Spasticity In Multiple Sclerosis Marijuana Treatment
According to recent clinical and anecdotal reports, cannabinoids have the ability to minimize symptoms of multiple sclerosis like pain, depression, fatigue, spasticity and incontinence.The benefits of cannabis in treating multiple sclerosis (MS) are thoroughly discussed in the scientific literature since the last two decades. According to investigators at the University of California at San Diego, inhaled cannabis was useful in significantly reducing objective measures of pain intensity and spasticity in patients with multiple sclerosis in a placebo-controlled, randomized clinical trial.
It was concluded by the involved researchers that “smoked cannabis was superior to placebo in reducing spasticity and pain in patients with multiple sclerosis and provided some benefit beyond currently prescribed treatment.” The fact that patients with multiple sclerosis typically report engaging in cannabis therapy is therefore not surprising by any standards.
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic degenerative disease of the central nervous system that leads to muscular weakness, inflammation, and loss of motor coordination. Patients suffering from this complication usually become permanently disabled and the disease can be fatal in some cases. It is worth a mention that about 200 people (mostly in the age group of 20-40 years) are diagnosed every week with the disease, according to the US National Multiple Sclerosis Society.
Investigators at the University College of London’s Institute of Neurology reported in an issue of the journal Brain that cannabinoids could inhibit progression of the disease in addition to offering symptom management. Administration of the synthetic cannabinoid agonist WIN 55,212-2 provided “significant neuroprotection” in an animal model of multiple sclerosis. “The results of this study are important because they suggest that in addition to symptom management, … cannabis may also slow the neurodegenerative processes that ultimately lead to chronic disability in multiple sclerosis and probably other disease,” researchers concluded.
The administration of oral THC can boost immune function in patients with MS, according to investigators at the Netherland’s Vrije University Medical Center, Department of Neurology. “These results suggest pro-inflammatory disease-modifying potential of cannabinoids [for] MS,” they concluded.
Health regulators in Canada, the United Kingdom, Spain, and New Zealand have approved the prescription use of plant cannabis extracts in recent years for treating symptoms of multiple sclerosis.
Reference:
- Chong et al. 2006. Cannabis use in patients with multiple sclerosis. Multiple Sclerosis 12: 646-651.
- Rog et al. 2005. Randomized, controlled trial of cannabis-based medicine in central pain in multiple sclerosis. Neurology 65: 812-819.
- Wade et al. 2004. Do cannabis-based medicinal extracts have general or specific effects on symptoms in multiple sclerosis? A double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study on 160 patients. Multiple Sclerosis 10: 434-441.
- Brady et al. 2004. An open-label pilot study of cannabis-based extracts for bladder dysfunction in advanced multiple sclerosis. Multiple Sclerosis 10: 425-433.
- Vaney et al. 2004. Efficacy, safety and tolerability of an orally administered cannabis extract in the treatment of spasticity in patients with multiple sclerosis: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover study. Multiple Sclerosis 10: 417-424.
- Vaney et al. 2004. Efficacy, safety and tolerability of an orally administered cannabis extract in the treatment of spasticity in patients with multiple sclerosis: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover study. Multiple Sclerosis 10: 417-424.
- Tags: benefits of cannabis, cannabinoids, cannabis therapy, inhaled cannabis, multiple sclerosis, oral THC, plant cannabis, smoked cannabis
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