Plymouth, United Kingdom: Cannabinoids and cannabis extracts significantly reduce incontinence in patients with multiple sclerosis, according to clinical trial data published this month in The International Urogynecology Journal.
Six hundred and thirty patients participated in the randomized, placebo-controlled trial. Volunteers were randomly administered cannabis extracts, oral THC, or placebo. Investigators assessed patients’ progress via subjects’ incontinence diaries.
Subjects administered cannabis extracts reported a 38 percent reduction in incontinence episodes from baseline to the end of treatment. Patients administered oral THC reported a 33 percent reduction. “The findings are suggestive of a clinical effect of cannabis on incontinence episodes in patients with MS,” investigators concluded.
A previous clinical trial published last year in the Journal of Urology found that the administration of natural cannabis extracts relieved urinary dysfunction in patients with advanced Multiple Sclerosis. “Urinary urgency, the number and volume of incontinence episodes, frequency and nocturia (excessive urination at night) all decreased significantly” in patients following eight weeks of treatment, the study found.
Previous trials on patients with MS and spinal cord injury have also noted similar results.
For more information, please contact Paul Armentano, NORML Senior Policy Analyst, at (202) 483-5500. Full text of the study, “The effect of cannabis on urge incontinence in patients with multiple sclerosis,” appears in the March issue of The International Urogynecology Journal.