Hemp for glaucoma



Di Roberto Suozzi

The study published in the Journal of Glaucoma (October 2006) by researchers at the University of Aberdeen in the United Kingdom was an excellent basis in the search for an effective glaucoma treatment. Currently, in glaucoma (a term that synthesizes a group of eye disorders) intraocular pressure is no longer considered the cause of the pathology but, together with other conditions, an important risk factor. The aim of the study by British scholars was to evaluate the effects of oral administration of a small dose of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (delta-9-THC) and cannabidiol (CBD) on intraocular pressure, as well as to establish their safety and efficacy.

In the trial, a "pilot study", with only 6 patients, who presented an open angle glaucoma, with a spray used sublingually were given 5 mg delta-9-THC, or 20/40 mg of CBD, or a placebo. The administrations were carried out with a single dose at 8 am; after 2 hours the people who took THC showed a reduction in intraocular pressure compared to placebo. Only after 4 hours the pressure returned to the high values ​​of the initial measurement. As for cannabidiol, it has not been shown to reduce intraocular pressure: at a dose of 40 mg it had, on the contrary, after 4 hours, the effect of raising it.

It should be noted that a slight panic attack occurred in one patient after administration of THC. According to this study, a single dose of 5 mg of THC, in addition to being well tolerated, is able to temporarily reduce intraocular pressure. Cannabinoids, including THC, can also improve retinal blood circulation; they are attributed neuroprotective actions and antioxidants, could therefore become usable in the therapy of glaucoma.

Hemp, the plant of which nothing is thrown away

Those that can irreversibly damage the disease (glaucomatous damage), various risk factors, including intraocular hypertension, are the ganglion cells of the retina, indispensable for vision. Ophtalmic Research (2007 March) publishes a trial of US scholars on the possible role of THC in glaucoma therapy. Also in this last case the THC has shown a neuroprotective effect as well as the ability to preserve the integrity of the ganglion cells of the retina through the reduction of the intraocular pressure. Do not forget, in the treatment of glaucoma, the usefulness of the gingko biloba extract which has been shown to improve ocular blood flow, vision and intraocular pressure.

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