Michael Joe Cini
30th October 2019
UK Parkinson’s patients to receive cannabidiol treatment in clinical trial
A pioneering clinical trial will investigate the use of cannabidiol (CBD) to treat hallucinations and delusions in people living with Parkinson’s
In a world first clinical trial, Professor Sagnik Bhattacharyya and Dr Latha Velayudhan at KCL will be testing whether cannabidiol (CBD) can treat Parkinson’s psychosis symptoms.
There are currently 145,000 people living with Parkinson’s in the UK and between 50 and 60 per cent of them will be affected by psychosis at some point in their life, a condition for which there are no licenced medications in the UK.
This is the first large-scale trial which will aim to provide preliminary evidence for the potential benefits of CBD to alleviate the symptoms of Parkinson’s-related psychosis.
The study will begin with a six-week pilot to find the optimum dose of oral CBD capsules during which participants will take doses of up to 1,000 mg/day.
In the second stage, 120 people with Parkinson’s-related psychosis will be recruited to take part in a 12-week double-blind, placebo-controlled study.
Dr Arthur Roach, Director of Research at Parkinson’s UK, said: “We know from a recent survey we carried out, that people with Parkinson’s would continue to use, or start using, cannabis-derived products if robust evidence became available that they are safe and effective in treating Parkinson’s symptoms.
“There are many unanswered questions about the value of CBD for people with Parkinson’s, but this trial will help us to determine whether it can help with the debilitating symptoms of hallucinations and delusions.
“If successful, this trial could result in people with Parkinson’s being able to access a regulated medicine, rather than reverting to expensive unregulated supplements that haven’t been monitored for their effectiveness.”
The Medical Cannabiz World Summit will take place from the 4th to 5th November at the Intercontinental, St Julian’s, Malta, to be followed by the inaugural launch of the Medical Cannabiz World Asia Summit which will be held in Bangkok on the 22nd and 23rd of June 2020 at the Centara Grand Hotel.
