Patient Reported Outcomes of Medical Cannabis for Managing Pain in Charcot-Marie-Tooth Disease

Background and aimsChronic pain is a major part of the disease burden in Charcot-Marie-Tooth (CMT) disease. Current pharmacotherapies to manage symptoms of CMT disease, particularly pain, are inadequate. This exploratory study examined the patient reported efficacy of medical cannabis among CMT patients. MethodsParticipants (N = 56; 71.4% female; Age = 48.9, SD = 14.6; 48.5% CMT1) were recruited though the Hereditary Neuropathy Foundations Global Registry for Inherited Neuropathies. The online survey contained 52 multiple choice questions about demographics, medical cannabis use, symptomology, efficacy, and adverse effects. ResultsWhen asked about how much relief they experience from using cannabis as a method of symptom relief, respondents reported an average of 69.6% (SEM + 2.6). Women were more likely to report experiencing pain than men (p < .05). Participants who perceived support from their providers were more likely to inform them of their cannabis use (p < .05). InterpretationPatients reported that cannabis was effective to manage symptoms. More prospective and controlled research needs to be conducted to better serve and optimize the potential use of cannabis to treat CMT. Graphical AbstractPatient Reported Outcomes of Medical Cannabis for Managing Pain in Patients with Charcot-Marie-Tooth Disease Priscilla C. Canals, Alexia G. Aguilar, Gregory T. Carter, Marion McNabb, Andrew M. Westerkamp, Miyabe Shields, Meg DElia, Joy Aldrich, Robert N. Moore, Allison T. Moore, Brian J. Piper* O_LIThere is no prior research of medical cannabis experiences among Charcot-Marie-Tooth (CMT) patients. C_LIO_LICMT patients (N=56) were recruited though the Hereditary Neuropathy Foundations Global Registry for Inherited Neuropathies and completed an online survey. C_LIO_LISymptom relief from using cannabis was moderately-high (70% + 3). C_LIO_LICMT patients that received support from their providers were significantly more likely to inform them of their cannabis use. C_LIO_LIThese descriptive results should be verified using prospective and randomized controlled trials. C_LI O_FIG O_LINKSMALLFIG WIDTH=199 HEIGHT=200 SRC="FIGDIR/small/22278591v1_ufig1.gif" ALT="Figure 1"> View larger version (29K): org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@108bafcorg.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@2c0e83org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@6ceedcorg.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@1b5d9d8_HPS_FORMAT_FIGEXP M_FIG C_FIG