Tag Archives: marijuana

Marijuana May Be Effective For Neuropathic Pain.

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“The growing body of evidence that marijuana (cannabis) may be effective as a pain reliever has been expanded with publication of a new study in The Journal of Pain reporting that patients with nerve pain showed reduced pain intensity from smoking marijuana.

Researchers at University of California Davis examined whether marijuana produces analgesia for patients with neuropathic pain. Thirty-eight patients were examined. They were given either high-dose (7%), low-dose (3.5%) or placebo cannabis.

The authors reported that identical levels of analgesia were produced at each cumulative dose level by both concentrations of the agent. As with opioids, cannabis does not rely on a relaxing or tranquilizing effect, but reduces the core component of nociception and the emotional aspect of the pain experience to an equal degree. There were undesirable consequences observed from cannabis smoking, such as feeing high or impaired, but they did not inhibit tolerability or cause anyone to withdraw from the study. In general, side effects and mood changes were inconsequential.

It was noted by the authors that since high and low dose cannabis produced equal analgesic efficacy, a case could be made for testing lower concentrations to determine if the analgesic profile can be maintained while reducing potential cognitive decline.

In addition, the authors said further research could probe whether adding the lowest effective dose of cannabis to another analgesic drug might lead to more effective neuropathic pain treatment for patients who otherwise are treatment-resistant.”

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/06/080626150628.htm

Marijuana Eases Chronic Pain, Researchers Say – ABC News

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“Smoking marijuana modestly reduced pain and other symptoms of chronic neuropathic pain, results of a small trial showed.

The most potent dose used reduced average daily pain scores by 0.7 points on an 11-point scale, according to Mark A. Ware of McGill University in Montreal, Canada and colleagues.

Those who smoked weed with 9.4 percent of the active ingredient tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) also reported sleeping better, the researchers reported online in CMAJ.”

Read more: http://abcnews.go.com/Health/PainManagement/smoking-marijuana-ease-chronic-pain-researchers/story?id=11515566

Marijuana may relieve nerve pain when other drugs don’t – USAToday

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“Smoking cannabis, also known as marijuana, reduced pain in patients with nerve pain stemming from injuries or surgical complications, new research shows.

Twenty-one adults with chronic nerve pain were taught to take a single inhalation of 25 milligrams of cannabis through a pipe, three times a day, for five days. The cannabis contained one of three levels of potency of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the active ingredient in marijuana, as well as a placebo dosage containing no THC.

All of the patients rotated through each of the four dosages, with nine days of no smoking in between.

Patients smoking the highest potency marijuana (9.4%) reported less pain than those smoking samples containing no THC. Patients also reported better sleep and less anxiety, according to the Canadian study. 

On an 11-point scale, the average daily pain intensity was 6.1 for those smoking 9.4% THC concentration, compared to 5.4 for those smoking cannabis containing no THC.

“Patients have repeatedly made claims that smoked cannabis helps to treat pain, but the issue for me had always been the lack of clinical research to support that claim,” said Dr. Mark Ware, director of clinical research at the Alan Edwards Pain Management Unit of the McGill University Health Centre in Montreal. In this small but randomized, controlled trial, “the pain reductions were modest, but significant,” he said. “And it was in people for whom nothing else worked.”

Read more: http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/yourlife/health/medical/2010-09-05-marijuana-pain_N.htm

Medicinal Marijuana Eases Neuropathic Pain in HIV – ABC News

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“(HealthDay News) — Medicinal marijuana helps relieve neuropathic pain in people with HIV, says a University of California, San Diego, School of Medicine study.

It included 28 HIV patients with neuropathic pain that wasn’t adequately controlled by opiates or other pain relievers. The researchers found that 46 percent of patients who smoked medicinal marijuana reported clinically meaningful pain relief, compared with 18 percent of those who smoked a placebo.

The study, published online Aug. 6 in Neuropsychopharmacology, was sponsored by the University of California Center for Medical Cannabis Research (CMCR).

“Neuropathy is a chronic and significant problem in HIV patients as there are few existing treatments that offer adequate pain management to sufferers,” study leader Dr. Ronald J. Ellis, an associate professor of neurosciences, said in an UCSD news release. “We found that smoked cannabis was generally well-tolerated and effective when added to the patient’s existing pain medication, resulting in increased pain relief.”

The findings are consistent with and extend other recent CMCR-sponsored research supporting the short-term effectiveness of medicinal marijuana in treating neuropathic pain.

“This study adds to a growing body of evidence that indicates that cannabis is effective, in the short-term at least, in the management of neuropathic pain,” Dr. Igor Grant, a professor of psychiatry and director of the CMCR, said in the UCSD news release.”

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/Healthday/story?id=5528635&page=1

Self-medication of a cannabinoid CB2 agonist in an animal model of neuropathic pain.

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“Neuropathic pain is caused by injury to the peripheral or central nervous system (CNS)…”

“…novel approaches for identifying safe and effective analgesics with limited abuse liability are necessary.”

“Cannabinoids share the same target as the psychoactive ingredient in maijuana. Cannabinoids suppress neuropathic nociception through CB1 and CB2 mechanisms. CB1 is predominantly located within the CNS… CB2 activation is not associated with CNS side-effects linked to CB1. However, abuse potential of CB2 agonists is unknown.”

“We used a drug self-administration approach to ask whether rats with a spared nerve injury (SNI) would self-medicate with a CB2 agonist to attenuate a neuropathic pain state…”

 “Our results suggest that cannabinoid CB2 agonists may be exploited to treat neuropathic pain with limited drug abuse liability and central nervous system (CNS) side-effects. These studies validate the use of drug self-administration methods for identifying nonpsychotropic analgesics possessing limited abuse potential…”

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3157548/

Smoked Medicinal Cannabis for Neuropathic Pain in HIV: A Randomized, Crossover Clinical Trial.

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“In 1999, a report of the United States Institute of Medicine recommended further investigations of the possible benefits of cannabis (marijuana) as a medicinal agent for a variety of conditions, including neuropathic pain due to HIV distal sensory polyneuropathy (DSPN). The most abundant active ingredient in cannabis, tetrahydro-cannabinol (THC), and its synthetic derivatives, produce effective analgesia in most animal models of pain. The antinociceptive effects of THC are mediated through cannabinoid receptors (CB1, CB2) in the central and peripheral nervous systems, which in turn interact with noradrenergic and κ-opioid systems in the spinal cord to modulate the perception of painful stimuli. The endogenous ligand of CB1, anandamide, itself is an effective antinociceptive agent. In open-label clinical trials and one recent controlled trial, medicinal cannabis has shown preliminary efficacy in relieving neuropathic pain.”

“We conducted a clinical trial to assess the impact of smoked cannabis on neuropathic pain in HIV. This was a phase II, double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover trial of analgesia with smoked cannabis in HIV-associated distal sensory predominant polyneuropathy (DSPN).”

 “…pain relief was greater with cannabis than placebo…”

 “Smoked cannabis was generally well tolerated and effective when added to concomitant analgesic therapy in patients with medically refractory pain due to HIV DSPN.”

“Our findings suggest that cannabinoid therapy may be an effective option for pain relief in patients with medically intractable pain due to HIV-associated DSPN.”

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3066045/

Multiple sclerosis and extract of cannabis: results of the MUSEC trial.

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“Multiple sclerosis (MS) is associated with chronic symptoms, including muscle stiffness, spasms, pain and insomnia. Here we report the results of the Multiple Sclerosis and Extract of Cannabis (MUSEC) study that aimed to substantiate the patient based findings of previous studies.”

“CONCLUSION:

The study met its primary objective to demonstrate the superiority of cannabis extract (CE) over placebo in the treatment of muscle stiffness in MS. This was supported by results for secondary efficacy variables. Adverse events in participants treated with CE were consistent with the known side effects of cannabinoids. No new safety concerns were observed.”

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22791906

Cannabis eases multiple sclerosis (MS) stiffness: study

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“Use of cannabis extract helps ease painful muscle stiffness among patients with multiple sclerosis (MS), according to a large trial published on Tuesday 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 centres 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…

…They also reported improvement in sleep quality. Side effects were nervous system disorders and gut problems, but none was severe…

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.”

http://articles.nydailynews.com/2012-10-10/news/34367509_1_multiple-sclerosis-cannabis-nerve-cells

Smoking Cannabis May Reduce Symptoms in Multiple Sclerosis Patients – ABC News

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“Smoking marijuana may reduce certain symptoms in patients with multiple sclerosis, according to a new small study published Monday in the Canadian Medical Association Journal.

Researchers from the University of California at San Diego School of Medicine conducted a double blind, controlled clinical trial that included 30 participants who had multiple sclerosis. The scientists hoped to understand whether smoked cannabis reduces symptoms of spasticity, a common symptom of the disease that refers to stiffness and involuntary muscle spasms.

While most past trials have focused on the effects of a pill-form of cannabis, researchers wanted to see specifically whether a smoked form of the drug has a beneficial effect.

“Smoking cannabis was indeed superior to the placebo in reducing spasticity and pain…”

Read More: http://abcnews.go.com/Health/marijuana-reduce-symptoms-multiple-sclerosis-patients/story?id=16328805

Smoked cannabis for spasticity in multiple sclerosis: a randomized, placebo-controlled trial.

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“Spasticity is a common and disabling symptom that remains a substantial problem for many patients with multiple sclerosis. Some patients have adverse effects from conventional antispasticity medications; for others, spasticity persists despite treatment. A report from the Institute of Medicine in the United States concluded that the active compounds of cannabis (marijuana) are potentially effective in treating neurologic conditions and “should be tested rigorously in clinical trials.” There is evidence that the cannabinoid receptors CB1 and CB2 may be involved in the control of spasticity in multiple sclerosis2 and that the endogenous ligand of CB1, anandamide, is itself an effective antispasticity agent.3 CB1 receptors are primarily presynaptic; their activation inhibits calcium influx and glutamate release, and reduces neuronal excitability by activating somatic and dendritic potassium channels.“

“Although many patients with multiple sclerosis endorse smoking cannabis as therapy, evidence that it relieves spasticity is largely anecdotal, as most trials focus on orally administered cannabinoids. We sought to assess the safety and efficacy of smoked cannabis versus placebo in patients with multiple sclerosis who have treatment-resistant spasticity.”

“Smoked cannabis was superior to placebo in symptom and pain reduction in participants with treatment-resistant spasticity. Future studies should examine whether different doses can result in similar beneficial effects with less cognitive impact.”

“No serious adverse events occurred during the trial.”

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3394820/