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Updated: Apr 28, 2026

Magnetic Resonance Imaging of Multiple Sclerosis at 7.0 Tesla
Published on: February 19, 2021
Is there any relation between chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency and multiple sclerosis? - a critical review
Waldemar Jedynak1, Andrzej Cieszanowski2
1Department of Diagnostic Imaging, Hospital of the West, Jan Paul II, Grodzisk Mazowiecki, Poland.
Abstract:
Summary Though the etiology of multiple sclerosis remains unknown, the widely accepted explanation is that it has an autoimmune inflammatory background. In 2006 Paolo Zamboni renewed the somewhat forgotten vascular theory of the pathogenesis of multiple sclerosis, proposing the new entity of 'chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency'. As a result of this hypothesis, Zamboni suggested an endovascular treatment for multiple sclerosis involving venoplasty of the internal jugular vein and the azygos vein. Unfortunately, several teams have tried to replicate Zamboni's results without success. In this review, we present a chronological description of the results of the studies conducted by Zamboni and the later attempts to replicate his work. The main conclusion is that, taking into account results that are currently available, we should remain cautious and routine use of this treatment in patients should not be advisable.
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