The Effectiveness of Topical Cannabidiol Oil in Symptomatic Relief of Peripheral Neuropathy of the Lower Extremities

Abstract

Background: Peripheral neuropathy can significantly impact the quality of life for those who are affected, as therapies from the current treatment algorithm often fail to deliver adequate symptom relief. There has, however, been an increasing body of evidence for the use of cannabinoids in the treatment of chronic, noncancer pain. The efficacy of a topically delivered cannabidiol (CBD) oil in the management of neuropathic pain was examined in this four-week, randomized and placebocontrolled trial. Methods: In total, 29 patients with symptomatic peripheral neuropathy were recruited and enrolled. 15 patients were randomized to the CBD group with the treatment product containing 250 mg CBD/3 fl. oz, and 14 patients were randomized to the placebo group. After four weeks, the placebo group was allowed to crossover into the treatment group. The Neuropathic Pain Scale (NPS) was administered biweekly to assess the mean change from baseline to the end of the treatment period. Results: The study population included 62.1% males and 37.9% females with a mean age of 68 years. There was a statistically significant reduction in intense pain, sharp pain, cold and itchy sensations in the CBD group when compared to the placebo group. No adverse events were reported in this study. Conclusions: Our findings demonstrate that the transdermal application of CBD oil can achieve significant improvement in pain and other disturbing sensations in patients with peripheral neuropathy. The treatment product was well tolerated and may provide a more effective alternative compared to other current therapies in the treatment of peripheral neuropathy.

Cannabidiol for Pain Treatment: Focus on Pharmacology and Mechanism of Action

“…CBD was proven to be safe and cause only mild adverse effects in humans (e.g., ataxia, sedation, nausea, headache or decreased appetite) [100][101][102][103]. A transdermal CBD-containing gel in patients with peripheral neuropathic pain mitigated pain, as well as cold and itchy sensations [104]. CBD might be used clinically alone or in combination with other cannabinoids.…”

A Balanced Approach for Cannabidiol Use in Chronic Pain

“…However, these studies were often limited by small cohorts, and the varied disease states indicated that the beneficial effects of CBD are context dependent, which was illustrated in a study where treatment did not improve outcomes in patients suffering from Crohn's disease (Naftali et al, 2014). CBD was also seemingly effective in treatment of chronic pain associated with kidney transplantation and when given topically to patients suffering from peripheral neuropathy of their lower extremities (Cuñetti et al, 2018;Xu et al, 2019). As well, in patients with fibromyalgia, CBD treatment decreased pain by more than 30% in significantly more patients than placebo (Van De Donk et al, 2019).…”

“…All images are freely available through pixabay.com under creative commons license. (Ward et al, 2014;King et al, 2017); 3 (Harris et al, 2016); CBD ( 1 NIH; 2 THC Pharm; 3 GW Pharma; 4 Cayman; 5 NS) Rat ↓inflammation; ↓hyperalgesia; ↓ hepatic cytochrome p450 (Costa et al, 2007;Comelli et al, 2008;Casey et al, 2017;Abraham et al, 2019) (Wade et al, 2003) 5 ; (Cuñetti et al, 2018;Xu et al, 2019); (Van De Donk et al, 2019) 2 ; (Notcutt et al, 2004;Capano et al, 2020) 5 ; (Gulbransen et al, 2020) 4 1:1 CBD : THC (GW Pharma. )…”

Topical Treatments and Their Molecular/Cellular Mechanisms in Patients with Peripheral Neuropathic Pain—Narrative Review

“…In preclinical studies, it has been shown that cannabidiol (CBD) may directly interact with Nav and Kv channels [143]. In an RCT, testing topical CBD oil in 29 patients with peripheral neuropathic pain compared to placebo, CBD oil showed a more pronounced pain-reducing effect than placebo, but the authors did not discuss the possible Nav blockade as the mechanism of action of CBD applied topically in the painful area [144].…”