Some Canadians with multiple sclerosis are going overseas for a controversial vein therapy that aims to improve blood flow to the brain. (CBC)

The Saskatchewan government says it will put up $5 million for clinical trials of a controversial multiple sclerosis vein therapy.

Premier Brad Wall, who said during the summer that Saskatchewan was interested in supporting such research, announced in Saskatoon Tuesday the money would be made available for trials that could begin in April 2011.

Saskatchewan is the first province to move forward on clinical trials of the so-called liberation therapy, which is a form of angioplasty where tiny balloons are inflated inside neck veins to improve blood flow.

The treatment developed by Italian vascular surgeon Paolo Zamboni is not covered under medicare in Canada, and much of the medical community remains skeptical.

However, many MS sufferers have travelled overseas to receive the procedure and say it has eased their symptoms. MS is a disease that effects the nervous system and can lead to severely impaired mobility or loss of vision.

Wall said Saskatchewan has an obligation to find out if the therapy actually works.

"In a place that has such a high incidence of MS ... the highest on the planet perhaps, we deserve to lead in helping them find answers either way on it," Wall said.

A major job ahead is to find someone to do the research.

The Saskatchewan Health Research Foundation, the government agency responsible for medical research, is in charge of putting out a call to researchers. The foundation said it will also be assembling an advisory panel next month.

The government also had a message for MS sufferers in Saskatchewan, saying they will play an important role in the clinical trial. However, until a research team has been announced, there's no signup list.

The debate over the new MS treatment has been held across Canada in recent months. Some provinces have said they will not fund clinical trials on the vein treatment.

Last month, the Newfoundland and Labrador government announced it would spend at least $320,000 on an observational study of MS patients who have undergone the treatment.