Clinical outcome analysis of patients with multiple sclerosis - Analysis from the UK Medical Cannabis Registry.

Introduction: Whilst disease-modifying therapies are the cornerstone for treatment of multiple sclerosis (MS), there is a need to develop novel therapeutics for the symptomatic sequalae of the disease. Cannabis-based medicinal products (CBMPs) have been suggested as a potential therapy for the associated pain, spasticity, and mental health disorders. However, there is a paucity of clinical evidence on CBMPs in MS. The aim of this study is to assess changes in MS-specific and general health-related quality of life (HRQoL) outcomes alongside adverse event incidence in patients prescribed CBMPs for MS from the UK Medical Cannabis Registry (UKMCR).
Method: Patients prescribed CBMPs for MS symptoms for longer than one month were identified from the UKMCR. The primary outcomes were changes from baseline in MS Quality of Life-54 (MSQoL-54), Generalised Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7), Single-Item Sleep Quality Scale (SQS), and EQ-5D-5L scales at one month, three months and six months. p < 0.050 was defined as statistically significant.
Results: 141 patients met the inclusion criteria for the study. There was an improvement in the following subscales of the MSQoL-54 at 6 months: change in health scale, cognitive function, mental health composition, physical health, role limitations due to physical limitation and due to emotional problems, as well as social and sexual function (p < 0.050). There were also improvements in the EQ-5D-5L index value, GAD-7 and SQS (p < 0.050). 146 (103.55 %) adverse events were reported in total. Most were considered mild (n = 47; 33.33 %) and moderate (n = 72; 51.06 %).
Conclusions: This preliminary analysis demonstrates a possible association with improved general health-related quality of life in those prescribed CBMPs for MS. Moreover, the results suggest that CBMPs are well-tolerated in the first 6 months of treatment. However, this must be interpreted with caution considering the limitations of the observational study design.
Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest Coauthor: Name: Mr Matthew Murphy Disclosure: Matthew Murphy is a biomedical sciences student at Imperial College London. Matthew Murphy has no shareholdings in pharmaceutical companies. Coauthor: Name: Ms Varinder Kaur Disclosure: Varinder Kaur is a biomedical sciences student at Imperial College London. Varinder Kaur has no shareholdings in pharmaceutical companies. Coauthor: Name: Ms Hahn Lan Bui Disclosure: Hanh Lan Bui is a biomedical sciences student at Imperial College London. Hanh Lan Bui has no shareholdings in pharmaceutical companies. Coauthor: Name: Mr Toby Yang Disclosure: Toby Yang is a biomedical sciences student at Imperial College London. Toby Yang has no shareholdings in pharmaceutical companies. Coauthor: Name: Dr Simon Erridge Disclosure: Simon Erridge is a junior doctor and is the Head of Research at Curaleaf Clinic. Simon Erridge is an honorary clinical research fellow at Imperial College London. The views expressed are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of the NHS. Simon Erridge has no shareholdings in pharmaceutical companies. … Coauthor: Name: Mr Carl Holvey Disclosure: Carl Holvey is Chief Clinical Pharmacist at Curaleaf Clinic. Carl Holvey has no shareholdings in pharmaceutical companies. Coauthor: Name: Dr Ross Coomber Disclosure: Ross Coomber is a consultant orthopaedic surgeon, Operations Director at Curaleaf Clinic and a consultant at St George's Hospital, London. The views expressed are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of the NHS. Ross Coomber has no shareholdings in pharmaceutical companies. Coauthor: Name: Dr James J Rucker Disclosure: James Rucker is a consultant psychiatrist and a former director at Curaleaf Clinic. James Rucker is an honorary consultant psychiatrist at The South London & Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, and an NIHR Clinician Scientist Fellow at the Centre for Affective Disorders at King's College London. James Rucker is funded by a fellowship (CS-2017-17-007) from the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR). The views expressed are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of the NHS, the NIHR or the Department of Health. James Rucker has no shareholdings in pharmaceutical companies. James Rucker reviewed this article and made comments. Coauthor: Name: Dr Mark W Weatherall. Disclosure: Mark Weatherall is a consultant in neurology and a former director at Curaleaf Clinic. The views expressed are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of the NHS. Mark Weatherall has no shareholdings in pharmaceutical companies. Corresponding author: Name: Mr Mikael H Sodergren Disclosure: Mikael Sodergren is a consultant hepatopancreatobiliary surgeon, the managing director at Curaleaf Clinic and a consultant at Imperial College NHS Trust, London. He is senior clinical lecturer at Imperial College London and Chief Medical Officer at Curaleaf International. The views expressed are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of the NHS.
(Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier B.V.)