Health News
2007-02-13
Marijuana lessens
HIV nerve pain
HIV-associated
nerve pain, including aching, numbness, and burning, is
quelled by smoking marijuana, reports a new study in the
jour
HIV-associated
nerve pain, including aching, numbness, and burning, is
quelled by smoking marijuana, reports a new study in the
journal Neurology.
In the study, 50
people with sensory neuropathy, the most common HIV
nerve disorder, were randomly assigned marijuana or placebo
cigarettes to smoke three times a day for five days.
Results showed that those who smoked marijuana
experienced 34% less daily nerve pain; placebo smokers
saw a 17% dip.
"Our findings
show the amount of relief from smoking marijuana is
comparable to relief provided by oral drugs currently used
for chronic nerve pain," said study author Donald
Abrams of San Francisco General Hospital in a
statement.
The study also
found that the first marijuana cigarette reduced chronic
pain by an average of 72%, compared with 15% with the
placebo. More than 50% of the people who smoked
marijuana reported greater than 30% pain reduction;
the placebo group reported 24%.
Participants in
the study reported no serious side effects.
Some HIV patients
with chronic nerve pain are able to take anticonvulsant
drugs, such as lamotrigine and gabapentin, to ease pain.
However, Abrams said, some patients don't respond well
to these drugs. Similar results were reported in two
recent studies of marijuana for nerve pain associated
with multiple sclerosis. (The Advocate)
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