Bochum, Germany: Cannabinoid treatment is associated with improvements in dystonia in patients with early-onset Huntington’s disease, according to observational data published online ahead of print in the Journal of Huntington’s Disease.
A team of investigators from Germany and Austria assessed the treatment of various synthetic or organic cannabinoid preparations – including Sativex, dronabinol, and nabilone – in seven HD patients who had been unresponsive to conventional therapies.
“Treatment with cannabinoids in all cases lead to an improvement of motor symptoms, mainly driven by improvement of dystonia,” authors concluded. Patients generally reported “no relevant side effects.”
Huntington’s disease is a degenerative brain disorder that often goes unresponsive to conventional treatments.
For more information, contact Paul Armentano, NORML Deputy Director, at: paul@norml.org. Full text of the study, “Cannabinoids for treatment of dystonia in Huntington’s Disease,” appears in the Journal of Huntington’s Disease.