CANNABIS SPRAY TRIAL HAD DRAMATIC RESULTS

A CANNABIS mouth spray tested on arthritis sufferers at Northampton
General Hospital has shown dramatic pain relieving results.

The hospital's consultant rheumatologist Dr Meilien Ho carried out the
trial on 15 patients at the hospital's rheumatology clinic as part of
a ground-breaking study into the Class C drug's powers to tackle the
debilitating condition.

And the results of the preliminary research reveal the drug eased pain
and slowed down the disease for patients.

Dr Ho said: "It is very interesting and exciting research and the
results have been very encouraging.

"There were a number of positive results showing the spray was
beneficial."

The spray, called Sativex, was tested on patients at centres in
Northampton, Bath and Birmingham.

Around 31 patients were given the drug for five weeks while another 27
in the trial were handed a dummy spray, with the subjects unsure if
they were really taking the real drug.

The results of the study, which has taken over two years to complete,
show the drug reduced pain, helped mobility for sufferers and slowed
down development of the condition.

But the cannabis spray is not like the more common form of the drug.

Dr Ho explained: "This is quite different to the cannabis you get on
the street.

"It's controlled so the patients don't get so much of a high.

"The cannabis people smoke is very variable but we have used the
compounds of it that have the most medicinal benefit."

Now the doctors in charge of the research are calling for a larger
study into the drug.

They hope to see it eventually used as an additional treatment for the
condition, alongside the conventional anti-inflammatory drugs and
disease-modifying medication.

"These investigations are very preliminary and show just a small
change. But it is a start. There is a lot more work to do on this.

I'm positive it can help patients in the long run and am looking
forward to hopefully investigating it further in the future," added Dr
Ho.