Tag: United Kingdom

International researchers estimate that as many as 350 million people around the globe suffer from some form of arthritis. Arthritis is defined as painful inflammation and stiffness of the joints.

Symptoms of arthritis include pain, stiffness, and swelling, as well as the affected joint(s) being a different color than usual. The affected joint(s) may also not be able to move or stretch as much as it used to.

Researchers in the United Kingdom recently conducted a study examining cannabis use by suffering arthritis patients. Below is more information about the results of the study via a news release from NORML:

London, United Kingdom: Patients with inflammatory arthritis report reduced pain and sustained improvements in their health-related quality of life following their use of medical cannabis preparations, according to observational data published in the journal International Clinical Psychopharmacology.

British researchers assessed the use of cannabis-based medicinal products (CBMPs) consisting of either flower or oil extracts in 82 patients enrolled in the UK Medical Cannabis Registry. (Since 2018, British specialists have been permitted to prescribe cannabis-based medicinal products to patients unresponsive to conventional medications.) Researchers assessed changes in patient-reported outcomes measures at one, three, six, and 12 months.

Patients consistently reported improvements in anxiety, pain, and sleep during the length of the study

The study’s authors concluded: “This study demonstrates an associated improvement in pain severity and other relevant outcomes in individuals prescribed CBMPs for inflammatory arthritis-associated chronic pain. In addition, CBMPs were largely well tolerated by the majority of patients. … [T]hese results provide further support for continued evaluation of CBMPs in this setting.”

Other observational studies assessing the use of cannabis products in patients enrolled in the UK Cannabis Registry have reported them to be effective for those suffering from chronic pain, anxiety, post-traumatic stress, depression, migraine, multiple sclerosis, osteoarthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, and other afflictions.

Full text of the study, “Assessment of clinical outcomes in patients with inflammatory arthritis: Analysis from the UK Medical Cannabis Registry,” appears in the International Clinical Psychopharmacology. Additional information on cannabis and arthritis is available from NORML’s publication, Clinical Applications for Cannabis & Cannabinoids.

It is no secret that as humans age they experience health conditions at an increasing rate. As the saying goes, Father Time is undefeated. However, there are therapeutic strategies that older individuals can incorporate to help alleviate some ailments that occur as we age.

Medical cannabis therapies are an option for aging patients, with medical cannabis products increasing in popularity among senior citizens across the globe, including in the United Kingdom.

A team of researchers in the United Kindom recently conducted a study involving older patients and medical cannabis. Many of the study’s participants reported improvements after medical cannabis use. Below is more information about it via a news release from NORML:

London, United Kingdom: Older patients report experiencing better health and well-being following their use of medical cannabis preparations, according to data published in the journal Drugs & Aging.

British researchers assessed the use of cannabis-based medicinal products (CBMPs) consisting of either flower or oil extracts in a cohort of patients ages 65 and older. (British specialists are permitted to prescribe cannabis products to patients unresponsive to conventional medications.) Study participants primarily suffered from chronic pain. Patients consumed cannabis products for three months.

Consistent with the findings of other observational studies, older patients reported “significant improvements” following cannabis use, including “substantial reductions” in pain severity.

The study’s authors concluded: “There were consistent improvements across measures of general health and well-being after three months of treatment. … These findings accord with a growing body of observational and real-world evidence from jurisdictions that have legalized medicinal cannabis that cannabis is effective for improving sleep, mood and quality of health across multiple primary conditions.”

Israeli data published in 2022 similarly reported quality-of-life improvements in medical cannabis patients. Among patients with post-traumatic stress, 91 percent reported that cannabis treatment was a success, as did 84 percent of patients with inflammatory bowel disease, and 78 percent of patients with chronic pain.

According to statistics published in The Journals of Gerontology, more than one-third of those age 65 or older take five or more pharmaceuticals daily.

Full text of the study, “Prescribed medical cannabis use among older individuals: Patient characteristics and improvements in well-being: Findings from T21,” appears in Drugs & Aging. Additional information is available from the NORML Fact Sheet, ‘Cannabis Use by Older Populations.’

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a serious health condition that impacts the lives of many suffering patients around the globe. It is estimated that as many as 2.8 million people suffer from MS worldwide and that a person is diagnosed somewhere on the planet with the health condition every 5 minutes.

MS is a progressive disease involving damage to the sheaths of nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord. Symptoms can include but are not limited to, numbness, impaired speech, impaired muscular coordination, blurred vision, and severe fatigue.

Studies and personal experiences around the world have found that cannabis may be a helpful form of treatment for MS patients. A growing list of patients have reported that cannabis helps them effectively and safely treat their condition.

According to a recent study in the United Kingdom, MS patients reported improvements in their quality of life after completing cannabis therapies. Below is more information about it via a news release from NORML:

London, United Kingdom: Multiple sclerosis (MS) patients report improvements in their health-related quality of life following the use of medical cannabis preparations, according to observational data published in the journal Multiple Sclerosis and Related Disorders.

British researchers assessed the use of cannabis-based medicinal products (CBMPs) consisting of either flower or oil extracts in 141 MS patients enrolled in the UK Medical Cannabis Registry. (Since 2018, British specialists have been permitted to prescribe cannabis-based medicinal products to patients unresponsive to conventional medications.) Researchers assessed changes in patient-reported outcomes measures at one month, three months, and six months.

Patients reported sustained improvements in their physical and mental health following cannabis therapy. They reported few serious adverse health effects during treatment.

“This case series demonstrates a potential association between [the] initiation of CBMPs and improved patient reported outcomes in sleep, anxiety and general HRQoL [health-related quality of life] measures, over six months,” the study’s authors concluded. “Additional measures for HRQoL, including various physical and mental health subdomains, also exhibit improvements up to six months when compared to baseline.”

A prescription cannabis spray (nabiximols aka Sativex) consisting of specific ratios of THC and CBD is currently available in several countries, including Canada, France, Germany, Spain, and the United Kingdom. The drug is not approved in the United States for treatment of any condition.
Full text of the study, “Clinical outcome analysis of patients with multiple sclerosis – Analysis from the UK Medical Cannabis Registry,” appears in Multiple Sclerosis and Related Disorders. Additional information on cannabis and multiple sclerosis is available from NORML’s publication, Clinical Applications for Cannabis & Cannabinoids.

Osteoarthritis is the most common form of arthritis found in adults around the world. Osteoarthritis is a degenerative joint disease, in which the joint tissues degenerate as the patient ages. The health condition is characterized by chronic pain and loss of mobility.

Global researchers estimate that 595 million people worldwide suffered from osteoarthritis in 2020, which is roughly 7.6% of the world’s population. The 2020 rate is an increase of 132.2% in total cases compared to 1990.

Investigators recently conducted a study in the United Kingdom in which they examined the cannabis plant’s ability to treat osteoarthritis. Below is more information about the study and its results via a news release from NORML:

London, United Kingdom: Patients diagnosed with osteoarthritis report pain-specific improvements following their use of medical cannabis preparations, according to observational data published in the Journal of Pain & Palliative Care Pharmacotherapy.

British researchers assessed the use of cannabis-based medicinal products (CBMPs) consisting of either flower or oil extracts in a cohort of osteoarthritis patients enrolled in the UK Medical Cannabis Registry. (Since 2018, British specialists have been permitted to prescribe cannabis-based medicinal products to patients unresponsive to conventional medications.) Researchers assessed changes in patient-reported outcomes measures over a one-year period.

Patients reported symptom improvements at one-month, three-months, six-months, and at one-year.

“Commencement of CBMP treatment was associated with reductions in pain-specific PROMs [patient-reported outcome measures] at all time points in patients with osteoarthritis,” researchers reported. Patients also reported improved sleep. Contrary to the results of several other studies, patients prescribed opioids did not decrease their opioid intake following their initiation of medical cannabis.

Investigators documented few serious side-effects associated with cannabis. “AEs [adverse events] were mainly mild or moderate in severity,” they wrote. “Fatigue was the most common AE in this study.”

The study’s authors concluded: “These results suggest an improvement in pain-related outcomes for patients with osteoarthritis following the initiation of CBMP treatment. Furthermore, there was an improvement in general HRQoL [health-related quality of life] metrics across the follow-up period. CBMPs also appeared to be well-tolerated at 12-month follow-up. … Hence, this study supports the development of RCTs [randomized clinical trials] for CBMP use in osteoarthritis.”

Other studies assessing the use of cannabis products in patients enrolled in the UK Cannabis Registry have reported them to be effective for those suffering from chronic pain, anxiety, post-traumatic stress, depression, migraine, inflammatory bowel disease, and other afflictions.

Full text of the study, “Assessment of clinical outcomes in patients with osteoarthritis: Analysis from the UK Medical Cannabis Registry,” appears in theJournal of Pain & Palliative Care Pharmacotherapy. Additional information on cannabis and arthritis is available from NORML’s publication, Clinical Applications for Cannabis & Cannabinoids.

International researchers estimate that nearly 4% of the world’s population suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Researchers also estimate that 5% of the world’s adult population suffers from depression. They are two of the most common mental health conditions around the globe.

Common treatments for PTSD include different types of trauma-focused psychotherapy as well as pharmaceutical medications. Common treatments for depression include therapy and/or prescribed medications.

A team of researchers in the United Kingdom recently conducted a study looking at the use of cannabis therapies and PTSD and depression. Below is more information about their findings via a news release from NORML:

London, United Kingdom: Patients diagnosed with post-traumatic stress and comorbid depression respond favorably to the use of medical cannabis preparations, according to data published in the journal BMJ Psych Open.

British researchers assessed the use of cannabis-based medicinal products (CBMPs) in a cohort of patients suffering simultaneously from post-traumatic stress and depression. (Since 2018, British specialists have been permitted to prescribe cannabis-based medicinal products to patients unresponsive to conventional medications.) Self-reported symptoms were assessed three months after subjects initiated their cannabis use.

Investigators reported, “Treatment with prescribed cannabis was associated with substantial reductions in the severity of PTSD symptomatology, with these improvements being more marked in individuals with depression.”

They concluded: “Treatment with CBMPs is associated with significant improvements in well-being and quality of life in PTSD after three months. … These results parallel previous findings for quality of life across a broad range of conditions and for PTSD specifically and highlight the potential benefits of CBMPs for symptom reduction and improvements in well-being across a wide range of chronic conditions.”

Prior assessments of patients enrolled in the UK Medical Cannabis Registry who are diagnosed with post-traumatic stress and depression have similarly concluded that cannabis therapy can improve subjects’ health-related quality of life. By contrast, a 2021 clinical trial concluded that the inhalation of marijuana flower provided limited benefits compared to placebo in treating symptoms of PTSD.

Full text of the study, “Medicinal cannabis for treating post-traumatic stress disorder and comorbid depression: Real-world evidence,” appears in BMJ Psych Open. Additional information on cannabis and post-traumatic stress is available from NORML’s publication, Clinical Applications for Cannabis & Cannabinoids.

Insomnia is a very serious health issue all over the globe. Researchers estimate that as many as one out of every three adults around the world suffers from insomnia. Insomnia is a common sleep disorder in which sufferers have trouble falling and/or staying asleep.

The inability to fall asleep and/or stay asleep can have a dramatically negative impact on a person’s life. A lack of sleep, especially if the lack of sleep is chronic, can result in a person having issues with cognitive functions, including memory loss and the inability to focus. Chronic insomnia can result in major depression in some cases.

Researchers in the United Kingdom recently conducted an analysis in which they examined cannabis use and its impact on sustained improvements in sleep quality. Below is more information about the analysis via a news release from NORML:

London, United Kingdom: Insomnia patients who consume cannabis products report sustained improvements in their sleep quality, according to data published in the journal Brain & Behavior.

British investigators assessed the safety and efficacy of plant-derived cannabis products (either oils, flower, or a combination of both) in over 60 patients enrolled in the UK Medical Cannabis Registry. Cohort participants possessed a doctor’s authorization to access cannabis products. (Since 2018, specialists have been permitted to prescribe cannabis-based medicinal products to patients unresponsive to conventional medications.) Authors assessed the efficacy of cannabis at one, three, and six months.

Researchers reported that cannabis products were “well tolerated” and that they were associated with better sleep, reduced anxiety, and greater quality of life.

They concluded: “More than 40 percent of participants who completed each PROM [patient-reported outcome measure] round reported clinically significant improvement in their sleep quality at each time period. These results show that initiation of CBMP [cannabis-based medicinal products] therapy was associated with improvements in those patients who had previously failed to respond to currently licensed treatments for insomnia.”

Other studies assessing the use of cannabis products in patients enrolled in the UK Cannabis Registry have reported them to be effective for those suffering from chronic pain, anxiety, post-traumatic stress, depression, migraine, inflammatory bowel disease, and other afflictions.

Placebo-controlled clinical trial data has previously affirmed the efficacy of plant-derived cannabis extracts in patients suffering from chronic insomnia.

Full text of the study, “UK Medical Cannabis Registry: Assessment of clinical outcomes in patients with insomnia,” appears inBrain & Behavior.Additional information on cannabis and insomnia is available from NORML’s publication, Clinical Applications for Cannabis & Cannabinoids.