In past newsletters, I reported on using repurposed drugs to treat chronic pain and on the discovery of new therapeutic targets. And in particular, I looked at pain relief for bone fractures and dental extractions.
CBD reduced the dental pain and increased the bite force in patients presented with emergency toothache. (A) Median visual analog scale (VAS) pain scores per time point for all groups. Arrows indicate the onset of significant pain score differences from baseline (BL) for the cannabidiol (CBD) groups. Asterisks depict significant differences from the placebo group. Mixed-model analysis, “time point” (P < 0.001), “Group * Time Point” (P = 0.0013), and “Group” (P = 0.55). (B) Median percent change from BL. The dotted line represents a 50% reduction in BL pain. Maximum pain relief occurred at 180 min after CBD administration in both CBD groups, significantly different from the placebo. Placebo also experienced pain relief with a maximum of 33% median pain reduction from BL pain. Asterisks depict significant differences from the placebo group. Wilcoxon test for intergroup comparisons, P < 0.05. (C) Box plots depicting median bite force (Newton) scores per time point for all groups. Both CBD groups noted a significant increase in bite force at 90 and 180 min compared to BL, while placebo group changes were not significant. Mixed-model analysis, “time point” (P < 0.001), “Group * Time Point” (P = 0.28), and “Group” (P = 0.19). (D) Mean percent bite force change normalized to baseline. Asterisks depict significant change in CBD 20 mg/kg compared to the placebo group (t test each pair per time point, P < 0.05). Credit: Journal of Dental Research (2023). DOI: 10.1177/00220345231200814
In past newsletters, I reported on using repurposed drugs to treat chronic pain and on the discovery of new therapeutic targets - the sensory sodium channels . Now I relay new findings from orthopedists regarding bone fracture pain and healing. Can cannabinoids help here and if so, how?
