Yukoners with MS eye clinical trials in New York

Yukoners suffering from multiple sclerosis (MS) will have the chance to undergo clinical trials of the liberation treatment.

About six Yukon residents will be chosen for the controversial treatment in Albany, N.Y., after passing a series of screenings.

The procedure uses angioplasty to widen blood vessels, and is reported to improve everything from eyesight to fatigue.

Its not yet legal in Canada, and many Canadians have flown to places like Costa Rica and India to undergo the procedure.

Were all patting ourselves on the back for all the hard work weve done to get to this point, Jenny Roberts, a Whitehorse resident with MS and the president of the territorys MS association, told the Star today.

Roberts said the association invited then-Health and Social Services minister Glen Hart and deputy minister Stuart Whitley to a monthly meeting a year ago. They wanted to learn whether the government would send Yukoners to Saskatchewan to participate in the provinces trials.

The government agreed to partnering with the Saskatchewan Health Research Foundation by sending about a dozen Yukoners down south for trials. But they never happened.

Once the trials fell through, we were concerned what would happen, Roberts said.

These new trials involve a few less people, but were still really happy.

The Department of Health and Social Services estimated there are between 120 and 140 people in the Yukon with MS.

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Yukoners with MS eye clinical trials in New York