Endocannabinoid levels in peripheral blood mononuclear cells of multiple sclerosis patients treated with dimethyl fumarate

Alicia Sánchez-Sanz, María Posada-Ayala, Julia Sabín-Muñoz, Ismael Fernández-Miranda, Yolanda Aladro-Benito, Roberto Álvarez-Lafuente, Ana Royuela, Ruth García-Hernández, Ofir Rodríguez-De la Fuente, Julián Romero, Antonio García-Merino, Antonio José Sánchez-López. Sci Rep. 2022 Nov 24;12(1):20300.

Observational studyHumans

Design

Observational study

Subjects

32 people with multiple sclerosis and 21 healthy donors

Dose used in the study

No palmitoylethanolamide was given; levels in blood cells were measured during dimethyl fumarate treatment

Duration

24 months, with sampling at baseline, 12 and 24 months

What was measured

2-AG, anandamide, OEA and PEA in peripheral blood mononuclear cells by LC-MS

What the authors reported

This study of MS patients found:

• MS patients had lower 2-AG and PEA than healthy donors.
• 2-AG rose to healthy-donor levels at 24 months.
• Anandamide and PEA stayed stable at 12 and 24 months.
• OEA rose at 12 months and returned to baseline at 24.
• PEA differed between women and men.

Limits of this study

An observational study; PEA was measured, not given. Small groups. Several authors report funding or fees from pharmaceutical companies including GW Pharmaceuticals, Teva, Merck, Biogen, Roche, Novartis and Sanofi.

Source

PubMed 36434122 · doi:10.1038/s41598-022-21807-y

Entry checked against the abstract on PubMed on 2026-09-22. The dose shown is the dose the researchers used. It is not a recommendation. How to read this page.