Both major Saskatchewan newspapers commented Thursday on Premier Brad Wall’s announcement this week that his government is prepared to fund clinical trials into CCSVI treatment for MS.

The Regina Leader-Post said the premier has raised huge expectations among the province’s 3,500 MS patients and their families. It said the cost of these trials could be expensive and might just show that the treatment does not work or is of only limited benefit. If this is the case, the newspaper reasoned that Mr. Wall will be able to least say he tried. “But if the trials are successful, Wall will have put this province at the forefront of MS research and treatment and improved countless lives – a priceless reward for the risk he's now rightly taken.”

The Saskatoon Star-Phoenix said the premier deserves kudos for his bold stance, and he is right to insist that the process be “driven by sound science.” However, like the Leader-Post, the newspaper is concerned that the government’s support for novel MS research may create an expectation “for a similar response each time a promising new treatment or procedure emerges – an expensive lesson that governments, including Mr. Wall's, have learned when it comes to new pharmaceuticals that tout great advantages over previous products but cost tens of thousands of dollars.”