Diabetes and Pain Relief with Medicinal Cannabis
Patients with peripheral diabetic neuropathy experience at least 50% pain relief, according to a study conducted at the General Clinical Research Center of the University of California Medical Center (UCSD).
Curation by Sechat, with information from SEGS
A study carried out at the General Clinical Research Center of the University of California Medical Center (UCSD), involving 16 patients with peripheral diabetic neuropathy, used inhaled cannabis to assess the improvement in pain intensity. According to the article, there was a significant decrease in pain compared to the placebo group, proving the analgesic effect of the plant.
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Neuropathy is a type of chronic pain resulting from diabetes, the most common cause affecting peripheral nerves. Among the regular discomforts are burning, stabbing, tingling, shocks, swelling, and numbness, which usually worsen at night. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, diabetic neuropathy affects about 366 million individuals worldwide and conventional treatment is unsatisfactory.
In the field of cannabinoid medicine, cannabis has been used to alleviate these effects of diabetes and other pathologies, showing efficacy in controlling chronic pain. "Neuropathic pain, whether from diabetes, stroke sequelae, or others, is one of the worst pains, both for those who have it and for those who treat it. And today we know that medicinal cannabis is very good as an adjuvant in the treatments available," emphasizes Maria Teresa Jacob, a physician who treats patients with medicinal cannabis.
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According to Dr. Teresa, there is a relief of more than 50% when using medicinal cannabis in these cases. "The responses are relatively quick. When you have the opportunity to associate cannabis in the treatment of symptoms, the patient, in most cases, experiences significant relief," concludes the specialist.
Although preliminary, available research reinforces that cannabis is an alternative and effective choice of treatment for diabetic neuropathy. At the same time, before prescribing it, the doctor needs to evaluate the patient's entire history and define issues such as the dose and substances present in the plant-based medication. The growing interest in cannabinoid medicine opens up space for new studies and possibilities to treat this and other conditions.
About Dr. Maria Teresa Jacob
Graduated from the Jundiaí School of Medicine in 1982, with medical residency in Anesthesiology at the Penido Burnier Institute and Campinas Medical Center. Holds a Specialist Title in Anesthesiology, a Specialist Title in Acupuncture, and a Specialist Title in Pain. Specialization in Pain at Clinique de la Toussaint in Strasbourg, France in 1992, Medicinal Cannabis and Health at the University of Colorado, Medicinal Cannabis, in a course coordinated by Dr. Raquel Peyraube, a Uruguayan physician who is a world reference in the field. Member of the International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP), the Brazilian Society for the Study of Pain (SBED), the International Musculoskeletal Pain Society (IMS), the European Pain Society (EFIC), the Society of Cannabis Clinicians (SCC), and the International Association for Cannabinoid Medicines (IACM). She has been treating Chronic Pain since 1992 and for several years in Cannabinoid Medicine for various pathologies at her private clinic located in Campinas.