Madrid, Spain: The daily administration of an oral spray containing standardized doses of THC and CBD provides sustained improvements for patients diagnosed with Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS), according to data published in the Journal of Neurology.
Spanish researchers assessed the efficacy of Sativex, a proprietary oral spray containing 2.7 mg of plant-derived THC and 2.5 mg of plant-derived cannabinol, in 18 patients with RLS. Study participants self-administered the spray in the evening prior to the onset of RLS symptoms. Subjects’ symptoms were assessed at baseline, at one month, three months, and at one year.
Patients experienced short-term and long-term benefits from cannabinoid treatment.
Researchers reported, “Treatment with 2.7 mg THC/2.5 mg CBD was well tolerated and showed a significant improvement in clinical and sleep parameters, reducing RLS severity after 1 and 3 months of treatment and decreasing wake after sleep onset measured by actigraphy. The clinical improvement in IRLS [International Restless Legs Syndrome Rating Scale] persisted after 1 year of treatment.”
The study’s authors concluded, “These data offer a new line of investigation in RLS treatment, which can have a major clinical impact in this population.”
A case series involving 12 patients reported that inhaled cannabis is similarly associated with self-reported improvements in patients with RLS, whereas a clinical trial found the use of oral CBD alone to be ineffective at mitigating RLS in patients with Parkinson’s disease.
Full text of the study, “Tetrahydrocannabinol/cannabidiol in the treatment of restless legs syndrome,” appears in the Journal of Neurology.