We all know placebo to be a ‘dummy’ – inert and inactive compound, however it sets off a biochemical mechanisms producing an often measurable effect. There is most likely not a single placebo effect, but many, depending on illness or condition the intended ‘drug’ is aimed at.
Placebo pain relief takes place through measurable psychoneuroimmunological mechanisms dependent on activation of opioid and endocannabinoid systems. Our body makes its own cannabinoids and yes, opioids (thank you, endorphine et al.) in response to placebo.
How do we know it’s true?
In treating pain, if we co-administer placebo with drugs that block opioid and/or cannabinoid receptors, the placebo response would be decreased. Some people would be more responsive to one than the other as one of key features of the placebo response is great discrepancy in response between participants.
Why?
New term, placebome, child of ‘placebo’ and ‘genome’ may have the answer. Recent study showed that a genetic mutation in endocannabinoid system present in almost half of the population ultimately leading to increased levels of endogenous cannabinoids corresponds with the decreased placebo analgesia. While THC’s pain-relieving properties through direct activation of cannabinoid receptors in parts of the nervous system responsible for pain processing is more or less understood, far less is known about the CBD’s ‘magic’.
Today with countries around the world reevaluating and easing regulations surrounding use of cannabis, public becomes more exposed to the nuances of plant’s potential. With plethora of claimed therapeutic benefits (I bet googling any medical symptom or condition would show cannabis to be helpful) we need to assign this immense value to something. THC with its intoxicating properties is ‘too fun’ to me a medicine, hence, let the ‘good’ brother – CBD, carry the medicine’s torch. That’s indeed how many perceive cannabis: THC is for adult use and CBD is for the medical market.
As much as we praise CBD’s numerous benefits, as little we truly know about the way it works, especially in managing pain. The only CBD pharmaceutical on the market – Epidolex, is a drug approved for treatment of hard-to-treat pediatric epilepsies. Thanks to this trials taken to get this drug to the market we know that CBD is generally safe.
Find out more from Benzinga here: https://www.benzinga.com/markets/cannabis/19/05/13791562/pain-placebo-genes-and-cbd-we-know-what-we-dont-know?
