Pubdate: Fri, 18 May 2012
Source: Globe and Mail (Canada)
Copyright: 2012 The Globe and Mail Company
Contact:  http://www.theglobeandmail.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/168
Author: Paul Taylor
Referenced: Smoked cannabis for spasticity in multiple sclerosis: a
randomized, placebo-controlled trial: 
http://www.cmaj.ca/content/early/2012/05/14/cmaj.110837.full.pdf+html

HOW MARIJUANA MAY EASE THE MS CHARLEY HORSE

For years, multiple sclerosis patients have told doctors that smoking
marijuana makes them feel better. Now there is research to back up
those assertions.

The study, published this week in the Canadian Medical Association
Journal, found that cannabis eased pain by 50 per cent and reduced
spasticity, or muscle stiffness, by 30 per cent.

"We were very, very skeptical in the beginning," said the lead
researcher Jody Corey-Bloom, a neurologist at the University of
California, San Diego. "But we were able to look at this objectively
and, in fact, we did demonstrate some efficacy. It does at least give
credence to what some patients have been saying."

The study team recruited 30 MS patients with an average age of
50.

The volunteers were divided into two groups. One group was given pot
to smoke once daily for three consecutive days. Those in the other
group received a placebo - it looked and smelled like marijuana, but
lack the high-inducing ingredient tetrahydrocannabinol or THC. Before
smoking up each day, the volunteers underwent a series of tests to
evaluate pain levels, muscle spasticity and cognitive functions. Then
45 minutes after inhaling, they repeated the same tests.

After an 11-day break, they returned for three more days of tests. But
this time, the groups were switched. Those who originally got the real
dope were given the placebo and vice versa.

An evaluation of those results revealed a significant reduction in
symptoms with cannabis. Spasticity, or muscle tightness and rigidity,
is quite common in the thighs, calves and upper arms of people with
MS. "It's like having a charley horse all the time," she explained.
"Patients said smoking cannabis really makes a difference."

But the benefits of pot "perhaps came at a price," noted Dr.
Corey-Bloom.

Cognitive tests showed a modest drop in attention, concentration and
working memory while under the influence of marijuana. Patients also
experienced more fatigue. The cognitive scores bounced back when the
patients were retested the following morning. "We can't tell from this
study whether these effects are long-lasting," she said.

Additional research may also settle another intriguing question: Can
lower doses of pot produce the same or similar gains, but with
significantly fewer effects on cognitive functions?
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MAP posted-by: Jo-D