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Cannabis Campaigners' Guide News Database result:
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UK: Cannabis extract can help relieve pain among MS sufferers
John Innes The Scotsman
Friday 16 Jul 2004 CANNABIS can help to reduce pain in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS), scientists who carried out a study of its health benefits have claimed. Various clinical trials have looked at the use of cannabinoids - extracts of cannabis - in drugs to help patients with illnesses such as MS. But opinion is divided over whether they offer any real benefit to patients, despite some MS sufferers risking criminal charges to buy the drug. The latest study among 24 patients in Denmark used the cannabis extract dronabinol to test its effect on pain relief. The participants were given dronabinol capsules or placebo pills for three weeks, after which they were asked to rate pain. Pain intensity was significantly lower and relief was higher during treatment with the cannabis extract. The researchers, from Aarhus University Hospital, also found that pressure-evoked pain also tended to decrease and patients reported a better quality of life when on dronabinol. There were some side-effects with the cannabis treatment - including dizziness and headache - during the first week of treatment, but these decreased as the trial went on. The researchers said: "Dronabinol has a modest but clear and clinically relevant analgesic effect in multiple sclerosis patients with central pain." They added: "Dronabinol should be available for patients whose central pain is not sufficiently treated with alternative drugs such as anti-convulsants, anti-depressants or opioids." The National Institute for Clinical Excellence is looking into the practicalities and cost-effectiveness of cannabinoid-based products for MS.
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