CBD for Sickle Cell Disease

According to a recent clinical trial published by the University of California, cannabis appears to be a safe and potentially effective treatment for the chronic pain that afflicts people with sickle cell disease.

Sickle cell disease is a group of disorders that affects hemoglobin, the molecule in red blood cells that delivers oxygen to cells throughout the body.

People with this disorder have atypical hemoglobin molecules which can distort red blood cells into a sickle (crescent-like) shape.

These cells die early, leaving a shortage of healthy red blood cells (sickle cell anaemia) and can block blood flow causing pain (sickle cell crisis).

This results in infections, pain and fatigue, which in the past have been treated with opioid medication, blood transfusions and sometimes even bone-marrow transplants.

But the new trial has provided evidence that treatment with cannabis could be a promising natural alternative.

"Results show that vaporised cannabis appears to be generally safe," said Gupta, a professor of medicine on the faculty at the university's Centre for the Study of Cannabis.

"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."

For the randomised, double-blind control trial, 23 patients with sickle cell disease-related pain inhaled vaporised cannabis or a vaporised placebo during two five-day inpatient sessions.

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

As the 5-day study period progressed, subjects reported that their pain interfered less and less with with activities, including walking and sleeping, and there was a statistically significant drop in how much pain affected their mood.