Marijuana Extracts Effective In Treating Neuropathic Pain

Marijuana Extracts Effective In Treating Neuropathic Pain

Marijuana Extracts Effective In Treating Neuropathic Pain

Salisbury, United Kingdom: Medicinal cannabis extracts improve
patients' management of neuropathic pain better than standard
analgesics, according to the results of a pair of clinical trials
announced this week by British biotechnology firm GW Pharmaceuticals.

More than 250 patients with peripheral neuropathic pain (pain caused
by damage to the nervous system) participated in the two
placebo-controlled trials. Volunteers received either Sativex (an oral
spray containing precise doses of the plant cannabinoids THC and CBD)
or placebo.

In the first trial, patients suffering from severe pain characterized
by allodynia (the occurrence of pain in response to normally
non-painful stimulus) "obtained clinically important improvements in
their management of pain and quality of sleep" after taking Sativex.

In the second trial, patients with diabetic neuropathy reported a 30
percent mean improvement in pain scores after taking Sativex, with
one-third of patients reporting more than a 50 percent improvement in
pain following the drug's administration.

"Even in this most difficult to treat population, Sativex has produced
improvements over and above current treatments," the company stated in
a press release.

Previous clinical trials of Sativex have shown the drug to reduce
incidences of neuropathic pain associated with both Multiple Sclerosis
and cancer. Sativex is currently available by prescription in Canada
to treat MS-associated neuropathy, and on an 'import-only' basis in