www.eveningnews24.co.uk
People with multiple sclerosis are backing a Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital study into whether cannabis will help them cope with the condition.
The CUPID study will involve 500 patients aged from 18 to 65 from health centres from across the country. At least 20 will be from the hospital.
It will test whether cannabis extract taken in pill form can help slow the progress of multiple sclerosis (MS), an degenerative of the central nervous system.
Two thirds of those taking part will receive the drug while the remaining third will be given a placebo. Patients will attend the N&N every six months and will undergo clinical assessment and scans to check the progress of their disease over four-years.
Those taking part include Geoffrey Harris, 51, who has been taking the pills since October. He has had MS for five years and lobbied his GP and N&N consultant to let him take the pills on a trial basis after reading about the benefits of cannabis for the condition. Mr Harris, a mechanical engineer who lives with wife Amanda and son Oliver, 10, in North Cove, near Lowestoft, said everyone with MS should have the chance to take the pills.
He said: “I have been taking the capsules for a few months and have noticed I feel much brighter and more confident. My friends and family have noticed a real difference in the way I walk and they say I look different too.
“With MS, there is often a lot of depression and tiredness. Although I still feel fatigued, I don't feel down as much as I did.
“It is brilliant that I am taking these pills and they are proving to have an affect. Everyone should have access to these pills and to me it is not good enough that they are not available for any one with MS on the NHS.”
More than 1,000 people have MS in Norfolk. Many cannot move about independently and suffer symptoms including muscle weakness and poor co-ordination.
Four years ago, another Norfolk trial of cannabis-based medication produced evidence of its potential. That research, carried out by Dr Willy Notcutt at his pain clinic at the James Paget University Hospital in Gorleston, involved 34 patients with MS, spinal cord injury and other conditions causing severe pain, who had not responded well to other medication.Of the group,, 28 said the cannabis-based drugs reduced pain and improved their sleep.
Dr Martin Lee, neurology consultant at the N&N, said: “The new study is aimed at patients with progressive symptoms of the disease.”
For more information on MS call 01603 438900 or visit
www.mssociety.org.uk
06-01-2007, 15:13
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