Therapy using cannabinoids can be considered safe, although the number of adverse events is higher than placebo for treating symptoms in multiple sclerosis patients.
In patients with multiple sclerosis, cannabinoids were linked with a limited and mild reduction in the subjective patient assessment of spasticity (contracted muscles), pain and bladder dysfunction, found systemic review and meta-analysis. // Bottom Line: This study analyzed 17 clinical trials including 3,161 patients to evaluate medicinal cannabinoids -- the chemical compounds in cannabis -- for the treatment of symptoms in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS).
A meta-analysis combines the results of multiple studies identified in a systematic review and quantitatively summarizes the overall association between the same exposure and outcomes measured across all studies. The analysis in this report suggests therapy using these drugs can be considered safe, although the number of adverse events is higher than placebo for treating symptoms in patients with MS.
Authors: Mari Carmen Torres-Moreno, Ph.D., Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), Spain, and coauthors
Related Material: The invited commentary, "Cannabinoids for Symptoms of Multiple Sclerosis: Benefits to Patients Still Unclear," by Marissa Slaven, M.D., and Oren Levine, M.D., M.Sc., of McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, also is available on the For The Media website.
Source-Eurekalert