Cannabis against back pain: Green is hope

Ver001 means hope from Munich. It is supposed to be people with chronic Back pain Provide relief and without serious side effects that many pain relievers can bring. At least that’s what the full -bodied promise.

Behind the previously simple name is an active ingredient combination, obtained from the cannabis plant, developed by the southern German biopharmaceutical company For the treatment of Pains.

The medicines for the drug come from the bloom of the female hemp plant, more precisely from the resin glands, the so -called trichoma. Because the most important ones hide in them cannabis-Trech substances -the psychoactive and mutual -producing THC, for example, but also CBD, the cannabidiol, as well as different flavonoids and terpenes. The secondary plant substances in the flowers are responsible, among other things, for color, smell and taste of cannabis. However, you can also have a calming and strongly sleep -promoting effect and relieve depressive emotional states.

A research team around Matthias Karst From the Hanover Medical School, the new fund with its colleagues has now tested 66 centers in Germany and Austria against back rate.

The expectations were high, after all, more than half a billion people worldwide suffer from chronic back pain, which are one of the main causes of disabilities and a reduced quality of life. So far, however, the pharmaceutical treatment options are still limited to non-steroidal inflammatory inhibitors such as ibuprofen and diclofenac, which recover serious risks for the heart, circulation and gastrointestinal tract, or to opioids that can have severe side effects and make it heavily dependent.

Long Do not show any convincing effects for muscle or back pain. That may have changed.

In the in the journal ““The published clinical phase 3 study has Cannabis extract Chronic back pain without serious side effects or signs of dependency relieved.

820 adults with chronic back pain were examined for this. They had all successfully tried non-opioid medication. After twelve-week treatment, the participants then achieved a reduction in pain values ​​by 1.9 points after twelve-week treatment. The evaluation scale, which was developed for the assessment of pain, ranges from 0 (no pain) to 10 (worst, imaginable pain).

In addition, the participants reported that their sleep quality had improved and they felt physically more comfortable. In patients who received a placebo, however, the pain also decreased – by 1.4 points.

The most common side effects were tolerated, the most common side effects were short-term dizziness, excessive sleepiness (somnolence) and nausea during the early treatment phase. In addition, Karst and his colleagues did not observe any signs of dose escalation, abuse, dependency or withdrawal symptoms.

“In view of the large part of the world population, which suffers from chronic back pain without being able to achieve adequate relief, these observations are clinically relevant,” says Andrea Hohmann, professor of psychology and brain research at the Indiana University Bloomington.

Ulrike Bingel, head of university pain medicine at the University Hospital, is a little more careful. When asked about the Science Media Center, she said: “The study is definitely a step in the right direction, but in my view, it does not initiate a paradigm shift in the treatment of chronic back pain.”

For certain sub -groups, however, the effect could be greater, says Bingel: “Of course, behind such low differences in comparison of the mean, the people who experience significantly stronger improvements under the test preparation are also interesting here. prospective studies are validated. “

The Federal Institute for Medicines and Medical Devices (BfArM) is currently examining approval. If it fails positively, the drug could come to the German market under the trade name “Exilby” this year.