Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0026838 (spasticity)
 6,471 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

We present here thirteen patients (5 men and 8 women, aged 31 to 73, mean 55 years) with spastic paraparesis who showed clinical features similar to those of HTLV-1 associated myelopathy without HTLV-1 antibody, but with positive antibody to hepatitis B virus (HBV). All of these patients showed slowly progressive difficulty in walking. Five patients had previous histories of blood transfusion, of these one with history of B hepatitis. Neurologically, muscle weakness, spasticity and exaggerated deep tendon reflexes in the lower extremities were common to all the patients. Seven patients showed Babinski's reflex. Disturbance of micturition was noted in 3 patients. None showed organic changes of the spine on magnetic resonance image (MRI). None was serologically positive for syphilis and had cryoglobulin and hypergammaglobulinemia. Elevated levels of the liver enzymes were noted in two patients. All patients were positive for hepatitis B surface antibody (HBs-Ab) (EIA) but negative for hepatitis B surface antigen (HBs-Ag) (EIA). Five patients were seropositive for hepatitis C virus (HCV) (PHA). In 3 of them, reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction was performed but failed to detect HCV-RNA. All patients underwent spinal tap, and showed normal cell count and protein concentration in their cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). Atypical cells were not observed in all the patients. The CSFs from three patients were tested for HBs-Ag and HBs-Ab. HBs-Ag was negative in all three patients, but HBs-Ab was positive in two patients.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
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PMID:[Hepatitis B virus antibody positive spastic paraparesis]. 795 26

The plant Cannabis sativa has a long history of medical use in the treatment of pain and spasms, the promotion of sleep, and the suppression of nausea and vomiting. However, in the early 70s cannabis was classified in the Narcotic Acts in countries all over the world as having no therapeutic benefit; therefore, it cannot be prescribed by physicians or dispensed by pharmacists. In the light of this contradictory situation an increasing number of patients practices a self-prescription with cannabis products for relieving a variety of symptoms. An anonymous standardized survey of the medical use of cannabis and cannabis products of patients in Germany, Austria and Switzerland was conducted by the Association for Cannabis as Medicine (Cologne, Germany). During about one year 170 subjects participated in this survey; questionnaires of 128 patients could be included into the evaluation. 68% of these participants were males, 32% females, with a total mean age of 37.5 (+/- 9.6) years. The most frequently mentioned indications for medicinal cannabis use were depression (12.0%), multiple sclerosis (10.8%), HIV-infection (9.0%), migraine (6.6%), asthma (6.0%), back pain (5.4%), hepatitis C (4. 8%), sleeping disorders (4.8%), epilepsy (3.6%), spasticity (3.6%), headache (3.6%), alcoholism (3.0%), glaucoma (3.0%), nausea (3.0%), disk prolapse (2.4%), and spinal cord injury (2.4%). The majority of patients used natural cannabis products such as marihuana, hashish and an alcoholic tincture; in just 5 cases dronabinol (Marinol) was taken by prescription. About half of the 128 participants of the survey (52.4%) had used cannabis as a recreational drug before the onset of their illness. To date 14.3% took cannabis orally, 49.2% by inhalation and in 36.5% of cases both application modes were used. 72.2% of the patients stated the symptoms of their illness to have 'much improved' after cannabis ingestion, 23.4% stated to have 'slightly improved', 4.8% experienced 'no change' and 1.6% described that their symptoms got 'worse'. Being asked for the satisfaction with their therapeutic use of cannabis 60.8% stated to be 'very satisfied', 24.0% 'satisfied', 11.2% 'partly satisfied' and 4.0% were 'not satisfied'. 70.8% experienced no side effects, 26.4% described 'moderate' and 3.3% 'strong' side effects. 84.1% of patients have not felt any need for dose escalation during the last 3 months, 11.0% had to increase their cannabis dose 'moderately' and 4.8% 'strongly' in order to maintain the therapeutic effects. Thus, this survey demonstrates a successful use of cannabis products for the treatment of a multitude of various illnesses and symptoms. This use was usually accompanied only by slight and in general acceptable side effects. Because the patient group responding to this survey is presumably highly selected, no conclusions can be drawn about the quantity of wanted and unwanted effects of the medicinal use of the hemp plant for particular indications.
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PMID:[Results of a standardized survey on the medical use of cannabis products in the German-speaking area]. 2146 33

The present investigation aimed to provide an objective narrative review of the existing literature pertaining to the benefits and harms of marijuana use for the treatment of the most common medical and psychological conditions for which it has been allowed at the state level. Common medical conditions for which marijuana is allowed (i.e., those conditions shared by at least 80 percent of medical marijuana states) were identified as: Alzheimer's disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, cachexia/wasting syndrome, cancer, Crohn's disease, epilepsy and seizures, glaucoma, hepatitis C virus, human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, multiple sclerosis and muscle spasticity, severe and chronic pain, and severe nausea. Post-traumatic stress disorder was also included in the review, as it is the sole psychological disorder for which medical marijuana has been allowed. Studies for this narrative review were included based on a literature search in PsycINFO, MEDLINE, and Google Scholar. Findings indicate that, for the majority of these conditions, there is insufficient evidence to support the recommendation of medical marijuana at this time. A significant amount of rigorous research is needed to definitively ascertain the potential implications of marijuana for these conditions. It is important for such work to not only examine the effects of smoked marijuana preparations, but also to compare its safety, tolerability, and efficacy in relation to existing pharmacological treatments.
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PMID:Narrative review of the safety and efficacy of marijuana for the treatment of commonly state-approved medical and psychiatric disorders. 2589 76