Many clinical trials conducted recently indicate that medical cannabis based cannabinoid therapy may reduce the incidence of the distressing, embarrassing, and rather common problem of urinary incontinence. This disorder features a profound effect on the general quality of life and though it is just a treatable medical condition, the underlying embarrassment discourages and prevents people from reporting this issue to medical practitioners. There are several other diseases such as spina bifida, MS (Multiple Sclerosis), Parkinson's disease along with spinal cord injury and strokes that may restrict the event of the nerves in the bladder, thereby resulting in an involuntary leakage of urine. These diseases trigger nerve damage, weaken the bladder muscles, and cause inflammation.
Over 1 in 10 Americans over 65 years old are known to suffer from incontinence and women suffer much more than men with this specific problem. Investigators at Oxford's Centre for Enablement in Britain reported in the February 2003 problem of the journal Clinical Rehabilitation that in comparison to placebo in patients struggling with MS and spinal cord injury, self-administered doses of whole plant cannabinoid extracts dramatically improved bladder control. These initial findings were followed up by investigators at London's Institute for Neurology in a pilot and open-label study of medical cannabis or MMJ extracts for bladder dysfunction. A small grouping of 15 patients with advanced multiple sclerosis were tested for the result that medical marijuana had on their symptoms of urinary incontinence.
Investigators reported that following this cannabinoid based therapy; patients realized that there was a significant reduction in the amount, urgency, and volume of incontinence episodes. Additionally, their problem of nocturia and the general frequency of the episodes also declined to a good extent. The research concluded that medical cannabis based extracts are not only safe but in addition a powerful treatment method for patients with advanced MS who endured urinary incontinence and other problems. The results of the study were confirmed in a randomized, multi-center, placebo-controlled trial in 2006 involving 630 patients who were given oral doses of THC or medical marijuana extracts.
Medical researchers reported that from baseline to the finish of treatment, the test subjects experienced as much as a thirty eight percent decrease in incontinence episodes. A 33 percent decrease in the severity of exactly the same symptoms was observed in patients who were administered THC. The clinical effect of cannabis in aiding patients cope making use of their symptoms of incontinence was clearly established. At the 2006 annual meeting of the American Urological Association, preclinical elk grove cannabis delivery data presented also indicated that cannabis analogs can decrease bladder over-activity and bladder inflammation in animals significantly. Following these reports and the information collected, experts are now actually recommending the utilization of cannabinoids as potential'second-line'agents for treating the situation of urinary incontinence in humans.