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Cannabis could treat Sickle cell disease – study

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Cannabis appears to be a safe and potentially effective treatment for the chronic pain that afflicts people with sickle cell disease, according to a new clinical trial.

Opioids are currently the primary treatment for the chronic and acute pain caused by sickle cell disease.

But the rise in opioid-associated deaths has prompted physicians to prescribe them less frequently, leaving sickle cell patients with fewer options.

Now, a double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomised trial in the US has assessed cannabis’s potential for pain alleviation in people with sickle cell disease.

The cannabis used in the trial contained equal parts of THC and CBD, while the study was co-led by University of California, Irvine researcher Kalpna Gupta and Dr. Donald Abrams of UC San Francisco.

Gupta says: “These trial results show that vaporised cannabis appears to be generally safe.

“They also suggest that sickle cell patients may be able to mitigate their pain with cannabis – and that cannabis might help society address the public health crisis related to opioids.

“Of course, we still need larger studies with more participants to give us a better picture of how cannabis could benefit people with chronic pain.”

Twenty-three patients with sickle cell disease-related pain completed the trial, inhaling vaporised cannabis or a vaporised placebo during two five-day inpatient sessions that were separated by at least 30 days. This allowed them to act as their own control group.

Researchers assessed participants’ pain levels throughout the treatment period and found that the effectiveness of cannabis appeared to increase over time.

As the five-day study period progressed, subjects reported that pain interfered less and less with activities, including walking and sleeping, and there was a statistically significant drop in how much pain affected their mood.

Although pain levels were generally lower in patients given cannabis than in those given the placebo, the difference was not statistically significant.

Gupta continues: “We don’t know if all forms of cannabis products will have a similar effect on chronic pain. Vaporised cannabis, which we employed, may be safer than other forms because lower amounts reach the body’s circulation. This trial opens the door for testing different forms of medical cannabis to treat chronic pain.”

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