Meaningful clinical data on cannabis use in rheumatic diseases still lacking
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts
Although data supporting cannabis use in patients with rheumatic diseases “continue to grow,” most of the recent literature have been reviews rather than primary research, according to a review published in Current Rheumatology Reports.
Published by CreakyJoints, the review noted the promotion of changing attitudes toward cannabis due in part to changing regulations and increased use for a variety of conditions.
“In 2019, CreakyJoints presented data from our ArthritisPower Research Registry study showing more than half of arthritis patients reported wanting information on, or actually had tried, marijuana and/or cannabidiol products for a purpose they perceived as medical (often for pain relief and help sleeping) and yet, 3 years later, there’s been virtually no advancement in the research necessary to provide clinical evidence that rheumatologists and patients need to make decisions about cannabis use for symptom relief in combination with approved treatments,” W. Benjamin Nowell, PhD, director of patient-centered research at CreakyJoints and co-author of the review, said in a CreakyJoints press release.
According to the authors, although studies have demonstrated that cannabinoids are efficacious in reducing pain and inflammation in laboratory mice as well as humans, there are “very few” studies investigating these therapies in rheumatic diseases. Meanwhile, studies that have been published have featured “very small sample sizes and inconsistent methods,” the release said.
“As a rheumatologist who treats patients with pain, I am aware that some of my patients have found cannabis to be an effective option when traditional medications fail to reduce their pain,” Stuart Silverman, MD, FACP, FACR, a rheumatologist and clinical professor of medicine at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and UCLA School of Medicine, said in the release. “I am open to discussing medical cannabis when patients express an interest in its use. Then, if they choose to use it, I follow them closely to monitor efficacy and any side effects, and to ensure that they do not consider it as a replacement for FDA-approved disease-modifying drugs.”
Recommendations from CreakyJoints include ensuring patients understand that cannabis is not an alternative to standard-of-care therapies, explaining the variable nature of cannabis as a result of the lack of a regulatory scheme, offering alternative options for some of the common reasons patients may seek cannabis, and educating patients on the lack of clinical data supporting the use of cannabis for symptom relief.
“Without this research, it is impossible to develop clinical guidelines for medicinal cannabis in the United States, which is vital for patients seeking the full range of treatment options to explore in partnership with their physicians,” Nowell said in the release.
Reference:
CreakyJoints Finds Lack of Research Stymies Uptake of Evidenced Based Prescribing of Medical Marijuana for Pain Associated with Rheumatic Conditions. https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220502005457/en/CreakyJoints-Finds-Lack-of-Research-Stymies-Uptake-of-Evidenced-Based-Prescribing-of-Medical-Marijuana-for-Pain-Associated-with-Rheumatic-Conditions. May 02, 2022. Accessed May 10, 2022.
Collapse
Read more about
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts