Pain researchers from MedUni Vienna have shown that CBD is not effective as a pain medication for knee osteoarthritis. Not even in high doses. The results of the clinical study have been published in the prestigious scientific journal The Lancet Regional Health – Europe.
When research involved 86 men and women with an average age of approximately 63 years who suffered from severe pain due to degeneration of the knee joint (osteoarthritis). While half of the patients received a high dose of cannabidiol (CBD) by mouth, the other group received a placebo. The strictly controlled eight-week study period showed that CBD had no stronger analgesic effect than the placebo.
CBD for chronic pain
Currently, knee pain associated with osteoarthritis is treated with painkillers such as diclofenac, ibuprofen and/or tramadol. Side effects, but also contraindications due to the often older patients affected, appear to be a major problem. The analgesic effect of CBD, as shown in animal studies, could have offered a new treatment option. However, clinical studies with sufficiently high CBD doses are lacking so far.
“Our study is the first to provide solid information on the lack of analgesic potential of CBD in a common chronic pain condition, due to its relatively high oral dosage and long observation period,” says Pramhas. Pramhas and the research team at MedUni Vienna point out that if this potential cannot be demonstrated even with high doses of oral medication, then transdermal administration (through the skin) would be even less effective.
Cannabidiol is a natural substance extracted from the hemp plant and is freely available in the EU. CBD has no demonstrable intoxicating effect and is not covered by the Narcotics Act. Liver toxicity is a known side effect. In medicine, the active ingredient has currently only been sufficiently researched and approved under pharmaceutical legislation for treatment of certain forms of epilepsy in children (Dravet syndrome, Lennox-Gastaut syndrome). Future research will have to show whether other medical applications can be confirmed. “According to our research, pain caused by osteoarthritis in the knee is not one of them,” Pramhas concludes.
Source: News-Derical.net (EN)
