Gaps in our knowledge and future research on the endocannabinoid system and the painful phenomenon

• Published in: BrJP 2023
• Main Authors: Sousa, Angela Maria, Slullitel, Alexandre, Serra, Thiago Siqueira
• Format: Article
• Language: Portuguese
• Subjects: HEALTH CARE SCIENCES & SERVICES
• ISSN: 2595-3192
• DOI: 10.5935/2595-0118.20230025-en

ABSTRACT BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: This article aimed to discuss and point out the main gaps and bottlenecks in national and international clinical research regarding medicinal cannabinoid compounds and their respective relevance to pain management practices. Other objectives were to establish standards and regulations for testing the quality, efficacy, and safety of cultivation and manufacturing of cannabis products (similar to biopharmaceutical standards) before prescribing or marketing, and to investigate approaches in order to establish robust guidelines for cannabinoid-influenced driving. CONTENTS: A search with the terms “cannabinoids” and “pain” in the domain www.clinicaltrials.gov, international data platform for registration of clinical research trials, found only two Brazilian studies, on fibromyalgia and chronic headache. The search for the term “cannabinoid” in Plataforma Brasil returned only nine mentions of studies related to pain, most of them being case reports or observational studies, without active intervention or control group. CONCLUSION: There are still few clinical, randomized, controlled trials evaluating effective doses, routes and interval of administration, pharmacological interaction with opioids or among the various cannabinoids, interaction with adjunct analgesics, potential injury in the context of long-term use, and individual factors that predispose to indiscriminate cannabinoid use.