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Canada: Cannabis may help muscle spasticity in MS patients

Nurses.com

Monday 14 May 2012

Smoking cannabis may provide relief from spasticity and pain in people with multiple sclerosis, according to a study, although the benefits come with adverse cognitive effects.

Researchers from the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine conducted a randomized, double-blinded controlled trial with 30 participants to understand whether smoked cannabis can affect muscle spasticity in MS patients whose spasticity does not respond well to existing treatment. Participants' average age was 50, and 63% were female. More than half needed walking aids, and 20% used wheelchairs.

Rather than relying on self-reporting by patients regarding their muscle spasticity — a subjective measure — health professionals rated the spasticity of each participant's joints on the modified Ashworth scale, a common objective tool to evaluate intensity of muscle tone through such measurements as resistance in range of motion and rigidity.

The researchers found that Ashworth scores of participants in the smoked cannabis group decreased by 2.74 points more than the scores of patients in the placebo group. Pain scores on a visual analogue scale decreased by an average of 5.28 points more than in the placebo group. Scores for a timed walk did not differ significantly between the groups.

"We saw a beneficial effect of smoked cannabis on treatment-resistant spasticity and pain associated with multiple sclerosis among our participants," wrote Jody Corey-Bloom, MD, PhD, of the Department of Neuroscience at UCSD, with coauthors. "Although generally well-tolerated by our participants, smoking cannabis was accompanied by acute cognitive effects."

Cognitive function was negatively affected in the smoked cannabis group but not with placebo, as measured by the ability to perform an addition test requiring focused attention. These effects were short term.

"Using an objective measure, we saw a beneficial effect of inhaled cannabis on spasticity among patients receiving insufficient relief from traditional treatments," the authors concluded. "Although generally well-tolerated, smoking cannabis had acute cognitive effects. Larger, long-term studies are needed to confirm our findings and determine whether lower doses can result in beneficial effects with less cognitive impact."

The study appears in the May 14 issue of the Canadian Medical Association Journal. To download a PDF of the study, visit http://bit.ly/JqGkjC.

http://news.nurse.com/article/20120514/NATIONAL02/105140027/-1/frontpage

 

 

 

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