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If you’ve been following the medical marijuana debate, you may be interested in a new review of studies on the effects of cannabis extracts on the spasticity (involuntary muscle contractions) experienced by people with multiple sclerosis.

The studies that were reviewed specifically tested extracts containing two compounds derived from Cannabis sativa, used in combination. One was THC — the main active ingredient that gives the characteristic “high.” The other was cannabidiol, or CBD, which doesn’t give the same high and may act to lower levels of THC in the brain. (The reasoning, therefore, is that combining the two would give the anti-spastic effect in muscles while not fogging the brain.)

In an article published in the journal BMC Neurology, Shaheen E. Lakhan and Marie Rowland of the Global Neuroscience Initiative Foundation in Los Angeles examined six randomized, placebo-controlled studies. Though results from individual studies weren’t exactly the same, they did show that the extracts were generally well-tolerated, compared with placebo, though doses had sometimes to be adjusted.

read the rest via Cannabis extracts may ease symptoms of multiple sclerosis | Booster Shots | Los Angeles Times.

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• Important Notice

  This site posts excerpts and summaries of articles of interest to people with multiple sclerosis and their families, along with links to the full articles in the journals in which they were published.

  I have multiple sclerosis (primary progressive), but I am neither a doctor nor a research scientist. I have no connection to the people mentioned in these articles, and have no more information about the subject of any given article than is contained in the article itself. Please do not ask me for medical advice or how to contact people mentioned in these articles. If contact information is not contained in the article itself, your best bet is to Google the name of the person, company or clinic you are seeking.