
Cannabis
Nabilone safe and effective in pain reduction in combination with gabapentin compared to placebo
Pain Med. 2015 Jan;16(1):149-59. doi: 10.1111/pme.12569Current convention in managing neuropathic pain (NPP) from relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) often involves gabapentin (GBP) as first-line therapy and cannabis (CB) as an alternative, had other therapies not worked. The combination of GBP and CB has not been explored. In this study, 15 patients with NPP from RRMS and still experience considerable pain after a stable dosage of GBP were randomly assigned to receive either nabilone (a synthetic oral CB) up to 1mg twice a day, or placebo for 9 weeks. Patients were assessed on changes in pain and its impact on daily function on a Visual Analogue scale, as well as the incidence of adverse events. Nabilone-receiving patients demonstrated significantly greater pain reduction throughout the study and significant impact reduction for the first 4 weeks than placebo-receiving patients. Additionally, no serious safety concerns were reported in both groups.
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