Medical cannabis has been observed to improve both motor and non-motor symptoms including bradykinesia, rigidity and tremors in Parkinson’s patients. The following are studies and surveys which document these findings.

 

Patients with Parkinson’s disease report alleviation of symptoms approximately two months after starting daily use of cannabis.

Katerina Venderová, PhD, Assistant Professor at University of the Pacific and former researcher at the Movement Disorders Centre in the Department of Neurology at Charles University in Prague, Czech Republic, et al.,wrote in their Sep. 2004 article “Survey on Cannabis Use in Parkinson’s Disease: subjective improvement of motor symptoms” published in the journal Movement Disorders:

An anonymous questionnaire sent to all patients attending the Prague Movement Disorder Centre revealed that 25% of 339 respondents had taken cannabis and 45.9% of these described some form of benefit.

The late onset of cannabis action is noteworthy. Because most patients reported that improvement occurred approximately 2 months after the first use of cannabis, it is very unlikely that it could be attributed to a placebo reaction. The results from the analytical part of the study (GC/MS) also support our observation that long-term regular use of cannabinoids is crucial.

 

Cannabis treatments improve Parkinson’s patients’ symptoms with no significant adverse effects

Itay Lotan, MD, physician in the Neurology department at Rabin Medical Center in Israel, et al., stated the following in their Mar./Apr. 2014 study titled “Cannabis (Medical Marijuana) Treatment for Motor and Non–Motor Symptoms of Parkinson Disease: An Open-Label Observational Study,” published in Clinical Neuropharmacology:

The aim of the present open-label observational study was to assess the clinical effect of cannabis on motor and non–motor symptoms of PD… Twenty-two patients with PD [Parkinson’s disease] attending the motor disorder clinic of a tertiary medical center in 2011 to 2012 were evaluated at baseline and 30 minutes after smoking cannabis… Results: Mean (SD) total score on the motor Unified Parkinson Disease Rating Scale score improved significantly from 33.1 (13.8) at baseline to 23.2 (10.5) after cannabis consumption (t = 5.9; P < 0.001). Analysis of specific motor symptoms revealed significant improvement after treatment in tremor (P < 0.001), rigidity (P = 0.004), and bradykinesia (P < 0.001).

Conclusions: There was also significant improvement of sleep and pain scores. No significant adverse effects of the drug were observed. The study suggests that cannabis might have a place in the therapeutic armamentarium of PD. Larger, controlled studies are needed to verify the results.

 

Schedule a consultation today with an experienced Heeyl physician, and discover how medical cannabis can help in treating your Parkinson’s disease symptoms.