A new cannabis treatment is going into trial in Australia to treat patients with Tourette syndrome, reports The Courier Mail. This will be the first study in Australia to use medicinal cannabis to treat the disease. While results are uncertain and minimal research exists on whether or not it will help patients with Tourette syndrome, Dr. Philip Mosley, a neuropsychiatrist from Wesley Medical Research Institute, believes it will have a positive effect.
Tourette syndrome is a rare neurological condition that causes patients to make involuntary movements, as well as vocalizations. Patients often also face depression, anxiety and OCD. Children with the condition often face challenges in school, and adults report difficulties in work and social situations.
Currently, the main treatments used to help Tourette syndrome are antipsychotic medications and brain stimulation. While the medication helps with limiting involuntary movement, it also has side effects including high cholesterol and weight gain. Brain stimulation is also effective, yet expensive as it requires brain surgery.
Dr. Mosley is going to perform the trial on 24 adults with extreme cases of Tourettes. The medical cannabis contains a mixture of CBD, cannabidiol, and THC, tetrahydrocannabinol. These are two major chemical compounds you can find in cannabis. The treatment will either be in a liquid form or tablet.
Many doctors are hesitant to prescribe cannabis, even if it’s medicinal because of a lack of research. Dr. Mosley believes they are in the right to be hesitant having with limited information, yet he’s hoping that his trial will provide more evidence and results that can benefit patients with Tourettes and hopefully beyond.
Wesley Medical Research Institute gave a grant of $100,000 to perform the trial. If you’d like to learn more, reach out to the study coordinator Tracy Grierson: [email protected].
