Premier Brad Wall, governing Saskatchewan, Canada, has insisted that his province is ready and willing to fund clinical trials of a controversial treatment for multiple sclerosis.

Among the Canadian provinces, Saskatchewan has the highest rate of multiple sclerosis patients with an estimated 3,500 residents suffering from the disease. A new treatment put forward by Italian doctor Paolo Zamboni is said to bring relief by supposedly opening blocked veins in the neck or spinal cord. The questionable theory remains to be proven, with Zamboni’s own research coming from only sixty-five patients. The treatment is offered in a number of European countries such as Italy and Poland, as well as India. A course of the treatment costs roughly 30,000 American dollars.

Wall insists he will bring the matter of clinical trial funding up at the next Council of the Federation meeting, scheduled for next week. If the response is negative, he insists Saskatchewan is willing to fund the matter entirely on their own. Clinical trials could begin as early as 2011, according to Wall, assuming financing comes through.

Members of the scientific community and medical experts raised several questions about Wall’s foolish rush to judgment, questioning Zamboni’s lack of results. Four currently ongoing clinical trials have been unable to duplicate Zamboni’s results. Experts suggest that the placebo effect may be offering hope and encouraging patients to feel better without actual results.

Medical professionals and patients hospitalized from other diseases also question Wall’s blind focus upon multiple sclerosis, saying other diseases are just as important. Patients and advocacy groups are questioning why Wall is insistent upon moving an unproven theory to trial, rather than expanding existing research. They also would like to know when Wall will help their diseases receive treatment funding with the same enthusiasm he is displaying for Zamboni’s questionable research.