Cannabinoids for Tourette's Syndrome.

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Pharmacology
• Psychiatry

Background:

• Gilles de la Tourette Syndrome (GTS) is a neuropsychiatric disorder characterized by chronic motor and phonic tics.
• Current treatments for GTS often lack efficacy or present significant side effects.
• Cannabinoids show potential for treating tics and compulsive behaviors in GTS patients, warranting further investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To systematically evaluate the efficacy and safety of cannabinoids compared to placebo or other drugs for treating tics, premonitory urges, and obsessive-compulsive symptoms (OCS) in GTS patients.

Main Methods:

• Conducted a comprehensive literature search across multiple databases including CENTRAL, MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsycINFO, CINAHL, AMED, BNI, and DH DATA.
• Included randomized controlled trials (RCTs) comparing cannabinoid preparations with placebo or other GTS medications.
• Data abstraction and analysis were performed independently by two authors to ensure accuracy.

Main Results:

• Only two RCTs met the inclusion criteria, involving a total of 28 patients.
• Both trials investigated delta-9-Tetrahydrocannabinol (Delta(9)THC) against a placebo, as monotherapy or adjuvant therapy.
• While both studies indicated a positive effect of Delta(9)THC, the observed improvements in tic frequency and severity were modest and not consistently detected across all outcome measures.

Conclusions:

• The available evidence is insufficient to support the use of cannabinoids for treating tics and obsessive-compulsive behaviors in individuals with Tourette's syndrome.
• Further high-quality research is required to establish the therapeutic role of cannabinoids in GTS management.