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Immunomodulatory effects of orally administered cannabinoids in multiple sclerosis
J Killestein1, E L J Hoogervorst, M Reif
1Department of Neurology, VU Medical Center, P.O. Box 7057, 1007 MB Amsterdam, The Netherlands. J.Killestein@vumc.nl
Journal of Neuroimmunology
|April 2, 2003
Abstract:
Cannabinoids can modulate the function of immune cells. We here present the first human in vivo study measuring immune function in 16 MS patients treated with oral cannabinoids. A modest increase of TNF-alpha in LPS-stimulated whole blood was found during cannabis plant-extract treatment (p=0.037), with no change in other cytokines. In the subgroup of patients with high adverse event scores, we found an increase in plasma IL-12p40 (p=0.002). The results suggest pro-inflammatory disease-modifying potential of cannabinoids in MS.