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Zhekova RM, Perry RN, Spinella TC, Dockrill K, Stewart SH, Barrett SP. The impact of cannabidiol placebo on responses to an acute stressor: A replication and proof of concept study. J Psychopharmacol 2024; 38:116-124. [PMID: 38214314 PMCID: PMC10851629 DOI: 10.1177/02698811231219060] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/13/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Our group has previously reported that cannabidiol (CBD) expectancy alone blunts markers of stress, particularly during anticipation, but it is not clear the extent to which such findings were specific to the methods utilized. AIMS To examine CBD-related placebo effects on stress reactivity and anticipation and to validate a protocol to be used in a neuroimaging study. METHODS Forty-eight healthy adults (24 female) were randomly assigned to be informed that they ingested a CBD-containing oil or a CBD-free oil despite receiving the same oil (CBD-free). Following oil administration, participants engaged in a laboratory stressor and were then incorrectly informed that they would engage in a second more difficult task following a waiting period. Subjective state (sedation, energy, stress, anxiety) and heart rate were assessed at baseline, post-oil administration, immediately following the first stressor, and while anticipating the second stressor. RESULTS Subjective stress and anxiety were significantly elevated immediately following the stressor (p-values < 0.001). CBD expectancy was associated with increased subjective sedation (p < 0.01) and tended to be associated with blunted subjective stress (p = 0.053). Post hoc within-condition pairwise compassions suggested a return to pre-stressor levels during the anticipation period in the CBD condition for subjective stress and anxiety (p = 0.784, 0.845), but not the CBD-free condition (p = 0.025, 0.045). CONCLUSION Results replicate and extend previous findings that CBD expectancy alone can impact stress- and anxiety-relevant responses in the laboratory context.
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Affiliation(s)
- Radostina M Zhekova
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, Canada
| | - Robin N Perry
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, Canada
| | - Toni C Spinella
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, Canada
| | - Kayley Dockrill
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, Canada
| | - Sherry H Stewart
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, Canada
| | - Sean P Barrett
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, Canada
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2
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Osaghae I, Chido-Amajuoyi OG, Khalifa BAA, Talluri R, Shete S. Cannabis Use among Cancer Survivors: Use Pattern, Product Type, and Timing of Use. Cancers (Basel) 2023; 15:5822. [PMID: 38136367 PMCID: PMC10741826 DOI: 10.3390/cancers15245822] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/22/2023] [Revised: 12/08/2023] [Accepted: 12/11/2023] [Indexed: 12/24/2023] Open
Abstract
Despite growing interest in the use of cannabis for the treatment of cancer-related symptoms, there are limited studies that have assessed the use pattern, type, and mode of delivery of cannabis products used by cancer survivors. This study describes the current state of the use pattern, product type, and mode of delivery of cannabis used by cancer survivors. This was a cross-sectional study of cancer survivors from 41 U.S. states who received treatment at the largest NCI-designated comprehensive cancer center. The weighted prevalence of the use patterns, product types, and modes of delivery of cannabis used by cancer survivors was estimated. A total of 1886 cancer survivors were included in the study, with 915 (48% [95% CI: 45-51]) reporting ever using cannabis. Of survivors who had ever used cannabis, 36% (95% CI: 33-40) were current users. Among survivors who reported cannabis use after diagnosis, 40% used cannabis during and after cancer treatment, 35% used cannabis during treatment, and 25% used cannabis after completing their cancer treatment. Additionally, 48% of survivors reported an increase in cannabis use since cancer diagnosis. The commonest types of cannabis products used by cancer survivors were dry leaf cannabis (71%), cannabidiol (CBD) oil (46%), and cannabis candy (40%). Moreover, cancer survivors frequently used baked goods (32%), creams and gels (21%), and tinctures (18%). Furthermore, among ever users, the predominant mode of use was cannabis inhalation/smoking (69%) compared to eating/drinking (59%). More so, the common mode of inhalation/smoking of cannabis products were rolled cannabis cigarettes (79%), pipes (36%), water pipes (34%), vaporizers or vapes (14%), and e-cigarette devices (14%). A substantial number of cancer survivors use cannabis during cancer treatment, with increased use following cancer diagnosis. The forms and modes of delivery of cannabis varied among survivors, with most survivors inhaling or smoking cannabis. There is a need to educate healthcare providers (HCPs) and survivors on current evidence of cannabis use and strengthen cannabis regulatory frameworks to optimize benefits and minimize adverse events from cannabis use during cancer treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ikponmwosa Osaghae
- Department of Epidemiology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | | | - Banda A. A. Khalifa
- Department of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
| | - Rajesh Talluri
- Department of Biostatistics, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA
- Department of Data Science, University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, MS 39216, USA
| | - Sanjay Shete
- Department of Epidemiology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA
- Department of Biostatistics, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA
- Division of Cancer Prevention and Population Sciences, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA
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3
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Coelho SG, Rueda S, Costiniuk CT, Jenabian MA, Margolese S, Mandarino E, Shuper PA, Hendershot CS, Cunningham JA, Arbess G, Singer J, Wardell JD. Knowledge of Cannabinoid Content Among People Living with HIV Who Use Cannabis: a Daily Diary Study. Int J Behav Med 2023:10.1007/s12529-023-10221-x. [PMID: 37794278 DOI: 10.1007/s12529-023-10221-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 09/07/2023] [Indexed: 10/06/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Many people living with HIV (PLWH) use cannabis for medicinal reasons. Patients' knowledge of the tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD) concentrations of the cannabis products they use may be important in helping patients achieve symptom relief while guarding against potential risks of cannabis use. However, no studies have examined cannabinoid concentration knowledge among PLWH. METHOD PLWH (N = 29; 76% men, mean age 47 years) reporting cannabis use for both medicinal and nonmedicinal reasons completed daily surveys over 14 days assessing cannabis products used, knowledge of cannabinoid concentrations of cannabis products used, cannabis use motives (medicinal, nonmedicinal, both), and positive and negative cannabis-related consequences. Across the 361 cannabis use days captured on the daily surveys, at least some knowledge of cannabinoid concentrations was reported on an average of 43.1% (for THC) and 26.6% (for CBD) of the days. RESULTS Generalized linear mixed models revealed that participants were more likely to report knowing THC and CBD concentrations on days when they used non-flower forms of cannabis relative to days when they used cannabis flower only. Participants who used cannabis for medicinal reasons on a greater proportion of days had greater knowledge of cannabinoid concentration overall across days. Further, greater overall knowledge of cannabinoid concentrations was associated with fewer reported negative cannabis-related consequences. CONCLUSIONS Findings suggest that among PLWH, knowledge of cannabinoid concentrations may be higher when using non-flower cannabis products and among those reporting primarily medicinal cannabis use. Moreover, knowledge of cannabinoid concentration may protect against negative cannabis-related consequences in this population.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sophie G Coelho
- Department of Psychology, York University, 277 Behavioural Sciences Building, 4700 Keele St., Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Sergio Rueda
- Institute for Mental Health Policy Research and Campbell Family Mental Health Research Institute, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, ON, Canada
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
- CIHR Canadian HIV Trials Network, Vancouver, BC, Canada
| | - Cecilia T Costiniuk
- CIHR Canadian HIV Trials Network, Vancouver, BC, Canada
- Chronic Viral Illness Service and Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, McGill University Health Centre, Montreal, QC, Canada
- Infection and Immunity in Global Health Program, Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - Mohammad-Ali Jenabian
- CIHR Canadian HIV Trials Network, Vancouver, BC, Canada
- Department of Biological Sciences, Université du Québec á Montréal, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | | | | | - Paul A Shuper
- Institute for Mental Health Policy Research and Campbell Family Mental Health Research Institute, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, ON, Canada
- Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Christian S Hendershot
- Department of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
- Bowles Centre for Alcohol Studies, University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - John A Cunningham
- Institute for Mental Health Policy Research and Campbell Family Mental Health Research Institute, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, ON, Canada
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
- Department of Addictions, Kings College London, London, UK
| | - Gordon Arbess
- Unity Health Toronto, St. Michael's Hospital, Toronto, ON, Canada
- Department of Family and Community Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Joel Singer
- CIHR Canadian HIV Trials Network, Vancouver, BC, Canada
- School of Population and Public Health, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
| | - Jeffrey D Wardell
- Department of Psychology, York University, 277 Behavioural Sciences Building, 4700 Keele St., Toronto, ON, Canada.
- Institute for Mental Health Policy Research and Campbell Family Mental Health Research Institute, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, ON, Canada.
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
- CIHR Canadian HIV Trials Network, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
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4
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Graham M, Renaud E, Lucas CJ, Schneider J, Martin JH. Medicinal Cannabis Guidance and Resources for Health Professionals to Inform Clinical Decision Making. Clin Ther 2023; 45:527-534. [PMID: 37414503 DOI: 10.1016/j.clinthera.2023.03.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/28/2022] [Revised: 02/17/2023] [Accepted: 03/09/2023] [Indexed: 07/08/2023]
Abstract
PURPOSE Interest in the use of cannabis as a medicine has markedly increased during the last decade, with an unprecedented number of patients now seeking advice or prescriptions for medicinal cannabis. Unlike other medicines prescribed by physicians, many medicinal cannabis products have not undergone standard clinical trial development required by regulatory authorities. Different formulations with varying strengths and ratios of tetrahydrocannabinol and cannabidiol are available, and this diversity of medicinal cannabis products available for a myriad of therapeutic indications adds to the complexity. Physicians face challenges and barriers in their clinical decision making with medicinal cannabis because of current evidence limitations. Research efforts to address evidence limitations are ongoing; in the interim, educational resources and clinical guidance are being developed to address the gap in clinical information and support the needs of health professionals. METHODS This article provides an overview of various resources that health professionals may use when seeking information about medicinal cannabis in the absence of high-quality evidence and clinical guidelines. It also identifies examples of international evidence-based resources that support clinical decision making with medicinal cannabis. FINDINGS Similarities and differences between international examples of guidance and guideline documents are identified and summarized. IMPLICATIONS Guidance can help guide physicians in the individualized choice and dose of medicinal cannabis. Before quality clinical trials and regulator-approved products with risk management programs, safety data require clinical and academic collaborative pharmacovigilance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Myfanwy Graham
- Australian Centre for Cannabinoid Clinical and Research Excellence, University of Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia; Centre for Drug Repurposing and Medicines Research, University of Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia; Hunter Medical Research Institute, New South Wales, Australia.
| | - Elianne Renaud
- Australian Centre for Cannabinoid Clinical and Research Excellence, University of Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia; Centre for Drug Repurposing and Medicines Research, University of Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia; Hunter Medical Research Institute, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Catherine J Lucas
- Australian Centre for Cannabinoid Clinical and Research Excellence, University of Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia; Centre for Drug Repurposing and Medicines Research, University of Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia; Hunter Medical Research Institute, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Jennifer Schneider
- Australian Centre for Cannabinoid Clinical and Research Excellence, University of Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia; Centre for Drug Repurposing and Medicines Research, University of Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia; Hunter Medical Research Institute, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Jennifer H Martin
- Australian Centre for Cannabinoid Clinical and Research Excellence, University of Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia; Centre for Drug Repurposing and Medicines Research, University of Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia; Hunter Medical Research Institute, New South Wales, Australia
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5
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Khademi S, Hallinan CM, Conway M, Bonomo Y. Using Social Media Data to Investigate Public Perceptions of Cannabis as a Medicine: Narrative Review. J Med Internet Res 2023; 25:e36667. [PMID: 36848191 PMCID: PMC10012004 DOI: 10.2196/36667] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/20/2022] [Revised: 08/31/2022] [Accepted: 12/16/2022] [Indexed: 03/01/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The use and acceptance of medicinal cannabis is on the rise across the globe. To support the interests of public health, evidence relating to its use, effects, and safety is required to match this community demand. Web-based user-generated data are often used by researchers and public health organizations for the investigation of consumer perceptions, market forces, population behaviors, and for pharmacoepidemiology. OBJECTIVE In this review, we aimed to summarize the findings of studies that have used user-generated text as a data source to study medicinal cannabis or the use of cannabis as medicine. Our objectives were to categorize the insights provided by social media research on cannabis as medicine and describe the role of social media for consumers using medicinal cannabis. METHODS The inclusion criteria for this review were primary research studies and reviews that reported on the analysis of web-based user-generated content on cannabis as medicine. The MEDLINE, Scopus, Web of Science, and Embase databases were searched from January 1974 to April 2022. RESULTS We examined 42 studies published in English and found that consumers value their ability to exchange experiences on the web and tend to rely on web-based information sources. Cannabis discussions have portrayed the substance as a safe and natural medicine to help with many health conditions including cancer, sleep disorders, chronic pain, opioid use disorders, headaches, asthma, bowel disease, anxiety, depression, and posttraumatic stress disorder. These discussions provide a rich resource for researchers to investigate medicinal cannabis-related consumer sentiment and experiences, including the opportunity to monitor cannabis effects and adverse events, given the anecdotal and often biased nature of the information is properly accounted for. CONCLUSIONS The extensive web-based presence of the cannabis industry coupled with the conversational nature of social media discourse results in rich but potentially biased information that is often not well-supported by scientific evidence. This review summarizes what social media is saying about the medicinal use of cannabis and discusses the challenges faced by health governance agencies and professionals to make use of web-based resources to both learn from medicinal cannabis users and provide factual, timely, and reliable evidence-based health information to consumers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sedigh Khademi
- Department of General Practice, Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry & Health Sciences, University of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.,Centre for Health Analytics, Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Melbourne, Australia
| | - Christine Mary Hallinan
- Department of General Practice, Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry & Health Sciences, University of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.,Health & Biomedical Research Information Technology Unit, Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia
| | - Mike Conway
- School of Computing and Information Systems, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia
| | - Yvonne Bonomo
- Department of General Practice, Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry & Health Sciences, University of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.,Department of Addiction Medicine, St Vincent's Health, Melbourne, Australia
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6
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Hallinan CM, Khademi Habibabadi S, Conway M, Bonomo YA. Social media discourse and internet search queries on cannabis as a medicine: A systematic scoping review. PLoS One 2023; 18:e0269143. [PMID: 36662832 PMCID: PMC9858862 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0269143] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/12/2022] [Accepted: 12/15/2022] [Indexed: 01/21/2023] Open
Abstract
The use of cannabis for medicinal purposes has increased globally over the past decade since patient access to medicinal cannabis has been legislated across jurisdictions in Europe, the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, and Australia. Yet, evidence relating to the effect of medical cannabis on the management of symptoms for a suite of conditions is only just emerging. Although there is considerable engagement from many stakeholders to add to the evidence base through randomized controlled trials, many gaps in the literature remain. Data from real-world and patient reported sources can provide opportunities to address this evidence deficit. This real-world data can be captured from a variety of sources such as found in routinely collected health care and health services records that include but are not limited to patient generated data from medical, administrative and claims data, patient reported data from surveys, wearable trackers, patient registries, and social media. In this systematic scoping review, we seek to understand the utility of online user generated text into the use of cannabis as a medicine. In this scoping review, we aimed to systematically search published literature to examine the extent, range, and nature of research that utilises user-generated content to examine to cannabis as a medicine. The objective of this methodological review is to synthesise primary research that uses social media discourse and internet search engine queries to answer the following questions: (i) In what way, is online user-generated text used as a data source in the investigation of cannabis as a medicine? (ii) What are the aims, data sources, methods, and research themes of studies using online user-generated text to discuss the medicinal use of cannabis. We conducted a manual search of primary research studies which used online user-generated text as a data source using the MEDLINE, Embase, Web of Science, and Scopus databases in October 2022. Editorials, letters, commentaries, surveys, protocols, and book chapters were excluded from the review. Forty-two studies were included in this review, twenty-two studies used manually labelled data, four studies used existing meta-data (Google trends/geo-location data), two studies used data that was manually coded using crowdsourcing services, and two used automated coding supplied by a social media analytics company, fifteen used computational methods for annotating data. Our review reflects a growing interest in the use of user-generated content for public health surveillance. It also demonstrates the need for the development of a systematic approach for evaluating the quality of social media studies and highlights the utility of automatic processing and computational methods (machine learning technologies) for large social media datasets. This systematic scoping review has shown that user-generated content as a data source for studying cannabis as a medicine provides another means to understand how cannabis is perceived and used in the community. As such, it provides another potential 'tool' with which to engage in pharmacovigilance of, not only cannabis as a medicine, but also other novel therapeutics as they enter the market.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christine Mary Hallinan
- Faculty of Medicine, Department of General Practice, Dentistry & Health Sciences, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
- Faculty of Medicine, Department of General Practice, Health & Biomedical Research Information Technology Unit (HaBIC R2), Melbourne Medical School, Dentistry & Health Sciences, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
| | - Sedigheh Khademi Habibabadi
- Faculty of Medicine, Department of General Practice, Dentistry & Health Sciences, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
| | - Mike Conway
- Centre for Digital Transformation of Health, Victorian Comprehensive Cancer Centre, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
| | - Yvonne Ann Bonomo
- St Vincent’s Health—Department of Addiction Medicine, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
- Faculty of Medicine, St Vincent’s Clinical School, Melbourne Medical School, Dentistry & Health Sciences, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
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7
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Mavragani A, Bradley H, Wang Z, Ma M, Zhang B, Jia Z. Comparison of the Users' Attitudes Toward Cannabidiol on Social Media Platforms: Topic Modeling Study. JMIR Public Health Surveill 2023; 9:e34132. [PMID: 36630175 PMCID: PMC9878368 DOI: 10.2196/34132] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/07/2021] [Revised: 05/14/2022] [Accepted: 11/25/2022] [Indexed: 01/12/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND As one of the major constituents of the cannabis sativa plant, cannabidiol (CBD) is approved for use in medical treatment and cosmetics because of its potential health benefits. With the rapid growth of the CBD market, customers purchase these products, and relevant discussions are becoming more active on social media. OBJECTIVE In this study, we aimed to understand the users' attitudes toward CBD products in various countries by conducting text mining on social media in countries with different substance management policies. METHODS We collected posts from Reddit and Xiaohongshu, conducted topic mining using the latent Dirichlet allocation model, and analyzed the characteristics of topics on different social media. Subsequently, a co-occurrence network of high-frequency keywords was constructed to explore potential relationships among topics. Moreover, we conducted sentiment analysis on the posts' comments and compared users' attitudes toward CBD products on Reddit and Xiaohongshu using chi-square test. RESULTS CBD-related posts on social media have been rapidly increasing, especially on Xiaohongshu since 2019. A total of 1790 posts from Reddit and 1951 posts from Xiaohongshu were included in the final analysis. The posts on the 2 social media platforms, Reddit and Xiaohongshu, were categorized into 7 and 8 topics, respectively, by the latent Dirichlet allocation model, and these topics on the 2 social media were grouped into 5 themes. Our study showed that the themes on Reddit were mainly related to the therapeutic effects of CBD, whereas the themes on Xiaohongshu concentrated on cosmetics, such as facial masks. Theme 2 (CBD market information) and theme 3 (attitudes toward CBD) on Reddit had more connections with other themes in the co-occurrence network, and theme 3 and theme 1 (CBD therapeutic effects) had a high co-occurrence frequency (22,803/73,865, 30.87%). Meanwhile, theme 1 (CBD cosmetics) on Xiaohongshu had various connections with others (169,961/384,575, 44.19%), and the co-occurrence frequency of theme 4 (CBD ingredients) and theme 1 was relatively prominent (27,128/49,312, 55.01%). Overall, users' comments tended to be positive for CBD-related information on both Reddit and Xiaohongshu, but the percentage was higher on Xiaohongshu (82.25% vs 86.18%; P<.001), especially in cosmetics and medical health care products. CONCLUSIONS The CBD market has grown rapidly, and the topics related to CBD on social media have become active. There are apparent differences in users' attitudes toward CBD in countries with different substance management policies. Targeted CBD management measures should be formulated to suit the prevalence of CBD use of each country.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Zekun Wang
- School of Public Health, Peking University, Beijing, China
| | - Mingchang Ma
- School of Cyberspace Security, Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications, Beijing, China
| | - Bo Zhang
- School of Public Health, Peking University, Beijing, China
| | - Zhongwei Jia
- School of Public Health, Peking University, Beijing, China.,Center for Intelligent Public Health, Institute for Artificial Intelligence, Peking University, Beijing, China.,Center for Drug Abuse Control and Prevention, National Institute of Health Data Science, Beijing, China
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8
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Abstract
Preclinical models provided ample evidence that cannabinoids are cytotoxic against cancer cells. Among the best studied phytocannabinoids, cannabidiol (CBD) is most promising for the treatment of cancer as it lacks the psychotomimetic properties of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). In vitro studies and animal experiments point to a concentration- (dose-)dependent anticancer effect. The effectiveness of pure compounds versus extracts is the subject of an ongoing debate. Actual results demonstrate that CBD-rich hemp extracts must be distinguished from THC-rich cannabis preparations. Whereas pure CBD was superior to CBD-rich extracts in most in vitro experiments, the opposite was observed for pure THC and THC-rich extracts, although exceptions were noted. The cytotoxic effects of CBD, THC and extracts seem to depend not only on the nature of cannabinoids and the presence of other phytochemicals but also largely on the nature of cell lines and test conditions. Neither CBD nor THC are universally efficacious in reducing cancer cell viability. The combination of pure cannabinoids may have advantages over single agents, although the optimal ratio seems to depend on the nature of cancer cells; the existence of a 'one size fits all' ratio is very unlikely. As cannabinoids interfere with the endocannabinoid system (ECS), a better understanding of the circadian rhythmicity of the ECS, particularly endocannabinoids and receptors, as well as of the rhythmicity of biological processes related to the growth of cancer cells, could enhance the efficacy of a therapy with cannabinoids by optimization of the timing of the administration, as has already been reported for some of the canonical chemotherapeutics. Theoretically, a CBD dose administered at noon could increase the peak of anandamide and therefore the effects triggered by this agent. Despite the abundance of preclinical articles published over the last 2 decades, well-designed controlled clinical trials on CBD in cancer are still missing. The number of observations in cancer patients, paired with the anticancer activity repeatedly reported in preclinical in vitro and in vivo studies warrants serious scientific exploration moving forward.
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9
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Khademi Habibabadi S, Hallinan C, Bonomo Y, Conway M. Consumer-generated discourse on cannabis as a medicine: Review of techniques (Preprint). J Med Internet Res 2021; 24:e35974. [DOI: 10.2196/35974] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/24/2021] [Revised: 06/16/2022] [Accepted: 07/27/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
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10
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Turner J, Kantardzic M, Vickers-Smith R. Infodemiological Examination of Personal and Commercial Tweets About Cannabidiol: Term and Sentiment Analysis. J Med Internet Res 2021; 23:e27307. [PMID: 34932014 PMCID: PMC8726039 DOI: 10.2196/27307] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/20/2021] [Revised: 05/21/2021] [Accepted: 11/10/2021] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND In the absence of official clinical trial information, data from social networks can be used by public health and medical researchers to assess public claims about loosely regulated substances such as cannabidiol (CBD). For example, this can be achieved by comparing the medical conditions targeted by those selling CBD against the medical conditions patients commonly treat with CBD. OBJECTIVE The objective of this study was to provide a framework for public health and medical researchers to use for identifying and analyzing the consumption and marketing of unregulated substances. Specifically, we examined CBD, which is a substance that is often presented to the public as medication despite complete evidence of efficacy and safety. METHODS We collected 567,850 tweets by searching Twitter with the Tweepy Python package using the terms "CBD" and "cannabidiol." We trained two binary text classifiers to create two corpora of 167,755 personal use and 143,322 commercial/sales tweets. Using medical, standard, and slang dictionaries, we identified and compared the most frequently occurring medical conditions, symptoms, side effects, body parts, and other substances referenced in both corpora. In addition, to assess popular claims about the efficacy of CBD as a medical treatment circulating on Twitter, we performed sentiment analysis via the VADER (Valence Aware Dictionary for Sentiment Reasoning) model on the personal CBD tweets. RESULTS We found references to medically relevant terms that were unique to either personal or commercial CBD tweet classes, as well as medically relevant terms that were common to both classes. When we calculated the average sentiment scores for both personal and commercial CBD tweets referencing at least one of 17 medical conditions/symptoms terms, an overall positive sentiment was observed in both personal and commercial CBD tweets. We observed instances of negative sentiment conveyed in personal CBD tweets referencing autism, whereas CBD was also marketed multiple times as a treatment for autism within commercial tweets. CONCLUSIONS Our proposed framework provides a tool for public health and medical researchers to analyze the consumption and marketing of unregulated substances on social networks. Our analysis showed that most users of CBD are satisfied with it in regard to the condition that it is being advertised for, with the exception of autism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jason Turner
- Data Mining Lab, Department of Computer Science and Engineering, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY, United States
| | - Mehmed Kantardzic
- Data Mining Lab, Department of Computer Science and Engineering, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY, United States
| | - Rachel Vickers-Smith
- Department of Epidemiology, College of Public Health, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, United States
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11
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Soleymanpour M, Saderholm S, Kavuluru R. Therapeutic Claims in Cannabidiol (CBD) Marketing Messages on Twitter. PROCEEDINGS. IEEE INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON BIOINFORMATICS AND BIOMEDICINE 2021; 2021:3083-3088. [PMID: 35096472 DOI: 10.1109/bibm52615.2021.9669404] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
Although the U.S. FDA has only approved exactly one cannabidiol (CBD) drug product (specifically to treat seizures), CBD products are proliferating rapidly through different modes of usage including food products, cosmetics, vaping pods, and supplements (typically, oils). Despite the FDA clearly warning consumers about unproven health claims made by manufacturers selling CBD products over the counter, the CBD market share was nearly 3 billion USD in 2020 and is expected to top 55 billion USD in 2028. In this context, it is important to assess the presence of health claims being made on social media, especially claims that are part of marketing messages. To this end, we collected over two million English tweets discussing CBD themes. We created a hand-labeled dataset and built machine learned classifiers to identify marketing tweets from regular tweets that may be generated by consumers. The best classifier achieved 85% precision, 83% recall, and 84% F-score. Our analyses showed that pain, anxiety disorders, sleep disorders, and stress are the four main therapeutic claims made constituting 31.67%, 27.11%, 13.77%, and 10.37% of all medical claims made on Twitter, respectively. Also, more than 93% of advertised CBD products are edibles or oil/tinctures. Our effort is the first to demonstrate the feasibility of surveillance of marketing claims for CBD products. We believe this could pave way for more explorations into this indispensable task in the current landscape of social media driven health (mis)information and communication.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Sofia Saderholm
- Electrical and Computer Engineering, University Of Kentucky, Lexington, USA
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12
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Chen X, Deng H, Heise JA, Puthoff DP, Bou-Abboud N, Yu H, Peng J. Contents of Cannabinoids in Hemp Varieties Grown in Maryland. ACS OMEGA 2021; 6:32186-32197. [PMID: 34870039 PMCID: PMC8637966 DOI: 10.1021/acsomega.1c04992] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/09/2021] [Accepted: 11/01/2021] [Indexed: 05/11/2023]
Abstract
Coincident with the cannabis legalization and the increased interest in the medicinal use of the plant, the cannabis marketplace and farming have seen tremendous growth. It is reported that there are more than 2000 cannabis varieties available to customers. However, the data that is available to the growers and breeders regarding the cannabinoid contents of various varieties remains low. Here, a high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method was developed and validated for the simultaneous separation and determination of 11 cannabinoids. A total of 104 hemp bud materials belonging to 20 varieties were collected from farms in the state of Maryland and analyzed with the HPLC method. The contents of the 11 cannabinoids in various varieties were compared and discussed, highlighting the varieties that showed a high yield of cannabinoids and good consistency that are more appropriate for cannabinoid production.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaoyan Chen
- Department
of Chemistry, Morgan State University, Baltimore, Maryland 21251, United States
| | - Hua Deng
- Department
of Chemistry, Morgan State University, Baltimore, Maryland 21251, United States
| | - Janai A. Heise
- Department
of Biology, Frostburg State University, Frostburg, Maryland 21532, United States
| | - David P. Puthoff
- Department
of Biology, Frostburg State University, Frostburg, Maryland 21532, United States
| | - Nabeel Bou-Abboud
- Department
of Chemistry, Morgan State University, Baltimore, Maryland 21251, United States
- Department
of biology, Morgan State University, Baltimore, Maryland 21251, United States
| | - Hongtao Yu
- Department
of Chemistry, Morgan State University, Baltimore, Maryland 21251, United States
| | - Jiangnan Peng
- Department
of Chemistry, Morgan State University, Baltimore, Maryland 21251, United States
- Department
of biology, Morgan State University, Baltimore, Maryland 21251, United States
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13
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Altman BR, Mian MN, Ueno LF, Earleywine M. Expectancies about the effects of cannabidiol products on anxiety symptoms. JOURNAL OF SUBSTANCE USE 2021. [DOI: 10.1080/14659891.2021.2006341] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Brianna R. Altman
- Department of Psychology, University at Albany, State University of New York, Albany, New York, USA
| | - Maha N. Mian
- Department of Psychology, University at Albany, State University of New York, Albany, New York, USA
| | - Luna F. Ueno
- Department of Psychology, University at Albany, State University of New York, Albany, New York, USA
| | - Mitch Earleywine
- Department of Psychology, University at Albany, State University of New York, Albany, New York, USA
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14
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De Prá MAA, Vardanega R, Loss CG. Lipid-based formulations to increase cannabidiol bioavailability: In vitro digestion tests, pre-clinical assessment and clinical trial. Int J Pharm 2021; 609:121159. [PMID: 34624443 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpharm.2021.121159] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/14/2021] [Revised: 09/28/2021] [Accepted: 10/03/2021] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
Herein, medium-chain triglycerides (MCT), glyceryl monolinoleate (GML), and a self-emulsifying drug delivery system (SEDDS) for cannabidiol (CBD) delivery were compared using in vitro and in vivo (mouse and human) studies. In vitro digestion tests showed that SEDDS yielded the highest CBD recovery in the aqueous phase (86 ± 2%), followed by GML (13 ± 2%) and MCT (5.6% ± 0.8%). In vivo tests (mouse) revealed that SEDDS promoted the highest CBD exposure, exhibiting an area under the plasma concentration-time curve (AUC0-6h) 1.48 times greater than GML and 3.97 times greater than that of the MCT formulation. A single-dose, open-label, crossover study performed in 11 volunteers showed that SEDDS increased CBD AUC0-12h by 1.12 and 1.48 times in relation to GML and MCT, respectively. The in vitro-in vivo correlation was r2 0.75 for mice and r2 0.66 for humans. The AUC correlation between mice and humans was 0.98. Collectively, these results indicate that the lipid profile substantially influences CBD delivery and highlights the potential of the SEDDS and GML formulations as candidate solutions for increasing CBD AUC and bioavailability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Manuel A A De Prá
- Entourage Phytolab, R. Tabapuã 111, 04533-010 São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
| | - Renata Vardanega
- Entourage Phytolab, R. Tabapuã 111, 04533-010 São Paulo, SP, Brazil
| | - Carla G Loss
- Entourage Phytolab, R. Tabapuã 111, 04533-010 São Paulo, SP, Brazil
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15
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Cannabidiol Inhibition of Murine Primary Nociceptors: Tight Binding to Slow Inactivated States of Na v1.8 Channels. J Neurosci 2021; 41:6371-6387. [PMID: 34131037 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.3216-20.2021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/27/2020] [Revised: 05/11/2021] [Accepted: 06/04/2021] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
The nonpsychoactive phytocannabinoid cannabidiol (CBD) has been shown to have analgesic effects in animal studies but little is known about its mechanism of action. We examined the effects of CBD on intrinsic excitability of primary pain-sensing neurons. Studying acutely dissociated capsaicin-sensitive mouse DRG neurons at 37°C, we found that CBD effectively inhibited repetitive action potential firing, from 15-20 action potentials evoked by 1 s current injections in control to 1-3 action potentials with 2 μm CBD. Reduction of repetitive firing was accompanied by a reduction of action potential height, widening of action potentials, reduction of the afterhyperpolarization, and increased propensity to enter depolarization block. Voltage-clamp experiments showed that CBD inhibited both TTX-sensitive and TTX-resistant (TTX-R) sodium currents in a use-dependent manner. CBD showed strong state-dependent inhibition of TTX-R channels, with fast binding to inactivated channels during depolarizations and slow unbinding on repolarization. CBD alteration of channel availability at various voltages suggested that CBD binds especially tightly [K d (dissociation constant), ∼150 nm] to the slow inactivated state of TTX-R channels, which can be substantially occupied at voltages as negative as -40 mV. Remarkably, CBD was more potent in inhibiting TTX-R channels and inhibiting action potential firing than the local anesthetic bupivacaine. We conclude that CBD might produce some of its analgesic effects by direct effects on neuronal excitability, with tight binding to the slow inactivated state of Nav1.8 channels contributing to effective inhibition of repetitive firing by modest depolarizations.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Cannabidiol (CBD) has been shown to inhibit pain in various rodent models, but the mechanism of this effect is unknown. We describe the ability of CBD to inhibit repetitive action potential firing in primary nociceptive neurons from mouse dorsal root ganglia and analyze the effects on voltage-dependent sodium channels. We find that CBD interacts with TTX-resistant sodium channels in a state-dependent manner suggesting particularly tight binding to slow inactivated states of Nav1.8 channels, which dominate the overall inactivation of Nav1.8 channels for small maintained depolarizations from the resting potential. The results suggest that CBD can exert analgesic effects in part by directly inhibiting repetitive firing of primary nociceptors and suggest a strategy of identifying compounds that bind selectively to slow inactivated states of Nav1.8 channels for developing effective analgesics.
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Zenone MA, Snyder J, Crooks VA. What are the informational pathways that shape people's use of cannabidiol for medical purposes? J Cannabis Res 2021; 3:13. [PMID: 33957993 PMCID: PMC8103601 DOI: 10.1186/s42238-021-00069-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/19/2020] [Accepted: 04/19/2021] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Cannabidiol (CBD) is commonly used to manage symptoms in conditions and diseases for which there is limited clinical research for its application. How consumers arrive and decide to use CBD for medical treatment, despite lacking clinical evidence, is largely unknown. In this paper, we seek to identify the informational pathways through which consumers arrive at CBD for medical purposes. Methods GoFundMe.com campaigns fundraising to purchase CBD between June 2017 and May 2019 were collected using the Crowdfunding for Health Research Portal (CHRP). Product descriptions were thematically analyzed to determine pathways leading to incorporation of CBD into medical treatment. Campaign characteristics such as fundraising ask, funding received, location, campaign title, description, Facebook shares, and number of donors were recorded. Specific medical uses of CBD proposed in campaigns were tabulated. Results The study identified 164 crowdfunding campaigns primarily from the USA (n=159), with several from Canada (n=5). The campaigns requested $2,219,284.24 (median, $7000) and raised $610,612.87 (median, $1805) from 6825 donors (median, 26). Many campaigns asked for other treatments or illness-related costs not specific to CBD. The campaigns were shared 42,299 times on Facebook (median, 156 shares). Three informational pathways were identified leading to incorporation of CBD into medical treatment, which were self-directed research (n=149), recommendations from a trusted care provider (n=36), and/or experiential insights shared by someone associated with or influencing the crowdfunders personal network (n=30). The proposed uses of CBD were for cancer (n=96), seizure-inducing diseases/conditions (n=48), other/unspecified (n=6), joint/inflammatory diseases (n=6), mental health disorders (n=3), nervous system diseases (n=3), and autoimmune diseases (n=2). Conclusions Our results suggest that consumers crowdfunding come to CBD through internally motivated reasons versus exposure to advertisements or other forms of marketing. Campaign beneficiaries generally had an unmet medical need that other forms of treatment were not satisfying. Then, through one or more of the informational pathways identified, CBD is considered a potential solution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marco A Zenone
- Faculty of Health Sciences, Simon Fraser University, 8888 University Dr, Burnaby, British Columbia, V5A 1S6, Canada.
| | - Jeremy Snyder
- Faculty of Health Sciences, Simon Fraser University, 8888 University Dr, Burnaby, British Columbia, V5A 1S6, Canada
| | - Valorie A Crooks
- Department of Geography, Simon Fraser University, 8888 University Dr, Burnaby, British Columbia, V5A 1S6, Canada
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17
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Fedorova EV, Wong CF, Ataiants J, Iverson E, Conn B, Lankenau SE. Cannabidiol (CBD) and other drug use among young adults who use cannabis in Los Angeles. Drug Alcohol Depend 2021; 221:108648. [PMID: 33676073 PMCID: PMC8462788 DOI: 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2021.108648] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/14/2020] [Revised: 02/09/2021] [Accepted: 02/14/2021] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Cannabidiol (CBD) is purportedly a promising therapeutic agent to provide relief for a variety of medical conditions with mild or no psychoactive effects. However, little is known about young adults who use cannabis and CBD-dominant products, and associations between CBD use and other drug use. METHODS Young adults (aged 24-32) who currently used cannabis (n = 239) were surveyed in Los Angeles in March 2019 through March 2020. The sample was divided into CBD-dominant (at least 1:1 CBD:THC ratio) and THC-dominant product users. We described CBD forms, reasons and conditions for CBD use and examined between-group differences in sociodemographic characteristics, cannabis practices, health and other drug use. RESULTS CBD-dominant users were more likely to be female, use cannabis at lower frequency and amount (except for edible/drinkable/oral products), self-report medical motivation for cannabis use, use cannabis for pain and report more health problems. Oil, flower, topicals and sprays/drops/tinctures were the most prevalent CBD forms. Psychological problems and pain were commonly reported conditions and medical reasons for CBD use. CBD-dominant users were more likely to report illicit drug use, where psilocybin use was markedly different between the two groups. CONCLUSIONS CBD use was associated with health histories and motivations linked to pain and psychological problems. Positive association between CBD use and illicit drug use may indicate self-medication for psychological conditions. Future studies should evaluate the effectiveness of various CBD forms and dose regimens for treatment of pain and psychological problems, and as a potential intervention for decreasing other drug use and associated harms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ekaterina V. Fedorova
- Drexel University, Dornsife School of Public Health,
Department of Community Health and Prevention, 3215 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA
19104, United States
| | - Carolyn F. Wong
- University of Southern California, Keck School of Medicine,
Department of Pediatrics, 4650 Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90027, United
States,Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, Division of
Adolescent Medicine, 4650 Sunset Blvd., MS #2, Los Angeles, CA 90027, United
States,Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, Division of
Research on Children, Youth, & Families, 4650 Sunset Blvd., MS #2, Los Angeles,
CA 90027, United States
| | - Janna Ataiants
- Drexel University, Dornsife School of Public Health,
Department of Community Health and Prevention, 3215 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA
19104, United States
| | - Ellen Iverson
- University of Southern California, Keck School of Medicine,
Department of Pediatrics, 4650 Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90027, United
States,Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, Division of
Adolescent Medicine, 4650 Sunset Blvd., MS #2, Los Angeles, CA 90027, United
States
| | - Bridgid Conn
- University of Southern California, Keck School of Medicine,
Department of Pediatrics, 4650 Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90027, United
States
| | - Stephen E. Lankenau
- Drexel University, Dornsife School of Public Health,
Department of Community Health and Prevention, 3215 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA
19104, United States
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18
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Moltke J, Hindocha C. Reasons for cannabidiol use: a cross-sectional study of CBD users, focusing on self-perceived stress, anxiety, and sleep problems. J Cannabis Res 2021; 3:5. [PMID: 33602344 PMCID: PMC7893882 DOI: 10.1186/s42238-021-00061-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 63] [Impact Index Per Article: 21.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/04/2020] [Accepted: 02/08/2021] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Public and medical interest in cannabidiol (CBD) has been rising, and CBD is now available from various sources. Research into the effects of low-dose CBD on outcomes like stress, anxiety, and sleep problems have been scarce, so we conducted an online survey of CBD users to better understand patterns of use, dose, and self-perceived effects of CBD. METHODS The sample consisted of 387 current or past-CBD users who answered a 20-question online survey. The survey was sent out to CBD users through email databases and social media. Participants reported basic demographics, CBD use patterns, reasons for use, and effects on anxiety, sleep, and stress. RESULTS The sample (N = 387) consisted of 61.2% females, mostly between 25 and 54 years old (72.2%) and primarily based in the UK (77.4%). The top 4 reasons for using CBD were self-perceived anxiety (42.6%), sleep problems (42.5%), stress (37%), and general health and wellbeing (37%). Fifty-four per cent reported using less than 50 mg CBD daily, and 72.6% used CBD sublingually. Adjusted logistic models show females had lower odds than males of using CBD for general health and wellbeing [OR 0.45, 95% CI 0.30-0.72] and post-workout muscle-soreness [OR 0.46, 95%CI 0.24-0.91] but had higher odds of using CBD for self-perceived anxiety [OR 1.60, 95% CI 0.02-2.49] and insomnia [OR 1.87, 95% CI 1.13-3.11]. Older individuals had lower odds of using CBD for general health and wellbeing, stress, post-workout sore muscles, anxiety, skin conditions, focusing, and sleep but had higher odds of using CBD for pain. Respondents reported that CBD use was effective for stress, sleep problems, and anxiety in those who used the drug for those conditions. CONCLUSION This survey indicated that CBD users take the drug to manage self-perceived anxiety, stress, sleep, and other symptoms, often in low doses, and these patterns vary by demographic characteristics. Further research is required to understand how low doses, representative of the general user, might impact mental health symptoms like stress, anxiety, and sleep problems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julie Moltke
- Clinic Horsted, Chronic Pain Clinic, Farvegade 2, 1463, Copenhagen, Denmark.
| | - Chandni Hindocha
- Clinical Psychopharmacology Unit, Department of Clinical, Educational & Health Psychology, University College London, London, UK
- Translational Psychiatry Research Group, Research Department of Mental Health Neuroscience, Division of Psychiatry, Faculty of Brain Sciences, University College London, London, UK
- University College Hospital National Institute of Health Research (NIHR) Biomedical Research Centre, London, UK
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O'Sullivan SE, Stevenson CW, Laviolette SR. Could Cannabidiol Be a Treatment for Coronavirus Disease-19-Related Anxiety Disorders? Cannabis Cannabinoid Res 2021; 6:7-18. [PMID: 33614948 PMCID: PMC7891214 DOI: 10.1089/can.2020.0102] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19)-related anxiety and post-traumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are likely to be a significant long-term issue emerging from the current pandemic. We hypothesize that cannabidiol (CBD), a chemical isolated from Cannabis sativa with reported anxiolytic properties, could be a therapeutic option for the treatment of COVID-19-related anxiety disorders. In the global over-the-counter CBD market, anxiety, stress, depression, and sleep disorders are consistently the top reasons people use CBD. In small randomized controlled clinical trials, CBD (300-800 mg) reduces anxiety in healthy volunteers, patients with social anxiety disorder, those at clinical high risk of psychosis, in patients with Parkinson's disease, and in individuals with heroin use disorder. Observational studies and case reports support these findings, extending to patients with anxiety and sleep disorders, Crohn's disease, depression, and in PTSD. Larger ongoing trials in this area continue to add to this evidence base with relevant patient cohorts, sample sizes, and clinical end-points. Pre-clinical studies reveal the molecular targets of CBD in these indications as the cannabinoid receptor type 1 and cannabinoid receptor type 2 (mainly in fear memory processing), serotonin 1A receptor (mainly in anxiolysis) and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (mainly in the underpinning anti-inflammatory/antioxidant effects). Observational and pre-clinical data also support CBD's therapeutic value in improving sleep (increased sleep duration/quality and reduction in nightmares) and depression, which are often comorbid with anxiety. Together these features of CBD make it an attractive novel therapeutic option in COVID-related PTSS that merits investigation and testing through appropriately designed randomized controlled trials.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Carl W. Stevenson
- School of Biosciences, University of Nottingham, Loughborough, United Kingdom
| | - Steven R. Laviolette
- Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology and Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, University of Western Ontario, London, Canada
- Department of Psychiatry, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, University of Western Ontario, London, Canada
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