Cannabinoids for RA: What Rheumatologists Need to Know

November 12, 2018

How will you respond to patients who ask about treating rheumatoid arthritis with cannabinoids?

References:

1. Katz-Talmor D, Katz I, Porat-Katz BS, Shoenfeld Y. Cannabinoids for the treatment of rheumatic diseases - where do we stand? Nat Rev Rheumatol. 2018 Jun 8. doi: 10.1038/s41584-018-0025-5. [Epub ahead of print]2. Gui H, Tong Q, Qu W, Mao CM, Dai SM. The endocannabinoid system and its therapeutic implications in rheumatoid arthritis. Int Immunopharmacol. 2015;26:86-91.3. Richards BL, Whittle SL, Buchbinder R. Neuromodulators for pain management in rheumatoid arthritis (review). Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2012;1:CD008921.

Studies indicate the benefits of treatment with cannabinoids for rheumatic diseases in general.^1-3 In rheumatoid arthritis (RA), the target of cannabinoid therapy has been pain reduction. Clinical data do not currently support an indication for reduction of disease severity, although new studies continue to explore this potential.

IBD, inflammatory bowel disease; MS, multiple sclerosis; RA, rheumatoid arthritis.

Over 100 different phytochemicals have been isolated from the Cannabis sativa plant, many of which have been implicated in the pathophysiology of rheumatoid arthritis.

CB2, cannabinoid receptor 2; RA, rheumatoid arthritis.