Multiple sclerosis is a common human
demyelinating disease of the central nervous system (CNS), and it is thought to involve autoimmune responses to CNS myelin
antigens. Current symptomatic
therapies for
multiple sclerosis are in some cases ineffective and may have a high risk of serious side effects. This has led some
multiple sclerosis patients to self-medicate with cannabis, which anecdotal evidence suggests may be beneficial in controlling symptoms such as spasticity,
pain,
tremor and bladder dysfunction. In support of these claims, results from experimental studies have suggested that
cannabinoid-based treatments may be beneficial in a wide number of diseases. Furthermore, recent research in animal models of
multiple sclerosis has demonstrated the efficacy of
cannabinoids in controlling disease-induced symptoms such as spasticity and
tremor, as well as in ameliorating the severity of clinical disease. However, these initially promising results have not yet been fully translated into the clinic. Although
cannabinoid treatment of
multiple sclerosis symptoms has been shown to be both well tolerated and effective in a number of subjective tests in several small-scale clinical trials, objective measures demonstrating the efficacy of
cannabinoids are still lacking. Currently, a number of large-scale phase III clinical trials are under way to further elucidate the use of
cannabinoids in the symptomatic treatment of
multiple sclerosis. This review highlights the recent advances in our understanding of the
endocannabinoid system, discusses both the experimental and clinical evidence for the use of
cannabinoids to treat
multiple sclerosis and explores possible future strategies of
cannabinoid therapy in
multiple sclerosis.