Sickle Cell Disease and Cannabis

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Sickle Cell Disease and Cannabis


In 1995 the FDA began evaluating the use of the drug hydroxyurea for the treatment of Sickle Cell Disease. Hydroxyurea can reduce the number of attacks a patient might otherwise experience but is not appropriate for children and can be toxic. Depending upon the degree or severity of the disease, young Sickle Cell patients may undergo antibiotic prophylaxis.

The primary treatment of Sickle Cell “crises” is rehydration and pain control. Pain can be of excruciating severity and may require both non-steroidal anti-inflammatory agents and major narcotics of the opiate class.

Cannabis does not cure Sickle Cell but is a highly effective agent in managing pain. Patients utilizing medical cannabis can expect better pain relief with lower doses of major narcotics. Cannabis also acts as a powerful anti-inflammatory without NSAID side effects. Cannabis acts both centrally in the brain and directly in the periphery. Further, cannabis provides neuroprotective effects that may reduce the incidence of retinopathy and neuropathy.

Some resources for more information about Sickle Cell Disease can be found at:


Harvard Medical School on Sickle Cell Disease (http://www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH?t=35703&p=~br,IHW|~st,24479|~r,WSIHW000|~b,*|)


For the entire article please see:
http://www.pacifier.com/~alive/cmu/Sickle_cell.htm

[Sequoiacrone]

Medical use of cannabis in sickle cell disease


An anonymous questionnaire survey was conducted at the Central Middlesex Hospital in London among adults suffering from sickle cell disease (http://www.sicklecelldisease.org/) (SCD). 86 subjects aged 23 to 39 years participated in the study. 31 had used cannabis in the previous 12 months to relieve symptoms associated with SCD. The main route in all but two patients was by smoking. The main reasons for use were to reduce pain in 52 per cent, and to induce relaxation or relieve anxiety and depression in 39 per cent.
SCD is a blood condition caused by a cell mutation, which is seen most commonly in people from Africa and India. Sickle cell syndromes also occur in people of Mediterranean and Middle Eastern background. This mutation causes a change in haemoglobin, the oxygen-transport protein in red blood cells. Pain is one of the predominant symptoms in SCD. It can be severe enough to require opioid analgesics for relief, can recur acutely at unpredicted intervals, is associated with inflammation and can become chronic.
Sources: www.cannabis-med.org (http://www.cannabis-med.org/); Howard J, Anie KA, Holdcroft A, Korn S, Davies SC. Cannabis use in sickle cell disease: a questionnaire study. Br J Haematol 2005;131(1):123-8.)


http://www.chanvre-info.ch/info/it/Medical-use-of-cannabis-in-sickle.html