In fact, cannabis is the best natural treatment for Parkinson’s disease, new medical studies show

Recent studies show that cannabis is indeed the best natural treatment for Parkinson’s disease

Parkinson’s disease is one of the most common neurodegenerative diseases.

It was named by Jean-Martin Charcot, a French neurologist, in 1872 after the disease was first identified by James Parkinson in 1817. Over a century later, there is still no known cure for this disease that robs people of their dignity and quality of life. However, numerous modern treatments have been developed, including dopamine therapy, surgery, and even deep brain stimulation to heal the affected area in the brain.

The problem with pharmaceutical drugs developed for Parkinson’s disease is that they also leave patients with numerous undesirable side effects. These drugs are primarily designed to increase dopamine levels, since the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease appear when dopamine levels drop too low. While all Parkinson’s patients experience different symptoms, the medications commonly used are all the same; these include levodopa, dopamine agonists, anticholinergics, glutamate antagonists, COMT inhibitors and MAO-B inhibitors.

Side effects of Parkinson’s drugs include nausea, low blood pressure, involuntary movements, hallucinations, confusion, and behavior problems — like the uncontrollable desire to have sex or gamble.

Fortunately, more and more patients are finding hope when using cannabis-based medicines.

What the studies say

In 2021, a survey of patients with Parkinson’s disease in Germany analyzed the effects of cannabis products. The results, published in the Journal of Parkinson’s Disease, reported that more than half of patients confirmed positive clinical outcomes. In Germany, THC products can already be prescribed if conventional medicines have not worked. CBD is now available without a prescription on the Internet and in pharmacies.

“Medical cannabis was legally approved in Germany in 2017, when approval was granted for treatment-resistant symptoms in severely affected patients regardless of diagnosis and without clinical evidence-based data,” says the study’s lead investigator, Professor Carsten Buhmann of Germany’s Universitätsklinikum Hamburg-Eppendorf Klinik for neurology. Researchers intended to analyze prescriptions for MMJ and then assess feedback from patients using it. The study was nationally cross-sectional and used a questionnaire format. 1,300 questionnaires were then filled out.

They found that 54% of existing patients using cannabis strains for Parkinson’s disease reported that they were beneficial and that they were well tolerated overall. More than 40% of them said marijuana was effective in treating muscle spasms and pain, while over 20% said it helped reduce stiffness, anxiety, tremors, freezing and restless legs.

“Our data confirm that Parkinson’s patients have a keen interest in medical cannabis treatment, but lack knowledge about ingestion and in particular the differences between the two main cannabinoids THC and CBD,” added Buhmann.

The Michael J Fox Foundation (MJFF) recently conducted a survey through their online platform called Fox Insight. Established to raise awareness of Parkinson’s disease, the MJFF conducts research through patient participation in hopes of finding an objective test, and supports the development of new treatments.

Researchers from the University of Colorado, namely Samantha Holden, MD, MS, and her colleagues surveyed participants about the type of cannabis they were consuming and how much CBD and THC; They also inquired how often they use it and how long they have been treated with it.

Nearly 1,900 patients with Parkinson’s disease shared their feedback. The results, published in the journal Movement Disorders Clinical Practice, showed that over 70% of patients use marijuana once a day, most commonly through oral consumption. While some of them were unsure of the type of cannabis they were taking, nearly half were ingesting products high in CBD, while 15% were ingesting nearly equal amounts of CBD and THC.

Many patients said cannabis helped them with pain, anxiety, anxiety, or sleep.

In a 2022 survey of 1,881 patients with Parkinson’s disease, researchers at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus analyzed symptoms and prescription drug use after cannabis administration.

The data showed that respondents found the greatest benefits to cannabis in the areas of pain, sleep, anxiety and agitation after consuming either whole plant cannabis or CBD. However, patients who also took high-potency THC reported improvements in depression, tremors, appetite, and nausea, although they found that it worsened bradykinesia, a Parkinson’s symptom associated with slow movements. As with other studies, many respondents indicated that cannabis helps them wean prescription medications, particularly those used for anxiety and pain.

“These survey results provide a broad overview of real-world usage patterns and experiences of a large group of people living with Parkinson’s and provide the first results regarding the differential symptomatic effects of higher-THC and higher-CBD products,” the authors concluded . “In summary, people with Parkinson’s report that cannabis subjectively improves some Parkinson’s-related symptoms, with higher-THC products more often providing benefits than higher-CBD products,” the authors concluded.

“Next steps should include more rigorous, controlled studies, based on the results presented here, to more objectively examine the effects of different types of cannabis on Parkinson’s symptoms, as well as the effects of different delivery methods and specific doses,” they wrote.

Conclusion

With all the tremendously positive feedback from patients, cannabis shows promise as a natural alternative to current Parkinson’s medications. There’s still a lot we don’t know about it like the best THC:CBD ratio and route of administration, but with more studies like this we should know more in no time.

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