At the end of the study, 29.4 percent of people in the cannabis group said they'd experienced relief from muscle spasmsAFP
Use of cannabis extract helps ease painful muscle stiffness among
patients with multiple sclerosis (MS), according to a large trial published in
the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry.
The “Phase III” test—the final stage in a process to vet a new drug or
medical process—took place among 22 centers in Britain. Over 12 weeks, 144
patients were given daily tablets of tetrahydrocannabinol, which is the active
ingredient in cannabis, and 135 were given a dummy pill, also called a placebo.
Doses were gradually escalated, from 2.5 milligrams to a maximum of 25 mg for
two weeks, following top-up doses for the remaining two weeks.
At the end of the study, 29.4% of people in the cannabis group said they
had experienced relief from muscle spasms, compared to 15.7% in the placebo
group, according to an 11-point rating. They also reported improvement in sleep
quality. Side effects were nervous system disorders and gut problems, but none
was severe. MS, a disease that affects the brain and spinal cord, occurs when
the immune system attacks the fatty myelin sheaths that insulate nerve cells.
Painful stiffness in the muscles occurs among up to 90% of patients at
some time, often leading to poor sleep and impaired mobility. The trial, led by
John Peter Zajicek of Britain’s Clinical Neurology Research Group, says
standardized doses of cannabis extract can be useful in easing pain and spasms
in this disease. Previous Phase III trials on cannabis and MS have thrown up
conflicting results, partly because of the scale by which users report any
change in their symptoms, the MUSEC researchers said.
Japan Today
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