// HEALTH //
Numbness, Spasticity, and CBD A look at the relationship between cannabinoids and multiple sclerosis By Patricia Miller
Multiple sclerosis is a demyelinating disease in which the insulating covers of nerve cells are damaged. Microglia cells (orange) attack the oligodendrocytes that form the insulating myelin sheath around neuron axons, leading to the destruction of the myelin sheath and to the loss of nerve function. Photo: iStockphoto.com/selvanegra
When Celeste Miranda woke up on a sunny morning nine years ago, she didn’t dream that day would be the start of a life-changing journey. In the chilling words of Miranda herself, “I woke up one morning and couldn’t feel anything from my waist down.” It was the first day of her battle with multiple sclerosis (MS), a debilitating disease with few treatment options. She couldn’t have known then that her struggle would become the foundation for her work with cannabidiol (CBD). 68
Cannabis & Tech Today // Spring 2020
After waking up numb, Miranda was hospitalized for eighteen agonizing hours before doctors diagnosed her. The disease affects the central nervous system, disrupting the flow of information within the brain. It often has an unpredictable effect on the body with a wide range of potential symptoms. In brief, the disease works as follows: nerve fibers are coated in a protective sheath called myelin. When the myelin is damaged by MS, nerve fibers are also damaged and can’t properly
transmit signals between the brain, spinal cord, and the rest of the body. This can result in walking difficulties, fatigue, numbness, spasticity, weakness, vision problems, dizziness, cognitive changes, pain, seizures, hearing loss, and depression. And those are just some of the many symptoms associated with the disease, depending on which course the MS has taken. There are four disease courses, or types, that have been identified so far. In Miranda’s situation, her first symptom was
