MS patients taking cannabis were able to reduce intake of opioids and benzodiazepines

 

According to a retrospective chart review of 77 patients diagnosed with multiple sclerosis treatment with cannabis allowed one third to reduce the intake of other medications, including opioids. Scientists of Dent Neurologic Institute Amherst in New York, USA, published their study results In the Journal Neurology.

Subjective improvement endorsed by patients was extensive, with alleviation of pain (71%), spasticity (43%), and sleep (42%). In addition, 34% of patients were able to decrease or discontinue other medications including opioids, stimulants, and benzodiazepines. A low rate of discontinuation (14%) was observed, most frequently due to cost (36%) and lack of efficacy (36%).

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McCormack K, Lewandowski e, Rainka M, Aladeen T, Westphal E, Mazhari A, Mechtler L. Multiple Sclerosis and Use of Medical Cannabis: A Retrospective Review Evaluating Symptom Outcomes. Neurology Apr 2019, 92 (15 Supplement) P5.2-106;

Association of Cannabis With Cognitive Functioning in Adolescents and Young Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

 

Conclusion:

Associations between cannabis use and cognitive functioning in cross-sectional studies of adolescents and young adults are small and may be of questionable clinical importance for most individuals. Furthermore, abstinence of longer than 72 hours diminishes cognitive deficits associated with cannabis use. Although other outcomes (eg, psychosis) were not examined in the included studies, results indicate that previous studies of cannabis in youth may have overstated the magnitude and persistence of cognitive deficits associated with use. Reported deficits may reflect residual effects from acute use or withdrawal. Future studies should examine individual differences in susceptibility to cannabis-associated cognitive dysfunction.

JAMA June 2018   Go to Article

The medical use of cannabis improves cognitive performance

 

Following 3 months of treatment, cannabis patients demonstrated improved task performance accompanied by changes in brain activation patterns within certain brain regions (cingulate cortex and frontal regions). Authors wrote that after cannabis treatment, “brain activation patterns appeared more similar to those exhibited by healthy controls from previous studies than at pre-treatment, suggestive of a potential normalization of brain function relative to baseline.” They concluded that their findings suggest that the medical use of cannabis “may result in different effects relative to recreational marijuana (MJ) use, as recreational consumers have been shown to exhibit decrements in task performance accompanied by altered brain activation.” Patients also reported improvements in clinical state and health-related measures.

 

Gruber SA, Sagar KA, Dahlgren MK, Gonenc A, Smith RT, Lambros AM, Cabrera KB, Lukas SE. The Grass Might Be Greener: Medical Marijuana Patients Exhibit Altered Brain Activity and Improved Executive Function after 3 Months of Treatment. Front Pharmacol. 2018;8:983.

 

Commentary:

 

The medical use of cannabis improves performance of tasks testing cognition. This is the result of research by scientists of the McLean Hospital in Belmont, USA. Participants were tested before starting the intake of cannabis and 3 months later. Patients completed the Multi-Source Interference Test (MSIT) while undergoing functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). The MSIT was designed to study normal human cognition and psychiatric pathophysiology.

 

The Pilot Study was reported here Splendor in the Grass? A Pilot Study Assessing the Impact of Medical Marijuana on Executive Function.

The impact of cannabis prescription on an elderly population, safety and well-being

 

The therapeutic use of cannabis is safe and efficacious in the elderly population, a study by researchers of the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in Be'er-Sheva, Israel, found in a group of 2736 patients above 65 years of age, who participated in a questionnaire. The mean age was 74.5 years. The most common indications for cannabis treatment were pain (66.6%) and cancer (60.8%).

 

After six months of treatment, 93.7% of the respondents reported improvement in their condition and the reported pain level was reduced from a median of 8 on a scale of 0-10 to a median of 4. Most common adverse events were: dizziness (9.7%) and dry mouth (7.1%). After six months, 18.1% stopped using opioid analgesics or reduced their dose. Authors concluded that their “study finds that the therapeutic use of cannabis is safe and efficacious in the elderly population. Cannabis use may decrease the use of other prescription medicines, including opioids.”

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The impact of cannabis prescription on an elderly population, safety and well-being

 

The therapeutic use of cannabis is safe and efficacious in the elderly population, a study by researchers of the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in Be'er-Sheva, Israel, found in a group of 2736 patients above 65 years of age, who participated in a questionnaire. The mean age was 74.5 years. The most common indications for cannabis treatment were pain (66.6%) and cancer (60.8%).

After six months of treatment, 93.7% of the respondents reported improvement in their condition and the reported pain level was reduced from a median of 8 on a scale of 0-10 to a median of 4. Most common adverse events were: dizziness (9.7%) and dry mouth (7.1%). After six months, 18.1% stopped using opioid analgesics or reduced their dose. Authors concluded that their “study finds that the therapeutic use of cannabis is safe and efficacious in the elderly population. Cannabis use may decrease the use of other prescription medicines, including opioids.”

 

Epidemiological characteristics, safety and efficacy of medical cannabis in the elderly.

Abuhasira R, Schleider LB, Mechoulam R, Novack V. Eur J Intern Med. 2018 Feb 1.

 

Commentary:

Our study finds that the therapeutic use of cannabis is safe and efficacious in the elderly population. Cannabis use may decrease the use of other prescription medicines, including opioids. Gathering more evidence-based data, including data from double-blind randomized-controlled trials, in this special population is imperative. Medical Cannabis Significantly Safer for Elderly With Chronic Pain Than Opioids