Affiliations: [a] Office for Research Governance and Development, Gold Coast Hospital and Health Service, QLD, Australia
| [b] School of Medicine, Griffith University, QLD, Australia
| [c] Department of Neurology, Gold Coast Hospital and Health Service, QLD, Australia
| [d] UQCCR, Centre for Clinical Research, University of Queensland, QLD Australia
Correspondence:
[*]
Correspondence to: Dr. Saman Heshmat, Department of Neurology, Gold Coast University Hospital, 1 Hospital Blvd., Southport, QLD 4215, Australia. E-mail: Saman.Heshmat@health.qld.gov.au.
Abstract: The legalization of cannabis in many countries has allowed many Parkinson’s disease (PD) patients to turn to cannabis as a treatment. As such there is a growing interest from the PD community to be properly guided by evidence regarding potential treatment benefits of cannabis. This systematic review and meta-analysis aims to compile the best available evidence to help guide patients and their family, clinicians and researchers make informed decisions. A systematic search of the literature was conducted in June 2021. Five randomized controlled studies and eighteen non-randomized studies investigated cannabis treatment in PD patients. No compelling evidence was found to recommend the use of cannabis in PD patients. However, a potential benefit was identified with respect to alleviation of PD related tremor, anxiety, pain, improvement of sleep quality and quality of life. Given the relative paucity of well-designed randomized studies, there is an identified need for further investigation, particularly in these areas.
Keywords: Cannabis, Parkinson’s disease, efficacy of cannabis, tremor, UPDRS
