Principal investigators Tiffany Braley MD, MS (Neurology) and Anna Kratz PhD (Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation) were recently awarded $3.3M in new R01 funding from the National Center for Complimentary and Integrative Health to conduct research on the effects of cannabinoids on sleep and pain in people with MS. This mechanistic trial will compare the effects of cannabidiol (CBD) monotherapy, delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) monotherapy, CBD+THC combination therapy, and placebo on sleep micro- and macrostructure in MS patients with chronic pain, using novel PSG signal analyses and real-time ambulatory sleep measures. The study will also examine sleep as a mediator of analgesic cannabinoid effects, and evaluate differential effects of cannabinoids on sleep and pain across distinct pain phenotypes. A primary goal of this work is provide new insight into the effect of CBD on sleep and pain among people with MS and other chronic neurological conditions. The interdisciplinary study team also includes co-investigators Dan Clauw MD (Anesthesiology), Ronald Chervin MD, MS (Neurology), Kevin Boehnke PhD (PMR), Daniel Whibley PhD (PMR), Josh Errickson PhD (Biostatistics), and Joseph Burns PhD (MTU Engineering).
