Diabetes: CBD shown to reduce neuropathic pain in rats
A group of Brazilian scientists studied the effects of CBD on rats with diabetes and neuropathic pain. The results are encouraging.
The effect of CBD tested on diabetic rats.
The use of medical cannabis is recognized worldwide for treating neuropathic pain in the context of diabetes. Patients are very familiar with this particular pain; several cannabinoids, including Cannabidiol (CBD), have proven effective in alleviating these pains. At least, that's what recent tests on diabetic rats have shown.
This study was conducted by researchers from the Faculty of Philosophy, Sciences, and Letters of the University of São Paulo in Ribeirão Preto, Brazil. The experiment was conducted on rats with diabetes and neuropathic pain: the administration of low-dose CBD alleviated the pain initially present.
In their study, scientists focused on the potential antinociceptive (pain-relieving) effect of CBD on mechanical allodynia (a type of pain) in diabetic rats.
In cases of moderate to severe neuropathic pain symptoms in diabetic patients, they describe conventional drug treatment as "ineffective." When administered, cannabidiol (CBD) has shown encouraging results even under difficult conditions.
Serotonin at the heart of the reflection.
Description of the test protocol: "Adult male Wistar diabetic rats were treated acutely or subchronically (for 14 days) with CBD (0.1, 0.3, or 3 mg/kg, intraperitoneally) and their mechanical threshold was assessed using electronic Von Frey."
Acute CBD treatment (at doses of 0.3 and 3 mg/kg) had a significant anti-allodynic (pain-relieving) effect, which was not associated with locomotor impairment.
The antinociceptive effect of CBD (3 mg/kg) was not altered by pretreatment with CB1 or CB2 receptor antagonists (AM251 and AM630; respectively; both at a dose of 1 mg/kg, ip) nor by a glycine receptor antagonist (strychnine hydrochloride, 10 μg/rat, intrathecal, il).
However, this effect was completely prevented by pretreatment with the selective 5-HT1A receptor antagonist, WAY 100135 (3 µg/rat, i.t.). Subchronic CBD treatment (0.3 or 3 mg/kg) induced a prolonged attenuation of mechanical allodynia in DBT rats."
In conclusion, the animal subjects had significantly lower serotonin levels in the spinal cord than those prevented by daily CBD treatment (0.3 mg/kg). The overall data suggest that CBD would be effective in treating painful diabetic neuropathy. The explanation for this positive incidence lies in the activation of the serotonergic system via 5-HT1A receptors.
