Ongoing Therapeutic Developments for Movement Disorders: Saar Anis, MD

WATCH TIME: 3 minutes

“Cannabis, at this moment, is a symptomatic therapy. In animal models, it shows some effect of maybe keeping the neurons alive, but actually in humans, we don’t know that—[it could even be] the opposite.” 

Therapeutic developments within the movement disorders space are expanding, and according to Saar Anis, MD, neurologist and movement disorders specialist at the Sheba Tel-HaShomer Medical Center in Israel, identifying disease-modifying therapies for conditions such as Parkinson disease, dystonia, and Tourette syndrome may be one of the most promising avenues, referencing the accomplishments that have been made within the field of multiple sclerosis. Exploring genetics is another area of interest, Anis said, as it may be especially important for conditions in which experts know they play a key role.

Anis recently presented findings from a small, retrospective study on the use of medical cannabis (MC) in treating dystonia at The International Parkinson and Movement Disorders (MDS) Society Virtual Congress 2021, September 17-22, concluding that MC treatment improved dystonia symptoms and related pain. Discussing MC further, Anis mentioned that the treatment is currently symptomatic, with experts unsure of exactly how it may affect neurons in humans. He also spoke on limitations of the study, which had a small sample size of 23 patients and a heterogeneity of various distribution and dystonia etiology. 

REFERENCE

Anis S, Faust-Socher D, Sverdlov D, Hezi N, Giladi N, Gurevich T. A real-life study of Medical Cannabis effect on adults with dystonia. Presented at MDS Congress 2021; September 17-22; Virtual. Poster 93.