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Marijuana-based drug reduces fibromyalgia pain
Patients with fibromyalgia treated with a synthetic form of marijuana, nabilone, showed significant reductions in pain and anxiety in a first-of-its-kind study, published in The Journal of Pain.
2-18-`07 | ScienceDaily.com

Fibromyalgia syndrome has no cure, is difficult to diagnose, and effective pain management strategies are a must to help patients cope with the disease. An estimated 12 million Americans have fibromyalgia, which is characterized by widespread muscle and joint pain and myriad other symptoms. The condition is far more prevalent in women and the incidence increases with age, reaching 7 percent among women 65 years and older.

Forty subjects were selected for the nabilone trial, conducted by researchers at the University of Manitoba Rehabilitation Hospital. They were divided into nabilone and placebo groups and were treated for four weeks. The authors noted this was the first randomized, controlled-access trial to evaluate nabilone for pain reduction and quality-of-life improvement in fibromyalgia patients. Nabilone is one of two oral marijuana-based compounds, known as cannabinoids, available in Canada and is approved for treatment of nausea and vomiting during chemotherapy.

Results of the Manitoba study showed the nabilone group had significant reductions in pain and anxiety, measured by comparisons with baseline scores on the visual analogue scale for pain, the Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire (FIQ) and the FIQ anxiety score. From the data, the study concluded nabilone has significant benefits for pain relief and functional improvement in fibromyalgia patients. Although the improvement was significant, none of the nabilone-treated subjects had complete relief of their fibromyalgia symptoms.

The drug was well tolerated by treated patients, which the authors characterized as reassuring since fibromyalgia patients are sensitive to most medications and have difficulty tolerating side effects. The downside, however, is cost. In Canada, nabilone would cost about $4,000 for a year's supply.

The authors believe their findings warrant consideration of nabilone as an adjunct to current medical management of fibromyalgia.

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<Taki> a long smooth tail and a bunch of little hardened pellets making up a complex head

<Taki> I didn't want to flush it, it's probably the closest thing I'll have to a son

<bryant> I think in the 3 days I've seen you in this channel you've done a better job keeping me in school and off drugs than every authority figure I've met in my entire life.

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jrbennett

God put marijuana on this earth for me and you. So lets join together and pray.

dedbr

All they needed to do was ask some of the people who have Fibro about how good herb is for pain relief! I have fibro and sometimes herb is the only thing that will stop the burning feeling. I don't think I'd ever want to stop smoking again just for that reason......

It is a wonderful analgesic........ But we all knew that one, huh?


Some Where In Ded Land..........

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"Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power."

Abraham Lincoln
Happy New Year.......

Jake

This is the two-facedness that I never got: How can you isolate some compounds in cannabis, put it in a pill, and get it approved by the FDA, yet still have cannabis listed as having no medical value?

Glad it's helping with the pain, ded....

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Buzzby

Easy. Cannabis contains some 400 compounds, 60 of which are cannabinoids. They occur naturally at different levels and in different proportions from variety to variety and even plant to plant. By the FDA's standards, the composition of a drug must be consistent if it's going to be put on the market. For instance, you wouldn't want one aspirin tablet to contain 1 grain and others in the same bottle to contain 5 grains of the active ingredient.

Having determined that a certain dose of THC is effective, the FDA doesn't want the patient to get a fifth of that dose or ten times that dose. They don't want to give people drugs whose effect is not going to be the same from dose to dose, so naturally occurring marijuana doesn't meet their criteria. It can have any amount of THC per dose and dozens of other chemicals in inconsistent quantities affecting the outcome.

Many drugs are isolated from plants. Use of the whole plant would not have the same effect as using the specific extracted drug.

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