Sydney, Australia: The administration of plant-derived cannabis extracts containing standardized percentages of THC and CBD is associated with symptomatic improvements in adolescent patients with Tourette syndrome (TS), according to data published in the journal BJPsych Open.
Australian investigators assessed the efficacy of standardized cannabis extracts in ten teenagers (mean age: 14) with refractory TS. Study participants consumed cannabis oil once daily in the evening.
“There was positive signal of efficacy with a statistically significant improvement in parent and self-reported tics and quality of life, as well as behavioral/emotional issues,” researchers reported. “Commonly reported adverse events were tiredness and drowsiness, followed by dry mouth.”
The study’s authors concluded: “Although there is emerging evidence supporting the use of cannabis-based interventions in the management of Tourette syndrome in adults, this study uniquely contributes to the evidence on the benefits and safety of medicinal cannabis in adolescents with Tourette syndrome. … A larger scale, randomized controlled trial is needed to validate these findings.”
Separate data involving adults with TS reports that the sustained use of cannabis reduces tic frequency by as much as 75 percent, while also improving patients’ mood, anxiety, and sleep.
Full text of the study, “Medicinal cannabis for tics in adolescents with Tourette syndrome,” appears in BJPsych Open. Additional information on cannabinoids and TS is available from NORML’s publication, Clinical Applications for Cannabis and Cannabinoids.