title: Impact of cannabis treatment on the quality of life, weight and clinical disease activity in inflammatory bowel disease patients: a pilot prospective study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) patients suffer from significant morbidity and diminished life quality. The plant cannabis is beneficial in various gastrointestinal diseases, stimulating appetite and causing weight gain. Our aims were to assess whether treatment with inhaled cannabis improves quality of life, disease activity and promotes weight gain in these patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  Patients with long-standing IBD who were prescribed cannabis treatment were included. Two quality of life questionnaires and disease activity indexes were performed, and patient's body weight was measured before cannabis initiation and after 3 months' treatment.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Thirteen patients were included. After 3 months' treatment, patients reported improvement in general health perception (p = 0.001), social functioning (p = 0.0002), ability to work (p = 0.0005), physical pain (p = 0.004) and depression (p = 0.007). A schematic scale of health perception showed an improved score from 4.1 ± 1.43 to 7 ± 1.42 (p = 0.0002). Patients had a weight gain of 4.3 ± 2 kg during treatment (range 2-8; p = 0.0002) and an average rise in BMI of 1.4 ± 0.61 (range 0.8-2.7; p = 0.002). The average Harvey-Bradshaw index was reduced from 11.36 ± 3.17 to 5.72 ± 2.68 (p = 0.001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Three months' treatment with inhaled cannabis improves quality of life measurements, disease activity index, and causes weight gain and rise in BMI in long-standing IBD patients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, Chaim Sheba Medical Center affiliated to the Sackler School of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel. zokadi@gmail.com
authors.forename: Adi
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lahat
authors.forename: Alon
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lang
authors.forename: Shomron
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ben-Horin
mesh_terms: D000280:Administration, Inhalation; D000328:Adult; D002188:Cannabis; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015212:Inflammatory Bowel Diseases / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000523:psychology; D008297:Male; D008385:Marijuana Smoking; D008875:Middle Aged; D010147:Pain Measurement; D008517:Phytotherapy; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011788:Quality of Life; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D015430:Weight Gain