebotonic non-prescription dietary supplement used to aid treatment of hemorrhoids or chronic venous diseases, mainly of the legs.
Multiple sclerosis is an inflammatory demyelinating disease of the CNS in which activated immune cells invade the central nervous system and cause inflammation, neurodegeneration, and tissue damage. The underlying cause is currently unknown. Current research in neuropathology, neuroimmunology, neurobiology, and neuroimaging, together with clinical neurology, provide support for the notion that MS is not a single disease but rather a spectrum.
Vascular disease is a class of diseases of the vessels of the circulatory system in the body, including blood vessels – the arteries and veins, and the lymphatic vessels. Vascular disease is a subgroup of cardiovascular disease. Disorders in this vast network of blood and lymph vessels can cause a range of health problems that can sometimes become severe, and fatal. Coronary heart disease for example, is the leading cause of death for men and women in the United States.
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic inflammatory demyelinating disease that affects the central nervous system (CNS). Several therapies for it exist, although there is no known cure.
Chronic venous insufficiency (CVI) is a medical condition in which blood pools in the veins, straining the walls of the vein. The most common cause of CVI is superficial venous reflux which is a treatable condition. As functional venous valves are required to provide for efficient blood return from the lower extremities, this condition typically affects the legs. If the impaired vein function causes significant symptoms, such as swelling and ulcer formation, it is referred to as chronic venous disease. It is sometimes called chronic peripheral venous insufficiency and should not be confused with post-thrombotic syndrome in which the deep veins have been damaged by previous deep vein thrombosis.
Chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency is a term invented by Italian researcher Paolo Zamboni in 2008 to describe compromised flow of blood in the veins draining the central nervous system. Zamboni hypothesized that it might play a role in the cause or development of multiple sclerosis (MS). Zamboni also devised a surgical procedure which the media nicknamed a liberation procedure or liberation therapy, involving venoplasty or stenting of certain veins. Zamboni's ideas about CCSVI are very controversial, with significantly more detractors than supporters, and any treatments based on his ideas are considered experimental.
Tracy Jackson Putnam among other things was a co-discoverer of Dilantin for controlling epilepsy.
Perforator veins are so called because they perforate the deep fascia of muscles, to connect the superficial veins to the deep veins where they drain.
Ultrasonography of suspected or previously confirmed chronic venous insufficiency of leg veins is a risk-free, non-invasive procedure. It gives information about the anatomy, physiology and pathology of mainly superficial veins. As with heart ultrasound (echocardiography) studies, venous ultrasonography requires an understanding of hemodynamics in order to give useful examination reports. In chronic venous insufficiency, sonographic examination is of most benefit; in confirming varicose disease, making an assessment of the hemodynamics, and charting the progression of the disease and its response to treatment. It has become the reference standard for examining the condition and hemodynamics of the lower limb veins. Particular veins of the deep venous system (DVS), and the superficial venous system (SVS) are looked at. The great saphenous vein (GSV), and the small saphenous vein (SSV) are superficial veins which drain into respectively, the common femoral vein and the popliteal vein. These veins are deep veins. Perforator veins drain superficial veins into the deep veins. Three anatomic compartments are described, (N1) containing the deep veins, (N2) containing the perforator veins, and (N3) containing the superficial veins, known as the saphenous compartment. This compartmentalisation makes it easier for the examiner to systematize and map. The GSV can be located in the saphenous compartment where together with the Giacomini vein and the accessory saphenous vein (ASV) an image resembling an eye, known as the 'eye sign' can be seen. The ASV which is often responsible for varicose veins, can be located at the 'alignment sign', where it is seen to align with the femoral vessels.
Claude Franceschi is an angiologist French MD.
CHIVA method is a type of surgery used to treat varicose veins that occur as a result of long term venous insufficiency. The term is a French acronym for Conservatrice Hémodynamique de l'Insuffisance Veineuse en Ambulatoire.
Living Proof is a documentary directed by Matt Embry, released in 2017. The documentary explores Embry's story of living Multiple sclerosis (MS). Embry visits several MS patients and learns about their lifestyle changes and the progression of the autoimmune disease. Since there is no cure for multiple sclerosis, Embry and his father embark on journey to find answers and hope.
Pasquale De Bonis is an Italian Neurosurgeon, Full Professor of Neurosurgery, and Director of the Neurosurgery Residency Program at University of Ferrara, Department of Translational Medicine. He is a top Italian Scientist.
Cranial venous outflow obstruction, also referred to as impaired cranial venous outflow, impaired cerebral venous outflow, cerebral venous impairment is a vascular disorder that involves the impairment of venous drainage from the cerebral veins of the human brain.
A chronic state of impaired venous drainage from the central nervous system, termed chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency (CCSVI), is claimed to be a pathologic phenomenon exclusively seen in multiple sclerosis (MS).
A similar condition involving the head and neck venous system may cause chronic cerebro-spinal venous insufficiency (CCSVI) and may be involved in the development or exacerbation of multiple sclerosis.