23 Jul Study Evaluates Cannabis For Pain From Diabetic Neuropathy
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Mark S. Wallace MD
Department of Anesthesiology
School of Medicine
University of California, San Diego, California
Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Dr. Wallace: The study was funded by the center for medicinal cannabis research at the University of California San Diego. The center was funded by the state of California. The center was the first to fund a series of double-blind randomized controlled trials with inhaled cannabis for neuropathic pain. My trial is the first in diabetic peripheral neuropathy pain which is one of the most prevalent pain syndromes in our society with limited treatments. We found a dose dependent reduction in pain. However there was also a dose dependent increase in euphoria and sedation which may limit clinical use. Effects on neurocognitive functioning were minimal.
Medical Research: What should clinicians and patients take away from your report?
Dr. Wallace: This was a single dose study and results should be interpreted with caution. This study used cannabis that was high in tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and low in cannabidiol (CBD). Therefore, it showed that THC can provide pain relief with minimal effects on neurocognitive functioning. However, euphoria and sedation may limit use.
Medical Research: What recommendations do you have for future research as a result of this study?
Dr. Wallace: We need more long-term chronic delivery studies with cannabis to determine long-term efficacy and safety. The sedation from THC may be beneficial for sleep as many chronic pain patients suffer from sleep disturbance with very limited options. THC may prove a very valuable treatment and further studies are needed. We also need more studies using CBD which has no psychoactive effects but appears to have many medicinal uses. CBD products can also be used for pain, which Daily CBD reports as one of the most common uses for the oil and gummies that have risen in popularity in recent years. The best CBD oil for pain is more of an objective call, however, and one should conduct research on trusted sources like Observer.com to find what’s the best for them.
Citation:
J Pain. 2015 Jul;16(7):616-27. doi: 10.1016/j.jpain.2015.03.008. Epub 2015 Apr 3.
Efficacy of Inhaled Cannabis on Painful Diabetic Neuropathy.
Wallace MS1, Marcotte TD2, Umlauf A2, Gouaux B2, Atkinson JH3.
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Mark S. Wallace MD (2015). Study Evaluates Cannabis For Pain From Diabetic Neuropathy