Medical marijuana eases some MS symptoms, neurologists report

There is strong evidence that medical marijuana pills may reduce symptoms of spasticity and pain reported by multiple sclerosis patients, but little proof that smoking pot offers the same benefit, according to new alternative treatment guidelines released by the American Academy of Neurology.

The guidelines on complementary and alternative medicine, or CAM, treatments for MS were published Monday in the journal Neurology and are among the first from a national medical organization to suggest that doctors might offer cannabis treatment to patients.

Though advocates of medical marijuana use said the guidelines appeared to be part of a recent national trend in which doctors were seriously evaluating the use of cannabis, they argued that the federal government had stymied marijuana research.

"The reason there's no evidence on inhaled cannabis is because it's very difficult to study," said Dr. Donald Abrams, a professor of clinical medicine at the University of California San Francisco and a marijuana researcher who was not involved in the guideline study. "The government really restricts studies of the plant."

A panel of AAN researchers based their guidelines on a review of 115 clinical studies that examined a variety of alternative MS treatments, including the use of ginkgo biloba, magnets, bee sting venom, reflexology, a low-fat diet and over-the-counter supplements.

The only non-conventional treatment in which authors found "strong evidence" for patient-reported improvements was the use of oral cannabis extracts, or lab-manufactured pills.

"Basically, there is little evidence for the effectiveness of most CAM therapies that people use," said Dr. Vijayshree Yadav, the lead author of the guidelines and an associate professor of neurology at Oregon Health & Science University.

Patient surveys suggest that up to 80% of MS patients employ some form of alternative treatment, including the smoking of "street" marijuana. Yadav said that very few high-quality studies have examined the effectiveness of these treatments, and there was simply too little evidence to support or refute their effectiveness.

"There is really a need for more research," Yadav said.

MS occurs when the body's immune system attacks nerve tissue in the brain and spinal cord, damaging the protective myelin sheath that covers nerve fibers.

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Medical marijuana eases some MS symptoms, neurologists report