Marijuana Benefits MS Patients as Other Remedies Fail
By Nicole Ostrow March 24, 2014
Marijuana, taken in pill or spray form, helps ease certain multiple sclerosis symptoms, while about a dozen other alternative remedies offer no benefit, according to a report by U.S. neurologists.
Not enough research exists to say if smoking the drug helps in MS, according to the report.
The pill or oral spray form of marijuana may help reduce stiffness and involuntary spasms, pain from those symptoms and frequent urination, though it doesn’t help reduce tremors, the study published today in the journal Neurology found. The results form the basis of new guidelines from the American Academy of Neurology on use of alternative therapies in MS.
The guidelines are the first by the academy to say which complementary treatments appear to work the best and which don’t for patients with multiple sclerosis, said lead author Vijayshree Yadav, an assistant professor in neurology at Oregon Health & Science University (28565MF:US) in Portland. Many MS patients use alternative therapies along with standard drugs to treat their symptoms.
“It appears there’s little evidence for most complementary and alternative medicine therapies to treat MS,” Yadav said in a telephone interview. “This opens up an entire avenue for research. It provides the impetus for researchers to design studies so that the gap in knowledge could be addressed.”
The researchers searched the medical literature on alternative medicine studies going back to 1970. The recommendations were based on findings from 115 articles. Of those only 10 were considered to have the highest level of significance, Yadav said.
Study Lacking
Though most of the alternative treatments aren’t studied enough to be recommended on their benefits, that doesn’t mean they don’t work, said John Corboy, a professor of neurology at the University of Colorado School of Medicine in Aurora, who wasn’t an author of today’s guidelines.
“What I tell patients is if you’re using something and you feel better and there’s not any theoretical or real reason to think it’s hurting you and it’s not costing you a lot of money, then there’s certainly no reason not to do it,” he said in a telephone interview. “If, however, it’s expensive and, worse yet, has data arguing against it or if you use it as an alternative and not as a complementary approach, then you’re causing yourself harm.” ...
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