I'm in Canada, recently DX with MS. I want to consider travelling to
US to seek further opinion on treatment options. I believe that there
have been promising clinical trials of treatment that however are not
yet offered
regularly, at least in Canada (statins, antioxidants, antibiotics,
blood plasma exchange). I want information on medical clinics that
(a) have advanced diagnostic capability (ex. more than gladolinium
MRI, perhaps monitoring of N-acetyl aspartate levels, or other more
accurate measurements) and (b) can advise on both standard and
emerging treatments. So far I have not found anything on Internet that
provides ranking or recommendations on clinics. Please do NOT provide
a list of clinics. Please ENSURE that any clinics are associated with
a hospital or university.

The easiest way it to go to www.clinicaltrials.gov this will provide a
listing of all trials in the US (you can look it up by condition) and
it will guyve you all the details of who is conducting MS research
(when I looked there are currently 28 trials looking for patients with
many being hospitals and universities) this is the best place to go to
be on the cutting edge of medicine and as a Clinical reserch
coordinator myself I know how tough an MS DX can be.

Thanks, the problem with looking at clinical trial information is that
research activity doesn't always have an impact on clinical services.
Further, I'm NOT asking where I can be enrolled in trials, I'm asking
where I can go for the best diagnosis and treatment.

Check  medicalcountries.com. It provides links where you can check
medical providers of all types. Hospitals, clinics, doctors in the U.
S. and other countries. You might also consider India and Thailand
which also have clinics that are associated with hospitals and
universities and their prices are up to 1/20 of the U.S. prices. A
July 1,2002 article, ?India?s best Hospitals? points out Indian
hospitals recommended by Indian doctors http://www.outlookindia.com/ 
Some hospitals that you can look up on the internet are Escort
Hospital, Apollo Group hospitals and in Thailand there is
http://www.bumrungrad.com/

You might find Google's dated answer about research in India on stem
cells helpful to you. (Re: Stem Cell Clinical Studies Answered By:
landog-ga on 17 Aug 2005 23:48 PDT)  It talks about research in India
about stem cells and that is why I suggest you check not only the
U.S., which has good doctors, but also other countries, which also
have good doctors and at way lower costs, as mentioned in
medicalcountries.com

Thanks edd77. I'm looking for a US clinic.

May I suggest one possibility if you have "modern dentalwork" in your
mouth...that is metals and root canals.  Dr. Hal Huggins has a website
that you may be interested in     http://www.drhuggins.com

If you are interested he also wrote a book "Solving the MS
Mystery:Help, Hope and Recovery"


I went to the offices of Dr. Carl Benoit to handle the dental work.

If you have had modern dentistry (metals/silver mercury fillings and
root canals) there is a direct correlation to MS.  Information can be
found on the following website...
www.drhuggins.com ...and in his book SOLVING THE MS MYSTERY.

The most wonderful place for the treatment of reversing the dental
work plus learning the protocol for recovery is in Montreal...
http://www.drcarlbenoit.com/

But Dr. Huggins website will give you places in the US if you need to
come here.  The benefits I got from the program are astounding.

Many of the centers with clinical trials treat many patients (because
the folks sponsoring the trials want access to these patients).  It
has been published that in HIV, the more patients treated by a
physician results in better outcomes.

The manufacturers of MS treatments (interferons) have websites that
include customer service centers.  You might ask them for a reference
physician in Boston, San Francisco and Chicago.  Ask for a treater who
has multiple patients.

PLEASE look into Low Dose Naltrexone....
Google it.  I've been on it for almost 2 years.  It's abilities are
being muted by the pharm. industry because it lacks the 30K promise of
lucrativity the CRABs offer (which are a WASTE of time, well-being,
health and money, by the way).

I'm trying to find a place for my sister in SF to go - for the same
kinds of reasons. It is very difficult to find doctors willing to try
low-dose naltrexone, and she has been trying other medications
(injections) with strong side effects. If aliciadenney-ga has any
suggestions for physicians willing to prescribe low-dose naltrexone,
that would be very helpful. I can't offer up any experimental trial
suggestions, etc. but would suggest the following dietary supplements
and changes: no dairy, no trans-fats, Calcium/Magnesium with Vitamin
D, Lecithin (very important). My sister is incorporating these and has
noticed significant improvements. The key really is to reduce the
number of episodes you get, as you know, as they cause further
deterioration. Build up the cell membranes with the dietary
supplements and reduce triggers as much as possible (flu's, stress,
etc.) that lead to attacks. Best of luck - do all you can proactively!