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2008/9 Catalogue
Library Recommendation
Summary
September 2007, Vol. 7, No. 9, Pages 1157-1163 , DOI 10.1586/14737175.7.9.1157
(doi:10.1586/14737175.7.9.1157)

Review
Symptomatic treatment of multiple sclerosis using cannabinoids: recent advances
Paul F Smith



Recent years have seen a dramatic increase in the number of clinical trials investigating the potential efficacy of medicinal cannabinoids for the symptomatic treatment of chronic pain and spasticity in multiple sclerosis (MS). A number of different cannabinoids have been used, including: Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) itself; the synthetic Δ9-THC, dronabinol; a 1:1 ratio of Δ9-THC:cannabidiol (Sativex®); and the synthetic Δ9-THC metabolites CT-3 and nabilone. Other Cannabis extracts have also been tested. While 2–3 years ago there was little consensus in the literature, now the majority of studies are beginning to suggest that cannabinoids are useful in the treatment of MS in at least a subset of individuals. Their adverse side-effect profile has generally been mild compared with other drugs used for pain and spasticity; nonetheless, there is still concern about potential long-term side effects, particularly psychiatric side effects and effects on fetal development.

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Cited by

W. Todd Penberthy. (2009) Nicotinic Acid-Mediated Activation of Both Membrane and Nuclear Receptors towards Therapeutic Glucocorticoid Mimetics for Treating Multiple Sclerosis. PPAR Research 2009, 1-12
Online publication date: 1-Feb-2009.
CrossRef
Mark S. Butler. (2008) Natural products to drugs: natural product-derived compounds in clinical trials. Natural Product Reports 25:3, 475
Online publication date: 1-Feb-2008.
CrossRef

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Author:
Paul F Smith
Keywords:
cannabinoids
multiple sclerosis
pain
spasticity


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