EXPLORING THE EFFICACY AND SAFETY OF CANNABIS IN THE MANAGEMENT OF FIBROMYALGIA

Authors

  • AMOL SAGDEO Clinical Fellow in Rheumatology, the Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital, NHS Foundation Trust, SY10 7AG United Kingdom
  • AYMAN ASKARI Clinical Fellow in Rheumatology, the Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital, NHS Foundation Trust, SY10 7AG United Kingdom
  • PATRICK BALL The University of Wolverhampton, Faculty of Science and Engineering, School of Pharmacy, Wulfruna Street, WV1 1LY United Kingdom
  • HANA MORRISSEY The University of Wolverhampton, Faculty of Science and Engineering, School of Pharmacy, Wulfruna Street, WV1 1LY United Kingdom

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.22159/ijcpr.2022v14i1.44109

Keywords:

Fibromyalgia, Medicinal cannabis, Chronic pain, Fatigue, Licensed medicines

Abstract

Fibromyalgia is a chronic health condition characterized by chronic pain fatigue, sleep disturbances and many other symptoms affecting a patient’s quality of life. Patients with fibromyalgia often visit rheumatology outpatients with a long list of symptoms and often receive multiple medications. Many have seen multiple specialists and have done a lot of reading about alternative modalities of treatment. The limited effectiveness of conventional therapy coupled with widespread media attention raises the question of cannabis use.

This review examines the literature on cannabinoid use in fibromyalgia against the context of the international variation in legal frameworks, the available products and the outcomes reported. A detailed review was performed using the EMBASE and PUBMED databases.

It was concluded that despite the interest in the use of cannabinoids in the management of fibromyalgia, there is insufficient evidence to prescribe the currently available licensed medicines or to recommend the complementary health products available for legal purchase.

There is a need for more global clinical randomised trials to accurately determine medicinal cannabis short and long-term long efficacy and safety for its acute and chronic use.

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Published

15-01-2022

How to Cite

SAGDEO, A., A. ASKARI, P. BALL, and H. MORRISSEY. “EXPLORING THE EFFICACY AND SAFETY OF CANNABIS IN THE MANAGEMENT OF FIBROMYALGIA”. International Journal of Current Pharmaceutical Research, vol. 14, no. 1, Jan. 2022, pp. 27-30, doi:10.22159/ijcpr.2022v14i1.44109.

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Section

Review Article(s)