Study: Cannabis Effective Against Fibromyalgia Symptoms

Researchers at the Luigi Sacco University Hospital in Milan, Italy have published new research that suggests medical cannabis can be effective in the treatment of fibromyalgia symptoms, the Cannabis Exchange reports.

The study, published in Clinical and Experimental Rheumatology 2020, recruited 102 fibromyalgia patients who were given two types of cannabis oils, one rich in THC and the other a balanced blend of THC and CBD. Participants were monitored for six months and were asked to measure the severity of their symptoms — which generally include fatigue, anxiety, depression, and prolonged pain — throughout the study using the Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire Revised (FIQR).

Some patients experienced significant improvement with their symptoms: 44% of patients reported a significant improvement in sleep quality, 33% reported improvements in their FIQR scores, 42.4% said the treatments helped with anxiety, and 50% said it helped with depression. Additionally, 47% of participants said they reduced or ceased other analgesic treatments during the study. Some patients (54.5%), however, did report a worsening of their fatigue symptoms.

“This observational study shows that adjunctive MCT [Medical Cannabis Treatment] offers a possible clinical advantage in FM [Fibromyalgia] patients, especially in those with sleep dysfunctions. The clinical improvement inversely correlated with BMI. The retention rate and changes in concomitant analgesic therapy reflect MCT efficacy of the improved quality of life of patients.” — Excerpt from the study’s conclusions

Notably, most of the study participants (like most fibromyalgia patients, in general) were women.