Cannabis and Parkinson's Disease

 

'Nearly 25 percent of US patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD) report having recently consumed cannabis, according to survey data compiled by the Parkinson’s Foundation and published in the Nature imprint, Parkinson’s Disease.

Among respondents, 24.5 percent affirmed having used cannabis in the prior six months. The majority of these consumers reported that it provided them with either “moderate or considerable improvement” in their symptoms, particularly in addressing anxiety, pain, sleep disorders, stiffness, and tremors. Most of these respondents said that they did not possesses a formal recommendation from their primary care physician to use cannabis. Slightly more than 20 percent of those who had recently tried cannabis reported no significant improvements in their condition.'

 

 - NORML

 

 

Parkinson's Disease, a  neurodegenerative disease that leaves a person with little muscular control usually resulting in uncontrollable twitches, difficulty in speaking and loss of mobility, affects a number of older persons. Typical symptoms include cramping/dystonia, pain, spasticity, lack of appetite, dyskinesia [involuntary movements], and tremor. In recent times it has been seen to increasingly have an early onset as well. It is thought to be genetically passed down in some individuals, though in some persons it is said to be caused by physical damage to the head and brain or exposure to factors in the environment. The causes are largely said to be unknown.

There has been an exploration of cannabis as a treatment for Parkinson's disease and positive results have been obtained. This has convinced enough medical committees in various US states to recommend its inclusion in the list of medical conditions that are eligible for treatment with medical cannabis. The fact that cannabis has neuroprotective properties could be the basis for its use as medicine to treat Parkinson's. Also the fact that cannabis has been found to be beneficial for traumatic brain injury, anxiety, brain inflammation and pain could mean that it offers an interesting option in the treatment of Parkinson's Disease. The effectiveness of cannabis could be attributed to the fact that it acts on the same body and brain regions which make it effective for other illnesses such as dementia, autism, epilepsy, spinal cord injuries, brain cancer, traumatic brain injury, multiple sclerosis, etc,.

 

Cannabis is great medicine for pain, loss of appetite, insomnia, fatigue, etc. The fact that it is useful for treating these conditions also implies that irrespective of the type of disease, it is good for the treatment of that disease, if the disease displays similar symptoms.

Listed below are articles taken from various media related to the above subject. Words in italics are the thoughts of your truly at the time of reading the article.  

 

 

'Researchers with the University of Buffalo School of Pharmacy assessed the use of cannabis products in a cohort of 69 PD patients. All of the study’s participants possessed an authorization from their doctor to access state-licensed medical cannabis products. Most subjects consumed cannabis in the form of a tincture containing a 1 to 1 ratio of THC and CBD.

Investigators reported: “Eight-seven percent of patients exhibit[ed] an improvement in PD symptoms after starting MC [medical cannabis]. Symptoms with the highest incidence of improvement included cramping/dystonia, pain, spasticity, lack of appetite, dyskinesia [involuntary movements], and tremor. After starting MC, 56 percent of opioid users were able to decrease or discontinue opioid use with an average daily morphine milligram equivalent change from 31 at baseline to 22 at the last follow-up visit. MC was well-tolerated with no severe AEs [adverse events] reported and low rate of MC discontinuation due to AEs.”

Nearly 25 percent of US patients with Parkinson’s disease report being active cannabis consumers, according to survey data compiled by the Parkinson’s Foundation. Separate survey data compiled last year by researchers with the University of Colorado reports that PD patients who use either CBD or whole-plant cannabis products frequently acknowledge improvements in their sleep, pain, anxiety, and agitation.'

https://norml.org/news/2023/04/20/study-patients-with-parkinsons-disease-report-symptom-relief-use-fewer-opioids-following-cannabis-treatment/

 

'Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by the loss of dopaminergic neurons in the Substantia Nigra pars compacta, leading to classical PD motor symptoms. Current therapies are purely symptomatic and do not modify disease progression. Cannabidiol (CBD), one of the main phytocannabinoids identified in Cannabis Sativa, which exhibits a large spectrum of therapeutic properties, including anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects, suggesting its potential as disease-modifying agent for PD. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of chronic treatment with CBD (10 mg/kg, i.p.) on PD-associated neurodegenerative and neuroinflammatory processes, and motor deficits in the 6-hydroxydopamine model. Moreover, we investigated the potential mechanisms by which CBD exerted its effects in this model. CBD-treated animals showed a reduction of nigrostriatal degeneration accompanied by a damping of the neuroinflammatory response and an improvement of motor performance. In particular, CBD exhibits a preferential action on astrocytes and activates the astrocytic transient receptor potential vanilloid 1 (TRPV1), thus, enhancing the endogenous neuroprotective response of ciliary neurotrophic factor (CNTF). These results overall support the potential therapeutic utility of CBD in PD, as both neuroprotective and symptomatic agent. '

https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/22/16/8920

'In the present study, several different approaches, including behavioral measures and the western blot method for protein level assay, were used to investigate whether exposure to marijuana affects the motor and synaptic plasticity impairment induced by 6-OHDA. Marijuana consumption significantly decreased apomorphine-induced contralateral rotation, beam travel time, beam freeze time, and catalepsy time, but significantly increased latency to fall in the rotarod test, balance time, and protein level of PSD-95 and dopamine receptor D1 in the 6-OHDA + marijuana group. These results suggest that marijuana may be helpful for motor disorders and synaptic changes in patients with Parkinson's disease.'

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0166432821002308

'Parkinson’s disease (PD) patients who acknowledge using cannabis frequently report that it provides them with symptomatic relief.

Researchers affiliated with The Michael J. Fox Foundation surveyed nearly 1,900 PD patients regarding their use of cannabis. More than half of the survey’s respondents said that their cannabis consumption provided them with therapeutic benefits. Specifically, respondents said that it improved their sleep, reduced their pain, and elevated their overall mood. Over 30 percent of respondents said that they had not discussed their medical cannabis use with their physician.'

https://norml.org/news/2021/05/06/survey-patients-with-parkinsons-disease-frequently-report-benefits-from-medical-cannabis

'Nearly 25 percent of US patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD) report having recently consumed cannabis, according to survey data compiled by the Parkinson’s Foundation and published in the Nature imprint, Parkinson’s Disease.

Among respondents, 24.5 percent affirmed having used cannabis in the prior six months. The majority of these consumers reported that it provided them with either “moderate or considerable improvement” in their symptoms, particularly in addressing anxiety, pain, sleep disorders, stiffness, and tremors. Most of these respondents said that they did not possesses a formal recommendation from their primary care physician to use cannabis. Slightly more than 20 percent of those who had recently tried cannabis reported no significant improvements in their condition.'

https://norml.org/news/2021/03/11/nearly-25-percent-of-parkinsons-patients-have-used-cannabis-during-the-past-six-months

'PD [Parkinson’s disease]-related cannabis use was reported by 8.4% of patients and associated with younger age, living in large cities and better knowledge about the legal and clinical aspects of MC. Reduction of pain and muscle cramps was reported by more than 40% of cannabis users. Stiffness/akinesia, freezing, tremor, depression, anxiety and restless legs syndrome subjectively improved for more than 20% and overall tolerability was good. Improvement of symptoms was reported by 54% of users applying oral CBD and 68% inhaling THC-containing cannabis. Compared to CBD intake, inhalation of THC was more frequently reported to reduce akinesia and stiffness (50.0% vs. 35.4%; p<0.05). Interest in using MC was reported by 65% of non-users.
Conclusion:MC is considered as a therapeutic option by many PD patients.'

https://content.iospress.com/articles/journal-of-parkinsons-disease/jpd202260

'The second study was a case series of four PD [Parkinson's Disease] patients with REM sleep behavior disorder (RBD). All had prompt, substantial, and persistent reductions in he frequency of RBD after CBD treatment. After drug discontinuation, the complex movements of RBD returned with baseline frequency and intensity. The third study was an exploratory double-blind trial of CBD versus placebo. Twenty-one PD patients without dementia or comorbid psychiatric conditions were assigned to three groups of seven subjects each who were treated with placebo, CBD 75 mg/day, or CBD 300 mg/day. Participants were assessed with respect to motor and general symptoms score (Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale [UPDRS]) and well-being and quality of life (Parkinson’s Disease Questionnaire [PDQ-39]). There were no differences across groups in motor score. However, the groups treated with CBD 300 mg/day had significantly different mean total scores in the PDQ-39. The authors point to a possible effect of CBD in improving measures related to quality of life in PD patients without psychiatric comorbidities.'
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7115444/

'The goal of the conference is to bring together a diverse group of experts from academia, clinics, industry, government and the Parkinson's community to establish a consensus on medical marijuana use in PD. The conference will address the potential benefits and risks of medical marijuana for people with PD, potential delivery methods, safety considerations, approval as a therapeutic for PD patients, and areas for more rigorous clinical research.'

https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/parkinsons-foundation-hosts-its-first-ever-medical-marijuana-and-parkinsons-disease-conference-300757678.html


'Republican Representative Doug House's legislation would add dozens of medical conditions to the list of those that qualify patients to use medicinal cannabis.

They include asthma, ADD, bipolar disorder, Parkinson's disease, and traumatic brain injury.'
https://www.kark.com/news/politics/bill-filed-to-expand-medical-marijuana-access-in-arkansas/1702477978


The 21 qualifying conditions for medical marijuana in Ohio includes Parkinson's disease and traumatic brain injury

'The Enquirer set out to determine how many Ohioans could be eligible for medical marijuana under the 21 qualifying conditions from the Ohio Department of Health, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and private nonprofits that raise money for medical research. For many diseases, the numbers of patients are estimates, since the government does not track patient counts for every ailment. The conclusion: About 3.5 million Ohioans deal with at least one of the qualifying conditions. Ohio's population is 11.66 million'
https://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/2018/07/18/3-10-ohioans-eligible-medical-marijuana-card/784017002/


Pennsylvania's list of medical conditions qualifying for medical marijuana includes Parkinson's disease

' In particular, I would really love to see anxiety, depression and ADHD added,” Spaar said.'
https://triblive.com/state/pennsylvania/14367032-74/pennsylvania-to-consider-more-conditions-that-should-qualify-for-medical-marijuana


'Recently, it (marijuana) has been successfully utilized as an adjunctive treatment for malignant brain tumors, Parkinson's disease (PD), Alzheimer's disease (AD), multiple sclerosis (MS), neuropathic pain, and the childhood seizure disorders, Lennox-Gastaut and Dravet syndromes. In this review, we provide animal/human research data on the current clinical/neurological uses for CBD alone or with Delta9-THC, emphasizing its neuroprotective, antiinflammatory, and immunomodulatory benefits when applied to various clinical situations.'
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5938896/


'Using Beta-arrestin2 recruitment and cAMP accumulation assays, we recently found that the nonpsychoactive phytocannabinoid cannabidiol (CBD) is an inverse agonist for GPR3, GPR6, and GPR12. This discovery highlights these orphan receptors as potential new molecular targets for CBD, provides novel mechanisms of action, and suggests new therapeutic uses of CBD for illnesses such as Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, cancer, and infertility. Furthermore, identification of CBD as a new inverse agonist for GPR3, GPR6, and GPR12 provides the initial chemical scaffolds upon which potent and efficacious agents acting on these receptors can be developed, with the goal of developing chemical tools for studying these orphan receptors and ultimately new therapeutic agents.'
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41401-018-0031-9


'However, emerging evidences suggest the role of cannabinoid receptors (CBRs) in curtailing the progression of PD by activating neuroprotective pathways. Hence, cannabinoid therapy could be a promising alternative to combat PD in future. In the present review we have discussed the potential role of CBRs in attenuating the key mechanisms of PD and how the existing research gaps needs to be bridged in order to understand the molecular mechanism of CBRs in detail.'
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0361923018306208


'Under a law passed in 2015 and tweaked twice since then, Louisiana is allowing therapeutic cannabis to treat a long list of diseases and disorders, such as cancer, a severe form of cerebral palsy, seizure disorders, epilepsy and muscular dystrophy. Earlier this year, lawmakers added glaucoma, severe muscle spasms, intractable pain, post-traumatic stress disorder and Parkinson’s disease.'
https://apnews.com/89637c7abda94107a41f70c6ab1c044f


'The Peruvian Congress on Thursday approved a bill that authorises the medicinal and therapeutic use of cannabis in the country. The bill will allow the use of marijuana and its derivatives, such as cannabis oil, to alleviate the pain that comes with diseases such as cancer, epilepsy and Parkinson’s'
https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-life/peru-approves-medicinal-use-of-marijuana/article19892647.ece


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