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Use of Cannabinoids for Spasticity and Pain Management in MS

Current Treatment Options in Neurology volume 18, Article number: 1 (2016) Cite this article

Opinion statement

Several randomized trials have demonstrated potential benefit of cannabis derivatives in the symptomatic treatment of multiple sclerosis (MS) patients. These provide class 1 and 2 evidence for cannabinoid product use for spasticity and pain in these patients. The precise best ratio or doses are not yet clear. The safety and potential long-term effects of these products on cognitive function in people with MS have not been evaluated. Since short-term memory and processing speed can be significantly impaired in many people with MS, the concern of potential cognitive impairment related to cannabis products needs consideration in clinical care and should be addressed in longer, prospective studies.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neurology, University of California, San Francisco, 350 Parnassus Avenue, 304 A, San Francisco, CA, 94117, USA

    Hardeep Chohan MD, Ariele L. Greenfield MD & Jennifer Graves MD, PhD

  2. Department of Neurology, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, OR, USA

    Vijayshree Yadav MD

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  1. Hardeep Chohan MD
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  2. Ariele L. Greenfield MD
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  3. Vijayshree Yadav MD
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  4. Jennifer Graves MD, PhD
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Correspondence to Hardeep Chohan MD.

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Conflict of Interest

Hardeep Chohan, Ariele L Greenfield, and Vijayshree Yadav each declare no potential conflicts of interest.

Jennifer Graves reports grants from Genentech and Race to Erase MS.

Human and Animal Rights and Informed Consent

This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects performed by any of the authors.

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This article is part of the Topical Collection on Multiple Sclerosis and Related Disorders

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Chohan, H., Greenfield, A.L., Yadav, V. et al. Use of Cannabinoids for Spasticity and Pain Management in MS. Curr Treat Options Neurol 18, 1 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11940-015-0385-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11940-015-0385-y

Keywords

  • Multiple sclerosis
  • Cannabinoids
  • Spasticity
  • Pain
  • Tetrahydrocannabinol
  • Cannabidiol