Statements like this make me wonder how much influence the drug industry had in this decision. Clearly it's not in their best interest for MS sufferers to get surgery and be done with it. I'm sure they rather MS sufferers take a Rx for the rest of their life.
Although these are big falls 65 patients is not a large group. I'm not surprised the MS Society is cautious at this stage.
Similarly, if the average number of active lesions stayed at 50% for a control group, and fell to 12% for the test group, that's statistically significant.
Even if the group is small if the observed deviation is high then the observation is significant! Sample size is only half the story.
That aside, given the dramatic results, wouldn't this demand immediate further investigation? Certainly first to determine how common these blockages are in MS patient?
Should blockages prove commonplace in MS patients then, since the surgical procedure's risks are known and the alternative outcome is very poor, shouldn't surgery be considered immediately in many, if not most, cases?
Isn't that considered a breach of medical ethics, and generally just a bad idea?
"physicians generally should not treat themselves or members of their immediate families" because their professional objectivity may be compromised in those situations. Exceptions are allowed for "short-term, minor problems" or "in emergency or isolated settings."
