Little Green Pharma (ASX: LGP) has welcomed the findings of a national study have highlighted the positive effect of oral medicinal cannabis on chronic refractory pain in patients who have not experienced relief with existing pain medications including opioids, anti-inflammatories, and steroid treatments.
This research provides promising results for long-suffering patients with pain and is the first of its kind using Australian-made, GMP cannabis medicines.
The study included 151 participants with common chronic pain conditions including arthritis, neuropathic pain and other musculoskeletal pain who had tried other pain therapies and failed to see improvement. Patients receiving LGP Classic 10:10 (with a balanced ratio of THC and CBD) were monitored for an average observational period of 133 days.
The observational, open-label study found almost half of all patients benefitted from oral medicinal cannabis. 47.9% of patients reported a statistically significant improvement in pain impact scores, suggesting an improvement in their quality of life, which is ultimately what matters to patients affected by chronic pain. The majority of patients also reported meaningful improvements in sleep (49.3%) and fatigue (35.6%), two common problems for those with chronic pain.
The study also assessed the safety, tolerability, and self-reported effectiveness of the pharmaceutical-grade cannabis product (LGP Classic 10:10) in relieving pain and other symptoms in adult patients diagnosed with chronic pain resistant to other treatments.
The severity analysis revealed the majority of adverse events (AEs) reported were mild. Somnolence (sleepiness) and dry mouth/throat were the most common AEs experienced and no severe adverse effects were reported within the observational period for this cohort of patients. This proportion of AEs is consistent with existing studies of registered medicinal cannabis productsand analgesics.
The research was conducted nationally within the independent network of CA Clinics. Findings from this clinical study were published in February 2022 in the peer-reviewed scientific journal Medical Cannabis and Cannabinoids. Open Access to the published article is freely available online at: https://doi.org/10.1159/000521492
“LGP is extremely pleased with these results that show the Classic 10:10 formulation has been scientifically validated and demonstrated a significantly positive effect on the impact of chronic refractory pain,” LGP Head of Research and Innovation and study author, Dr Leon Warne, said.
“This study is important as it provides an option for those patients who have not had success with other pain therapies and gives doctors some vital research they’ve been requesting since medicinal cannabis was legalised.”
Chronic pain affects can negatively impact a person’s quality of life including their sleep patterns, social engagement, as well as their ability to work and conduct daily activities. It can also cause emotional distress and lead to serious mental health problems including depression.
Patients undertaking the study were prescribed LGP Classic 10:10 medicinal cannabis oil.
“This research demonstrates the real-world impact of medicinal cannabis. In the study, patient-reported pain impact scores were significantly reduced across the entire patient group, and the majority of patients saw meaningful improvements in sleep and fatigue, which is impactful given the difficult, unmanageable nature of their pain. This underscores the importance of ensuring that patients have access to affordable, reliable and quality medicinal cannabis,” said Dr Mark Hardy from CA Clinics.
About Chronic Pain
About one in five Australians suffer from chronic pain. Pain is regarded as chronic when it does not go away and is experienced by a patient on most days of the week for at least three months.
A slightly higher proportion of females’ report having chronic pain than males do. Almost two-thirds of people with chronic pain report that their pain interferes with their daily activities.