Cannabinoids and pain management

Role of Cannabinoids in Pain Management

It is a curious fact that we owe a great deal of our insight into pharmacological treatment of pain to the plant world [ 1 ] . Willow bark from Salix spp. led to development of aspirin and eventual elucidation of the analgesic effects of prostaglandins and their role in in fl ammation. The opium poppy ( Papaver somniferum ) provided the prototypic narcotic analgesic morphine, the fi rst alkaloi...

Cannabinoids and neuropathic pain.

After a brief overview of the endocannabinoid system (CB receptors, and endocannabinoids) and of the cannabinergic ligands, some general issues related to cannabinoids and pain are commented. Finally, the most important findings regarding cannabinoids and neuropathic pain are discussed in detail.

Cannabinoids and Neuropathic Pain

Cannabinoids and pain

DOI 0.1093/bjacepd/mkg175 Cannabinoids have been used in medicine for many thousands of years, although use in Western medicine declined over the last century as more effective agents were discovered. The identification of an endogenous cannabinoid system, akin to the opioid system, has rekindled interest in cannabinoids as potential analgesic agents. Combined with growing scientific knowledge ...

Cannabinoids in the management of difficult to treat pain

This article reviews recent research on cannabinoid analgesia via the endocannabinoid system and non-receptor mechanisms, as well as randomized clinical trials employing cannabinoids in pain treatment. Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC, Marinol((R))) and nabilone (Cesamet((R))) are currently approved in the United States and other countries, but not for pain indications. Other synthetic cannabinoids, s...