London, United Kingdom: Endometriosis patients report health-related quality of life improvements following the use of medical cannabis preparations, according to observational data published in the journal Obstetrics & Gynecology.
British investigators assessed the use of cannabis-based medicinal products (CBMPs) in a cohort of 63 endometriosis patients enrolled in the UK Medical Cannabis Registry. (British health care providers may prescribe cannabis-based medicinal products to patients unresponsive to conventional medications.) Patients’ outcomes were assessed at baseline and at 1, 3, 6, 12, and 18 months. Study participants consumed either herbal cannabis or oil extracts containing a nearly equal ratio of THC and CBD.
Patients acknowledged improvements in their chronic pain and other health-related quality of life measures following cannabis therapy.
“These results provide a signal towards improvement in short-term pain severity and interference for endometriosis patients after the initiation of CMBP treatment,” the study’s authors concluded. “This study provides valuable real-world data and complements the development of RCTs [randomized clinical trials] to further examine the efficacy and safety of CBMPs for endometriosis-associated chronic pain.”
Survey data reports that nearly one in five endometriosis patients consume cannabis to manage their symptoms.
Other observational studies assessing the use of cannabis products among those enrolled in the UK Medical Cannabis Registry have reported them to be beneficial for patients diagnosed with treatment-resistant epilepsy, cancer-related pain, anxiety, fibromyalgia, inflammatory bowel disease, hypermobility disorders, depression, migraine, multiple sclerosis, osteoarthritis, substance use disorders, insomnia, and inflammatory arthritis, among other conditions.
Full text of the study, “A longitudinal assessment of endometriosis patients prescribed cannabis-based medicinal products: A case series from the UK Medical Cannabis Registry,” appears in Obstetrics & Gynecology.