POT MAY RELIEVE MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS SYMPTOMS

NEW YORK, Mar 01 (Reuters Health) - Add the degenerative neurological
disease multiple sclerosis (MS) to the list of ailments that might be
relieved by marijuana. On the heels of a report that found THC, the active
ingredient in marijuana, holds promise as a treatment for a rare brain
cancer, another study shows that THC and other cannabinoid compounds
relieve MS-like symptoms in laboratory mice.

The evidence is strong enough to justify the testing of these substances in
people with MS, researchers report.

"For some years there has been anecdotal evidence that some people with
multiple sclerosis have found relief from symptoms such as painful spasms
by using cannabis," one of the study's authors, Dr. Lorna Layward, of the
MS Society of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, said in a statement.
"This research sets that evidence in context."

"The study provides a firm basis for the human trials of cannabis in MS
that will commence shortly," she said.

In studies of mice with an MS-like disease, Layward and colleagues found
that tremors in the mice improved within 10 minutes of being treated with a
man-made cannabinoid that attached to structures in the brain called
cannabinoid receptors. Treatment with THC produced similar effects, the
researchers report in the March 2nd issue of the journal Nature.
Cannabinoids and THC also relieved spasticity - muscle stiffness and
rigidity - in the animals.

"From our studies using an experimental model, there are clear signs of
significant reduction of tremor and spasticity for substantial intervals -
some hours - after administration of cannabinoids," another of the study's
authors, Dr. David Baker, of University College in London, said in a
statement. "Although not a cure, our research suggests that cannabinoids
can play a crucial role in controlling some of the neuromuscular problems
seen with MS."

In the report, however, the researchers note that most of the beneficial
effect appears to come from the receptor that also causes the 'high' of
smoking marijuana. But using cannabinoids that block another receptor may
offer some relief without causing people with MS to get high, according to
the report. SOURCE: Nature 2000;404:84-87.