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The use of medical cannabis in old age is safe and effective

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In the current context, older adults resort to cannabis as an alternative to relieve a number of age-related symptoms. Some of them are looking to mitigate the symptoms of cancer, Parkinson’s disease, colitis, ulcers, post-traumatic stress syndrome, Chron’s disease, rheumatic pains, among others.

For this reason, scholars from the Israeli Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in Be’er Sheva set out to group a large group of patients using medicinal cannabis and conduct a study.

In the study published recently in the European Journal of Internal Medicine, it was conducted with more than 2700 elderly patients for six months. The average age of the patients was 74.5 years, all older than 65 years.

 

“We aim to evaluate the efficacy and characteristics of older people who use medicinal cannabis,” was the goal of the study.

 

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After six months of observation, 93.7% of the participants considered having improved their condition. At the time that the researchers analyzed their treatment they concluded that there was a decrease in pain of an average of 8 on a scale of 0/10.

Some adverse effects found were dry mouth (7.1%) and dizziness (9.7%).

“After monitoring patients aged 65 or older for six months, we found that medical treatment with cannabis significantly relieves pain and improves the quality of life of older people with minimal side effects,” the document concludes.

How does it work?

With age, the endocannabinoid system, responsible for stabilizing the production of serotonin, weakens. Endocannabinoids work similarly to molecules known as cannabinoids. Among the most studied are delta-9 Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), cannabidiol (CBD) and more recently, the THCA, CBDA acids.

The cannabinoids manage to stabilize the endocannabinoid system, causing relief and quality of life. Older adults have great potential for the use of medicinal cannabis. However, studies are scarce.

In countries like the United States, where cannabis is legal in more than 20 states, use in that population represents 14% and is one of the most important groups in the age of legalization. A large body of patients who use medicinal cannabis stop taking analgesic medications. In this study, 18% stopped doing it.

Even so, the medical supply of patients continues to be very difficult due to their current status in the world. This research reveals that use in this age is significantly safe, this data is relevant for future research around the world.

Consult the investigation in this link: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29398248

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