Tourette Syndrome is a very debilitating disease for those who suffer from it. It can really disrupt a persons life. There could be hope for Tourette Syndrome patients because cannabis could be effective in improving the disorder.
According to a study that was published in The Journal of Neuropsychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences, cannabis therapies are both effective and well-tolerated for Tourette syndrome patients.
The study was done by University of Toronto researchers who found that in 18 of the 19 study participants who had used cannabis regularly for at least two years, their symptoms were “much improved” and tic scores decreased by 60 percent.
One of the authors on the study, Elia Abi-Jaoude commented, “Several of my patients with Tourette syndrome had noticed that if they used some marijuana, their tics decreased significantly,” he said in a PsyPost report, noting that some side effects included sleepiness, anxiety, and decreased concentration. “We began prescribing medical cannabis at our clinic and were struck by the improvements we saw in tics and related symptoms. We eventually decided that we should investigate this topic further.”
According to Abi-Jaoude, the study had prevented the researchers from making “reliable conclusions about which cannabis strains or ingredients are most helpful for tics and related symptoms.” This is because the study was small, no placebo control, and there were variabilities in the cannabis strains that had been used by the patients.
“This was a retrospective study, so there may be a ‘recall bias’ when people try to compare how they are doing now to how they were doing before starting cannabis,” he said.
Abi-Jaoude believes cannabis “is a promising treatment for tics and related symptoms.”
“We hope that with further research we can get a clearer picture of the potential benefits and risks with using cannabis for tics and related symptoms,” he said.
He plans to carry out a double-blind study that will be controlled and will use different strains.