
If you have any doubts with regard to the efficacy of CBD for treatment of neuropathic pain, please enjoy the references, a lot of references, at the bottom of this blog. I mostly chose references where whole plant CBD rich extracts were being used, as this is what we have in our medical cannabis medicine cabinet.
So, if we agree that CBD is a safe way to often ameliorate the pain of drug induced, and other neuropathic pain, AND we note that CBD is clearly neuro-protective, why not give it in low dose to patients who are taking any potential neurotoxic medication. It clearly cannot hurt and doing this in a study form would/could/should be pretty easy.
There are millions of patients in the US taking drugs with potential neuro-toxicity. The cost in pain and dollars is immense. I often see cancer patients in remission from their cancer for years, but are nearly fully debilitated from neuropathic pain. They often can’t feel the bottom of their feet, so they can’t drive and have difficulty with walking. The pain itself, can be “suicidal level” pain.
Anyone interested in starting an informal study for a few years and see what happens?
ARTICLES FROM GW PHARMA:(They use “Sativex” which is a whole plant 1:1 CBD:THC extract
Medical Marijuana and Chronic Pain: a Review of Basic Science and Clinical Evidence.
Jensen B, Chen J, Furnish T, Wallace M.
Curr Pain Headache Rep. 2015 Oct;19(10):524. doi: 10.1007/s11916-015-0524-x.
[Clinical pharmacology of medical cannabinoids in chronic pain].
Ing Lorenzini K, Broers B, Lalive PH, Dayer P, Desmeules J, Piguet V.
Rev Med Suisse. 2015 Jun 24;11(480):1390, 1392-4. Review. French.
[Cannabinoids in neurology–Brazilian Academy of Neurology].
Brucki SM, Frota NA, Schestatsky P, Souza AH, Carvalho VN, Manreza ML, Mendes MF, Comini-Frota E, Vasconcelos C, Tumas V, Ferraz HB, Barbosa E, Jurno ME.
Arq Neuropsiquiatr. 2015 Apr;73(4):371-4. doi: 10.1590/0004-282X20150041. Epub 2015 Apr 1. Portuguese.
Boychuk DG, Goddard G, Mauro G, Orellana MF.
J Oral Facial Pain Headache. 2015 Winter;29(1):7-14. doi: 10.11607/ofph.1274. Review.
Cannabidiol: promise and pitfalls.
Welty TE, Luebke A, Gidal BE.
Epilepsy Curr. 2014 Sep;14(5):250-2. doi: 10.5698/1535-7597-14.5.250.
Evaluation of the tolerability and efficacy of Sativex in multiple sclerosis.
Moreno Torres I, Sanchez AJ, Garcia-Merino A.
Expert Rev Neurother. 2014 Nov;14(11):1243-50. doi: 10.1586/14737175.2014.971758. Review.
Hoggart B, Ratcliffe S, Ehler E, Simpson KH, Hovorka J, Lejčko J, Taylor L, Lauder H, Serpell M.
J Neurol. 2015 Jan;262(1):27-40. doi: 10.1007/s00415-014-7502-9. Epub 2014 Sep 30.
Cannabidiol improves vasorelaxation in Zucker diabetic fatty rats through cyclooxygenase activation.
Wheal AJ, Cipriano M, Fowler CJ, Randall MD, O’Sullivan SE.
J Pharmacol Exp Ther. 2014 Nov;351(2):457-66. doi: 10.1124/jpet.114.217125. Epub 2014 Sep 11.
Serpell M, Ratcliffe S, Hovorka J, Schofield M, Taylor L, Lauder H, Ehler E.
Eur J Pain. 2014 Aug;18(7):999-1012. doi: 10.1002/j.1532-2149.2013.00445.x. Epub 2014 Jan 13.
Pozzilli C.
Expert Rev Neurother. 2013 Dec;13(12 Suppl):49-54. doi: 10.1586/14737175.2013.865877. Review.
Ward SJ, McAllister SD, Kawamura R, Murase R, Neelakantan H, Walker EA.
Br J Pharmacol. 2014 Feb;171(3):636-45. doi: 10.1111/bph.12439.
Therapeutic potential of cannabinoid medicines.
Robson PJ.
Drug Test Anal. 2014 Jan-Feb;6(1-2):24-30. doi: 10.1002/dta.1529. Epub 2013 Sep 4. Review.
Pharmacokinetic evaluation of nabiximols for the treatment of multiple sclerosis pain.
Tanasescu R, Constantinescu CS.
Expert Opin Drug Metab Toxicol. 2013 Sep;9(9):1219-28. doi: 10.1517/17425255.2013.795542. Epub 2013 Apr 27. Review.
[Marihuana and cannobinoids as medicaments].
Tkaczyk M, Florek E, Piekoszewski W.
Przegl Lek. 2012;69(10):1095-7. Review. Polish.
Langford RM, Mares J, Novotna A, Vachova M, Novakova I, Notcutt W, Ratcliffe S.
J Neurol. 2013 Apr;260(4):984-97. doi: 10.1007/s00415-012-6739-4. Epub 2012 Nov 21.
Pertwee RG.
Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 2012 Dec 5;367(1607):3353-63. doi: 10.1098/rstb.2011.0381. Review.
Nabiximols in the treatment of spasticity, pain and urinary symptoms due to multiple sclerosis.
Podda G, Constantinescu CS.
Expert Opin Biol Ther. 2012 Nov;12(11):1517-31. doi: 10.1517/14712598.2012.721765. Epub 2012 Sep 7. Review.
Notcutt WG.
Prim Health Care Res Dev. 2013 Apr;14(2):192-9. doi: 10.1017/S1463423612000333. Epub 2012 Jul 12.
Cannabinoids suppress inflammatory and neuropathic pain by targeting α3 glycine receptors.
Xiong W, Cui T, Cheng K, Yang F, Chen SR, Willenbring D, Guan Y, Pan HL, Ren K, Xu Y, Zhang L.
J Exp Med. 2012 Jun 4;209(6):1121-34. doi: 10.1084/jem.20120242. Epub 2012 May 14.
New pain drugs in pipeline, but challenges to usage remain.
Brower V.
J Natl Cancer Inst. 2012 Apr 4;104(7):503-5. doi: 10.1093/jnci/djs199. Epub 2012 Mar 22. No abstract available.