Our Parkinson's Place: Study: Cannabis Inhalation Improves Parkinson’s Symptoms

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Tuesday, October 11, 2016

Study: Cannabis Inhalation Improves Parkinson’s Symptoms

by Paul Armentano, NORML Deputy Director

October 11, 2016

Inhaling cannabis improves symptoms of Parkinson’s disease, according to clinical data published online ahead of print in the European Journal of Pain.

Investigators at Tel Aviv University and the Rabin Medical Center in Israel assessed the impact of cannabis exposure on motor symptoms and pain parameters in patients with Parkinson’s disease.

Researchers reported that cannabis inhalation was associated with improved symptoms 30-minutes following exposure. “Cannabis improved motor scores and pain symptoms in PD patients,” authors concluded.

A prior Israeli trial evaluating the impact of cannabis on PD patients reported “significant improvement after treatment in tremor, rigidity, and bradykinsea (slowness of movement) … [as well as] significant improvement of sleep and pain scores.”

Over 20,000 Israeli patients receive cannabis under a federally regulated program. Over 90 percent of those participants report significant improvements in pain and function as a result of their medicinal cannabis use.

http://blog.norml.org/2016/10/11/study-cannabis-inhalation-improves-parkinsons-symptoms/

An abstract of the study, “Effect of medical cannabis on thermal quantitative measurements of pain in patients with Parkinson’s disease,” is the following:

Effect of medical cannabis on thermal quantitative measurements of pain in patients with Parkinson's disease.

Shohet A1,2, Khlebtovsky A1,2, Roizen N1,2, Roditi Y1,2, Djaldetti R3,4

Abstract

BACKGROUND:

Cannabis can alleviate pain of various etiologies. This study assessed the effect of cannabis on motor symptoms and pain parameters in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD).

METHODS:

Twenty patients with PD who were licensed to use cannabis underwent evaluation before and 30 min after cannabis consumption and again after long-term use. Motor function was assessed with the Unified PD Rating scale (UPDRS) by two raters, one blinded. Pain was assessed with the Pain Rating Index (PRI) and Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) of the short-form McGill Pain Questionnaire. Thermal quantitative sensory testing (QST) was performed in 18 patients. The two consecutive QST measurements were validated in 12 cannabis-naïve patients with PD.

RESULTS:

There was a significant decrease from baseline to 30 min after cannabis consumption in mean motor UPDRS score (38.1 ± 18 to 30.4 ± 15.6, p < 0.0001), total PRI (27 ± 13.5 to 9.7 ± 11, p = 0.001), and VAS score (6.4 ± 2.8 to 3.6 ± 3.1, p = 0.0005). Mean cold pain threshold decreased significantly in the more affected limb, but only after exclusion of two patients who consumed cannabis by vaporizer rather than smoking (19.5 ± 5.2 to 15.6 ± 8.7 °C, p = 0.02). After long-term (median 14 weeks) exposure, mean heat pain threshold decreased significantly in the more affected limb in all treated patients (43.6 ± 3.5 to 40.9 ± 3.3 °C, p = 0.05) and in cannabis smokers (43.7 ± 3.6 to 40.3 ± 2.5 °C, p = 0.008).

CONCLUSIONS:

Cannabis improved motor scores and pain symptoms in PD patients, together with a dissociate effect on heat and cold pain thresholds. Peripheral and central pathways are probably modulated by cannabis.

SIGNIFICANCE:

Quantitative sensory test results are significantly altered following cannabis consumption in patients with PD. Cannabis probably acts on pain in PD via peripheral and central pathways.