Cannabinoid Agonist Significantly Increases ALS Life Span, Study Says

Little Rock, AR: Administration of the selective cannabinoid agonist AM-1241 significantly increases the survival of mice with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and may ultimately lead to the development of new cannabis-based medications to treat the disease in humans, according to preclinical findings to be published in the Journal of Neurochemistry.

Investigators at the University of Arkansas, College of Medicine, reported that mice administered high daily doses of AM-1241 after ALS symptom onset lived up to 56 percent longer than controls.

"[T]he magnitude of effect produced by AM-1241 initiated at symptom onset rivals the best yet reported for any pharmaceutical agent, even those given pre-symptomatically," authors wrote. "[The] findings from this study indicate that [cannabinoid] agonists may ultimately be developed as novel therapeutic drugs that can be administered alone or in combination with other agents at symptom onset for the treatment of ALS in human patients."