Pain from osteoarthritis leaves many debilitated due to stiff
and swollen joints. While prescriptions are readily available for
osteoarthritis sufferers, they often leave patients with the choice of
living between two worlds: If they take prescription pills, they may
live with less physical pain yet suffer from the wide array of side
effects that pharmaceuticals are equipped with. If they choose not to
take prescriptions due to side effects, they will live in the chronic
physical pain caused by osteoarthritis. Basically, they are forced to
choose between one form of pain or another. However, this may not be the
case for much longer.
According to a study conducted by researchers from the University of Nottingham UK, alongside researchers from the University of Pittsburgh and Virginia Commonwealth University in
the US, a specific cannabinoid is reduced during osteoarthritis, thus
resulting in heightened pain and more rapid progression of the
condition. Therefore it was concluded that activating the specific
cannabinoid reduced in osteoarthritis patients, known as cannabinoid 2
(CB2), not only reduces pain, but also helps maintain symptoms and
inhibits the speed at which the disease progresses as well.
Researchers
studied human spines of deceased individuals who lived with
osteoarthritis of the knee and discovered that they had lower levels of
CB2 receptors. The more progressed the disease was, the lower the CB2
receptor levels were. In response, Research UK and the National Institutes of Health funded a study in which researchers activated CB2 receptors in lab rats with osteoarthritis in
an attempt to reduce pain. The diseased rats were injected with
JWH-133, a non-psychoactive synthetic cannabinoid that binds with CB2
receptors to activate them, and the results were nothing short of
fascinating.
Study Reveals A New Potential Method For Pain Relief From Osteoarthritis
Results
showed treating osteoarthritis by increasing CB2 receptors with the use
of JWH-133 injections reduced chemicals responsible for causing
inflammation in osteoarthritis, reduced excitatory nerves in the spine
that are stimulated by inflammation, and increased the overall amount of
CB2 receptor “message” (MRNA) and protein in nerve cells of the spine.
To put it simply, activating the cannabinoid receptors that are
drastically reduced in osteoarthritis patients reduced inflammation,
thus reducing pain and
allowing the individual to lead a higher quality of life. Furthermore,
since patients with late stage osteoarthritis have drastically reduced
levels of CB2 receptor “message” in the spine, increasing levels of the
CB2 receptor “message” might greatly reduce the severity and rate of
progression of the disease.
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