Participants reported that marijuana was effective in helping them to manage symptoms of MS.”
“Spasticity represents a common troublesome symptom in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). Treatment of spasticity remains difficult, which has prompted some patients to self-medicate with and perceive benefits from cannabis. Advances in the understanding of cannabinoid biology support these anecdotal observations.
Various clinical reports as well as randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled studies have now demonstrated clinical efficacy of cannabinoids for the treatment of spasticity in MS patients. Sativex is a 1:1 mix of delta-9-tetrahydocannabinol and cannabidiol extracted from cloned Cannabis sativa chemovars, which recently received a label for treating MS-related spasticity in Germany.
The present article reviews the current understanding of cannabinoid biology and the value of cannabinoids as a symptomatic treatment option in MS.”
“Anecdotal evidence suggests a beneficial effect of cannabis on spasticity as well as pain. Recently, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled studies have confirmed the clinical efficacy of cannabinoids for the treatment of spasticity in patients with MS. Based on these data, nabiximols (Sativex), a 1:1 mix of Δ-9-tetrahydrocannabinol and cannabidiol extracted from cloned Cannabis sativa chemovars, received approval for treating MS-related spasticity in various countries around the globe. In this article we review the current understanding of cannabinoid biology and the value of cannabinoids as a symptomatic treatment option addressing spasticity in patients with MS.
Based on individual case reports, the consumption of plant parts, specifically, the resin of the Cannabis sativa hemp plant, has, for years, been attributed to the capacity to reduce the symptoms of multiple sclerosis (MS), such as spasticity, neuropathic pain, tremor, and disturbed bladder function. As characterization of the endocannabinoid system and its role in the motor system and pain processing continue to advance, there is increasing evidence of a scientific basis for the postulated therapeutic effect of cannabis derivatives.
The oromucosal administration of THC and CBD in a 1:1 ratio has proven to be a well tolerated therapeutic option for treating spasticity in patients with MS who respond poorly to conventional antispastic drugs. Assessment of the efficacy is limited by the fact that spasticity as a symptom is very difficult to measure reliably, objectively, and validly. Current study data support the position that the beneficial effects of nabiximols on subjective and objective endpoints in a selected patient sample outweigh the adverse pharmaceutical effects. The effects of long-term nabiximols treatment on neuropsychological processes and the structure of the endocannabinoid system need to be further characterized.”
Full text: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3437528/
“Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic, progressive disease that carries a high socioeconomic burden. Spasticity (rigidity and spasms) is common in MS and a key contributor to MS-related disability.
This study evaluated the cost-effectiveness of Sativex®, a 9-d-tetrahydrocannabinol/cannabidiol-based oromucosal spray that acts as an endocannabinoid system modulator. Sativex was recently approved for the management of resistant MS spasticity as add-on medication.
Despite having a relatively high acquisition cost, Sativex was shown to be a cost-effective treatment option for patients with MS-related spasticity.”
“Sativex(®) (GW Pharmaceuticals PLC, Porton Down, UK; Laboratorios Almirall, SA, Barcelona, Spain), a cannabinoid oromucosal spray containing a 1:1 ratio of 9-δ-tetrahydrocannabinol and cannabidiol, has been licensed in Germany since July 2011 as add-on therapy for moderate-to-severe multiple sclerosis (MS) treatment-resistant spasticity symptoms.
The ‘MOVE 2′ study evaluated clinical outcomes, treatment satisfaction, quality of life (QoL) and provision of care in MS patients with spasticity receiving Sativex in everyday clinical practice. Data from 300 patients were collected from 42 specialized MS centers across Germany and were available for this analysis. Assessments, including the MS spasticity 0-10 numerical rating scale, modified Ashworth scale, patients’ and physicians’ clinical impressions, and QoL scales were rated at baseline and at 1 and 3 months after starting treatment with Sativex.
Sativex provided relief of MS-related spasticity in the majority of patients who were previously resistant to treatment. In addition, clear improvements were noted in MS spasticity-associated symptoms (e.g., sleep quality, bladder function and mobility), activities of daily living and QoL. Sativex was generally well tolerated. The majority of patients (84%) reported no adverse events, and there was only a limited risk of serious adverse reactions.
Furthermore, based on data from Sativex clinical trials, a Markov model-based analysis has shown that Sativex is a cost-effective treatment option for patients with MS spasticity in Germany.”
“Although significant advances have taken place in recent years on our understanding of the molecular mechanisms of different neurodegenerative diseases, its translation into effective therapeutic treatments has not been as successful as could be expected. There is still a dramatic lack of curative treatments for the most frequent disorders and only symptomatic relief for many others. Under this perspective, the search for novel therapeutic approaches is demanding and significant attention and efforts have been directed to studying additional neurotransmission systems including the endocannabinoid system (ECS).
The neuroprotective properties of exogenous as well as endogenous cannabinoids have been known for years and the underlying molecular mechanisms have been recently unveiled. As discussed later, antioxidative, antiglutamatergic and antiinflammatory effects are now recognized as derived from cannabinoid action and are known to be of common interest for many neurodegenerative processes.
Thus, these characteristics make cannabinoids attractive candidates for the development of novel therapeutic strategies.
The present review will focus on the existing data regarding the possible usefulness of cannabinoid agents for the treatment of relevant neurological pathologies for our society such as Alzheimer’s disease, multiple sclerosis, Huntington’s disease and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.”
“Multiple sclerosis (MS) and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) are chronic diseases of the central nervous system (CNS), featured by a complex interplay between inflammation and neurodegeneration. Increasing evidence supports the involvement of the endocannabinoid system (ECS) in both inflammatory and neurodegenerative processes typical of these pathological conditions. Exogenous or endogenous cannabinoids regulate the function of immune system by limiting immune response. On the other hand, by preventing excitotoxic damage, cannabinoids protect neuronal integrity and function. Of note, the ECS not only plays a role as modulator of disease processes, but it can also be disrupted by the same diseases. Agents modulating cannabinoid receptors or endocannabinoid tone provide promising therapeutic opportunities in the treatment of inflammatory neurodegenerative disorders of the CNS.”
“Marijuana has been classified as a Schedule 1 narcotic since the 1960’s, which means it is deemed by the federal government to have no medicinal value and heavy risk. However, there is an increasing body of research to show that marijuana can be helpful for certain debilitating conditions and 15 states have now legalized it for medicinal usage. One of those conditions research is showing marijuana’s medicinal value is multiple sclerosis (MS) and another is Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). They are both diseases involving neurologic deterioration.
Approximately 200 individuals per week are diagnosed with MS, with the usual onset between 20 and 40 years of age. The disease has no known cure and involves a neuro-degeneration in which the brain and spinal cord nerves undergo a gradual destruction of its protective tissue called myelin.
Myelin covers these regions in what’s called a Myelin sheath, and as the sheath degenerates symptoms include painful muscle spasms, numbness, impaired vision, loss of coordination, tremors, weakness, and imbalance (ataxia). The disease is progressive and can become incapacitating and lead to death.
MS patients may find that marijuana relieves symptoms of spasticity, tremors, imbalance, depression, and fatigue. Numerous studies have looked at Sativex, which is an oral cannabis spray developed in the UK. It has been shown to relieve pain, spasticity, depression, fatigue, and incontinence.
THC appears to have some immunosuppressive or immunomodulatory effects. This may be beneficial to MS patients. Long term studies need to be completed to see if this is for real and a disease modifying effect is real.
Lou Gehrig’s disease, also called Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, involves the ongoing loss of the brain’s motor neurons. It is rapidly progressive, and usually fatal. There is no known cause. The usual age of onset is 40 to 60 years, and men are more commonly affected.
The most well known person with ALS is Stephen Hawking, a physicist who has lived for over 40 years after being diagnosed. He is the exception, the unfortunate usual prognosis is grim, with about half of patients dying with 2.5 years of onset.
The cannabinoids in medical marijuana may protect against glutamate toxicity. This may be very helpful because ALS involves excessive glutamate in the brain tissue, spinal fluid, and serum of those suffering.
By lowering the chance of glutamate toxicity, there is a chance that marijuana may have a neuroprotective effect. In addition, patients describe alleviation of pain and spasms, improvement of appetite, and less drooling issues which is a common problem with ALS.”
By David L. Greene
“The G-protein coupled receptors for Δ⁹-tetrahydrocannabinol, the major psychoactive principle of marijuana, are known as cannabinoid receptors of type 1 (CB₁) and 2 (CB₂) and play important functions in degenerative and inflammatory disorders of the central nervous system. Whilst CB₁ receptors are mostly expressed in neurons, where they regulate neurotransmitter release and synaptic strength, CB₂ receptors are found mostly in glial cells and microglia, which become activated and over-express these receptors during disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease, multiple sclerosis, amyotropic lateral sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, and Huntington’s chorea. The neuromodulatory actions at CB₁ receptors by endogenous agonists (‘endocannabinoids’), of which anandamide and 2-arachidonoylglycerol are the two most studied representatives, allows them to counteract the neurochemical unbalances arising during these disorders. In contrast, the immunomodulatory effects of these lipophilic mediators at CB₂ receptors regulate the activity and function of glia and microglia. Indeed, the level of expression of CB₁ and CB₂ receptors or of enzymes controlling endocannabinoid levels, and hence the concentrations of endocannabinoids, undergo time- and brain region-specific changes during neurodegenerative and neuroinflammatory disorders, with the initial attempt to counteract excitotoxicity and inflammation. Here we discuss this plasticity of the endocannabinoid system during the aforementioned central nervous system disorders, as well as its dysregulation, both of which have opened the way to the use of either direct and indirect activators or blockers of CB₁ and CB₂ receptors for the treatment of the symptoms or progression of these diseases.”