Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a serious health condition that affects many people around the world. It is estimated that as many as 2.8 million people suffer from MS globally and that someone new is diagnosed with the health condition every 5 minutes.
MS is a progressive disease involving damage to the sheaths of nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord. Symptoms include, but are not limited to, numbness, impairment of speech and muscular coordination, blurred vision, and severe fatigue.
Cannabis has been found by a growing number of MS patients to help effectively and safely treat their condition, and according to a recent study in Italy, it is associated with patients experiencing less spasticity. Below is more information about it via a news release from NORML:
Catania, Italy: Some 80 percent of multiple sclerosis (MS) patients suffering from severe spasticity experience dramatic reductions in their symptoms following treatment with a proprietary cannabis spray (aka Sativex) containing near equal rations of THC and CBD, according to an analysis of clinical trial data published in the journal Therapeutic Advancements in Neurological Disorders.
A team of Italian researchers analyzed trial data from three studies involving over 2,300 patients. They reported, “In all three studies, over 80 percent of assessed patients with severe spasticity at baseline reported a shift into a lower category of spasticity after 12 weeks.” This shift was most dramatic in those patients suffering from “severe spasticity” at baseline.
Sativex is available as a prescription medication in a number of countries, including Canada, France, Germany, Spain, and the United Kingdom. It is not approved for treatment in the United States. A separate cannabis extract drug, Epidiolex, which primarily contains CBD, is FDA-approved for the treatment of pediatric seizures.
Full text of the study, “A post hoc evaluation of the shift in spasticity in individuals with multiple sclerosis-related spasticity treated with nabiximols,” appears in Therapeutic Advancements in Neurological Disorders. Additional information on cannabis and multiple sclerosis is available from NORML’s publication, Clinical Applications for Cannabis and Cannabinoids.
