Rochester, MN: Patients with gastroparesis (partial stomach paralysis) respond favorably to a proprietary spray (Epidiolex) containing plant-derived CBD, according to placebo-controlled data published in the journal Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology.
Investigators affiliated with the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota compared Epidiolex versus a placebo in 44 patients with gastroparesis. Subjects consumed either CBD or a placebo for a period of four weeks.
Researchers reported, “Our study shows that pharmaceutical grade CBD provides symptom relief in patients with idiopathic or diabetic gastroparesis with reduced total GCSI-DD [Gastroparesis Cardinal Symptom Index Daily Diary] scores and severity of symptoms, including reduced inability to finish a normal meal, number of vomiting episodes, in addition to greater tolerance of food intake at comfortable fullness.”
Authors concluded: “In summary, in patients with well documented idiopathic or diabetic gastroparesis, pharmaceutical-grade CBD can be administered safely for a period of four weeks and results in significant improvements in symptoms of gastroparesis. … These encouraging results suggest that further multicenter, larger, randomized, controlled trials of longer term in both idiopathic and diabetic gastroparesis are warranted.”
Studies have previously reported that cannabis can reduce gastroparesis-related abdominal pain, and that gastroparesis patients with a history of marijuana use possess “better hospitalization outcomes, including decreased length of stay and improved in-hospital mortality” as compared to those with no history of recent use.
Epidiolex has been FDA-approved since 2018 for the treatment of two rare forms of severe epilepsy: Lennox-Gastaut syndrome and Dravet syndrome.
Full text of the study, “A randomized, controlled trial of efficacy and safety of cannabidiol in idiopathic and diabetic gastroparesis,” appears in Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology. Additional information on cannabis and gastrointestinal disorders is available from NORML’s publication, Clinical Applications for Cannabis & Cannabinoids.