CBD Associated With Sickle Cell Disease Patient Pain Alleviation

Sickle cell disease is a condition involving a group of inherited red blood cell disorders that affect hemoglobin. Hemoglobin is the protein that carries oxygen throughout the body. International researchers estimate that as many as 20 million people have the condition globally.

For people that do not suffer from sickle cell disease, their red blood cells move easily through blood vessels due to their disc-like shape. However, the red blood cells of sickle cell disease patients are crescent or “sickle” shaped. They do not move through blood vessels easily and can block blood flow in a patient’s body. That blocked blood flow can lead to serious health conditions including stroke and chronic pain.

A team of researchers in France recently examined CBD administered orally and how it make affect sickle cell disease patients. Below is more information about it via a news release from NORML:

Paris, France: The daily consumption of oral CBD is associated with dramatic improvements in chronic pain due to sickle cell disease (SCD), according to a case report published in the American Journal of Hematology.

French researchers reported on the use of synthetic CBD in a 15-year-old SCD patient suffering from chronic refractory pain in his spine, thorax, and knee. Prior to CBD treatment, the patient had required prolonged hospitalizations due to chronic pain.

Following two weeks of CBD treatment, the patient experienced “a complete regression of pain.” During 10 months of treatment, the patient did not require any further hospitalizations.
Authors concluded: “We report here for the first time a case of refractory chronic pain with dramatic improvement after CBD treatment in an adolescent with SCD. … As it seems to be a well-tolerated drug, CBD could represent a promising therapeutic perspective for patients with SCD suffering from chronic pain.”

Survey data indicates that patients with SCD often consume cannabis for symptom management. Clinical trial data published in the Journal of the American Medical Association reported that the short-term use of vaporized cannabis in SCD patients is associated with improved mood and may also mitigate symptoms of SCD-related pain. Other studies have reported that SCD patients who consume cannabis are less likely to require hospitalization as compared to those who do not.

Full text of the study, “Dramatic efficacy of cannabidiol on refractory chronic pain in an adolescent with sickle cell disease,” appears in the American Journal of Hematology.