Few case studies reported that Cannabis helps lessen arthritis, as a result of this, researchers belong to Arthritis Society funded the research to know the logic and truth about the claim.
Overview of Arthritis
The tenderness and swelling of one or more joints are known as arthritis. The typical symptom is the joint pain and stiffness which got worse with age factor. The most known types of Arthritis are rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis.
Rheumatoid arthritis: the immune system attacks the joints begins with the lining (synovial membrane) of the joints.
Osteoarthritis: the cartilage breakdown from the joints. Cartilage is the hardcover at the end of the bones in the joint made of slippery tissue.
Overview of Cannabis
A drug extracted from the Cannabis plant, also known as marijuana is used for some medical purposes. The main component found in this part is the tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). It has a physical and mental effect which creates a sharp mood, changes the perception and increases hunger.
Cannabis can be more than just a pain reliever in Arthritis?
It is estimated that there are 54 million people who sufferers from arthritis. To find out the truth about the claim that cannabis is helpful to fight arthritis, Dr. Jason McDougall, a Canadian Scientist also a professor of anesthesia and pharmacology in Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia and one of the leading pain researcher in the World; got Strategic Operating Grant from The Arthritis Society to conduct the study consisting on three year time period, in which he needs to study the cannabis and its ability to overhaul arthritic joints effectively.
The major focus of this study is to discover whether the medicine having cannabis can be more helpful than simply suppress the pain caused by arthritis. How wonderful it will be if Cannabis can reverse the effects and damages of arthritis? This research is to look into the therapies which are derived from cannabis.
“People living with arthritis pain are looking for alternatives to improve their quality of life,” said Janet Yale, the CEO, and president of The Arthritis Society. Further, he said “We need research to help answer the many important questions around medical cannabis and its use. Our goal is to give Canadians the ability to make informed choices about their treatment options and to give physicians evidence-based guidelines to make treatment recommendations for their patients. This project is an important step to achieving these goals.”
CB2 receptors and Arthritis
CB2 is a molecule inside the cell wall which acts as a gatekeeper for the cannabinoids to pass through the cell wall. According to the research of Chinese scientists, arthritic joints have a very high concentration of CB2 receptors. The phenomenon works like that to pass on the useful particles and circulates them in a whole-body during normal functioning.
In normal conditions, the body itself produces endocannabinoids that work in a cell by attaching to then through CB2. The medicine which has cannabis in it will have the ability to work like that in the same regular mechanism. This is the phenomenon on which researchers think that cannabis is effectively treating disorders such as rheumatoid arthritis.
Research Supporting the Ability of Cannabis
There are many shreds of evidence to think that if the medicines containing cannabis can be using CB2 receptors to propagate in the cells and reducing the pain signals in the joints, so the same medicine can also heal the damage when it is already present there?
Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society B are a journal in which the study shows that the endocannabinoid system of the body releases the antioxidants which are responsible for repairing the damaged cells when they are triggered by a cannabinoid from some outside source.
A subjective suggestion like the story of a Maine woman who used the smoothie of cannabis relieved her from rheumatoid arthritis symptoms and proceed towards reduction. Such a case leads to the justifications to think deeper into the possibilities and treatments with cannabis.
The business-related to such drugs are getting in trend. Canada’s leading medical companies named Aphria, Inc. and Peace Naturals Project vowed $100.00 to the Arthritis Society to support the research of Dr. McDougall. It is a good move in the field of research to fund for a good cause.
Challenges in the Study
The operating system of the cannabinoids receptors is still to clear but we know that they play an important and crucial role in the propagation and regulation of the immune system in the body. In a biological framework, the autoimmune disorder does not make any sense that how and why a body will attack itself and will not repair such damage, the legerdemain.
The previous studies assist the McDougall’s team that medicines with cannabis act on CB2 and minimize the inflammation and pain. This gives the idea that the damaged cells are reaching out for the molecules to help reconstruct the elements. The study is still going on and everyone is waiting for a better and satisfying result soon.
