Can Cannabis Compounds Slow The Progression Of Multiple Sclerosis?
The CUPID (Cannabinoid Use in Progressive Inflammatory brain Disease) study at the Peninsula Medical School in Plymouth has reached an important milestone with the news that the full cohort of 493 people with multiple sclerosis (MS) has been recruited to the study.CUPID is a clinical trial which will evaluate whether tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), one of many compounds found in the in the cannabis plant (and the main active ingredient) is able to slow the progression of MS.
This is an important study for people with MS because current treatments either target the immune system in the early stages of MS, or are aimed at easing specific symptoms such as muscle spasms or bladder problems. At present there is no treatment which slows progression of the disease.
The CUPID trial follows an earlier study — Cannabinoids and Multiple Sclerosis (CAMS) — which suggested a link between THC and the slowing of MS. The CAMS trial saw participants take THC for a year — the CUPID trial will last for longer and aims to assess the effect of THC on progressive MS.
It has taken two years to recruit the 493 participants who will each take part in the trial for three years, and in some cases three and a half years. After data cleaning and analysis the results should be available by spring/early summer 2012.
The anecdotal data are out there – I have personal experience with one MS patient who claims her cannabis regimen has halted the progression of her disease and allowed her to continue with her career as a graphic designer. This is the kind of study our government needs to be funding, instead of the constant attention to pseudo-science designed to show marijuana’s alleged harms.
