Multiple sclerosis is a complex disease, the exact cause of which researchers are unable to determine. However, the effects of cannabis and CBD have been considered for the potential treatment of the various symptoms of this disease.
Is CBD effective against multiple sclerosis? Early research shows promising signs...
The National Library of Medicine of the United States recognizes the potential of cannabidiol (CBD) for the relief of «spasticity in adult patients with multiple sclerosis (MS)». However, due to the variable nature and random relapses of the disease, multiple sclerosis remains a frustrating condition to treat. Multiple sclerosis affects different people in different ways.
This is largely why the subject of CBD for multiple sclerosis is taking center stage. According to preliminary evidence, it could prove to be a viable treatment option.
In fact, anecdotal evidence is already prompting thousands of multiple sclerosis sufferers to try CBD oil.
A government patent on cannabinoids
Perhaps most shocking is the fact that the US government currently holds a patent on cannabinoids as a «neuroprotectant». The patent cites cannabinoids' ability to act as neuroprotectants that limit neurological damage. Of course, neurodegeneration and neurological damage are one of the main drawbacks of multiple sclerosis.
In this article, we'll look at how MS attacks nerve fibers and disrupts neurological pathways. We'll also look at how cannabidiol (CBD) can influence these pathways. While CBD oil for multiple sclerosis should not be considered a cure, it can provide an alternative form of relief.
Multiple sclerosis: What it is, what it does, and how people get it
The National Multiple Sclerosis Society defines MS as an «immune-mediated» disease. The body's immune system attacks the fibers of the central nervous system (which includes the brain and spinal cord).
Once nerve fibers have been damaged, scar tissue begins to form. This scar tissue can interrupt neurological communication between the brain and other parts of the body. Neuronal communication is vital for many human functions, including motor skills and behavior.
The severity of symptoms experienced by multiple sclerosis sufferers depends on the location of nerve fiber damage. It also depends on the number of damaged fibers. In milder cases, MS symptoms can be as mild as mood swings or muscle spasms. In more severe cases, victims may be left with paralysis and/or a total inability to control bodily functions.
In terms of prevalence, multiple sclerosis is a relatively rare disease. It affects around 400,000 people in the United States, and about 2 million worldwide. Although researchers still don't know what triggers multiple sclerosis, we do know a few things about it. For example, we know that women of Northern European origin aged between 20 and 55 are most at risk.
Risk factors for MS
Genetics and family history seem to play an important role in the onset of MS. We also know that exposure to environmental agents can increase risk. The good news is that not all sufferers experience overly disabling symptoms. In fact, many lead relatively normal daily lives.
Moreover, contrary to popular belief, multiple sclerosis is not necessarily an incurable disease. While in some cases the disease is degenerative (i.e. worsens over time) and ends in death, the average lifespan of people with multiple sclerosis is in fact only slightly less than the average lifespan of American adults.
Conventional methods of treating multiple sclerosis
Multiple sclerosis has four different stages, or «disease courses». Conventional treatments and prescriptions depend on the stage the patient is at. In order of increasing severity, the four stages of MS are as follows:
- clinically isolated syndrome (CIS)
- relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS)MS prog
- resive primary (SPPP)
- Secondary progressive MS (SPMS)
Given the intermittent nature of multiple sclerosis, patients can go months, even years, without receiving a diagnosis. However, if diagnosed, prescription drugs are usually the treatment of choice. Prescription drugs for MS include interferons such as Avonex and Betaseron, as well as immunomodulators such as Copaxone.
Interferons work by reducing the number of white blood cells in the body. This limits the «sources» of attack on CNS nerve fibers. However, since white blood cells make up the immune system and protect against disease, these drugs can be dangerous. They may even produce side effects similar to those of chemotherapy.
Drugs prescribed for MS can have side effects similar to those of chemotherapy. Could CBD be a safer, more effective alternative?
The risk of side effects from MS drugs
Immunomodulators such as Copaxone generally have fewer serious side effects than interferons. However, these drugs are not always effective for patients. Functionally, they act like «sacrificial myelin» during MS attacks. This is because it is the synthetic amino acids that bear the brunt of the immune response, rather than the protective myelin sheath of nerve fibers.
Ultimately, most people with MS don't care what kind of treatment they take, or where it comes from. The only thing that matters to them is whether or not the medication is effective, and to what extent it allows them to live a normal life. Those who seek alternative treatments like CBD oil usually do so for one of the following reasons:
- Their prescription drugs are ineffective
- Their prescribed medical regimen produces too many or too severe side effects
- Their prescription drugs are too expensive
CBD for multiple sclerosis: is it the real deal?
What's so frustrating about the lack of attention and research into CBD as a viable treatment for multiple sclerosis is the fact that, as we've said, the US government holds a patent on the drug for its ability to limit neurological damage.
This simple fact can be considered in two ways. On the one hand, the fact that the cannabinoid is recognized by the National Institute of Health as a neuroprotectant is practically a signed, sealed and delivered acknowledgement of its ability to treat multiple sclerosis.
The fact that CBD for multiple sclerosis has shown its potential to offer effective and productive relief from the disease is irrelevant - if it's not financially viable for drug manufacturers, you probably won't see the majority of doctors prescribing it. And of course, there's nothing financially viable about a natural 100 % plant you can grow at home.
CBD, multiple sclerosis and what you need to know
One thing we haven't necessarily clarified is the difference in function between CBD and THC. THC, of course, is the archetypal component of marijuana; it's the one that gets us high and is the source of generations of legal condemnations and »lazy stoner« clichés .
CBD, on the other hand, has none of these psychoactive properties - it won't get you any higher than an ibuprofen tablet. Instead, the molecule functions as an «endocannabinoid supplement», meaning that our bodies are full of natural 100 % cannabinoid receptors that work hand in hand with natural 100 % endocannabinoids.
If there's an absence or deficiency in the production of these endocannabinoids, the receptors won't be able to function properly. And it just so happens that the central nervous system is the area of the body most densely populated with cannabinoid receptors - the same area where multiple sclerosis attacks nerve fibers.
MS and possible endocannabinoid deficiency
Could multiple sclerosis be a disease linked to a basic endocannabinoid deficiency? No one can answer this question without years of research. That said, anecdotal evidence already suggests that an odd relationship may exist between the two components.
A great deal of research will be needed to understand any potential dynamics between MS and endocannabinoid deficiency.
For now, at least, it seems that people with multiple sclerosis will have to continue to rely on self-treatment methods and, unless they live in a state where medicine is legalized, they will have to resort to «unconventional» approaches to obtain alternative medicines like CBD oil.
The incredibly comical irony that the federal government has a medically viable patent on CBD, while maintaining Schedule I status on the plant from which it comes, is a discussion that will have to wait for another time and place. Whatever it takes for someone with multiple sclerosis to receive treatment and reclaim the parts of their life that the disease has taken away, it's a small price to pay in the grand scheme of things.
Current research on cannabis and multiple sclerosis
Believe it or not, dozens of academic and research publications have appeared in recent years on the use of cannabinoids as a potential treatment for MS. Here, we present five of the most relevant studies to date. But beware - the information contained here may make you violently angry considering the fact that the government has not pursued clinical trials for the use of CBD on multiple sclerosis.
| PUBLICATION | Year | Extract |
|---|---|---|
Sources and scientific studies are cited and linked in the content of the above article.
- Multiple sclerosis