CANNABINOID USE IN PROGRESSIVE INFLAMMATORY BRAIN DISEASE (CUPID) MRI SUB–STUDY

Introduction In progressive Multiple Sclerosis (MS), there is no proven therapy for preventing accumulation of irreversible disability. The pathological substrate of irreversible disability in MS is neuroaxonal loss, and brain tissue volume loss on MRI can infer such pathology. There is experimental evidence to suggest that cannabinoids may have a neuroprotective and anti–inflammatory effect, although in a recent UK clinical trial (CUPID), oral cannabinoid did not slow the development of disability in progressive MS compared with placebo.

Aims Using serial MRI brain scans obtained during the CUPID trial, we compared oral Delta 9–tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ9–THC) versus placebo for the following: (i) rates of new T2 hyperintense and new T1 hypointense lesions, and (ii) rate of brain atrophy.

Methods   —- click here to continue reading