The administration of small amounts of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiolic acid (CBD-A) may be effective in treating nausea and stimulating appetite in chemotherapy patients, according to the results of a new study.
Researchers found that the “administration of subthreshold doses of THC (0.5 and 1 mg/kg) or CBDA (0.5 and 1 μg/kg) significantly suppressed acute nausea-induced gaping, whereas higher individual doses of both THC and CBDA were maximally effective ” for acute nausea.
Combined administration of higher doses of THC and CBDA (2.5 mg/kg THC-2.5 μg/kg CBDA; 10 mg/kg THC-10 μg/kg CBDA; 20 mg/kg THC-20 μg/kg CBDA) also enhanced positive hedonic reactions elicited by saccharin solution during conditioning, researchers reported.
For anticipatory nausea, combined subthreshold doses of THC (0.1 mg/kg) and CBDA (0.1 μg/kg) suppressed contextually elicited conditioned gaping. When administered i.g., THC was effective on its own at doses ranging from 1 to 10 mg/kg, but CBDA was only effective at 10 μg/kg. THC alone was equally effective by intraperitoneal (i.p.) and i.g. administration, whereas CBDA alone was more effective by i.p. administration (Rock et al. in Psychopharmacol (Berl) 232:4445-4454, 2015) than by i.g. administration.
Researchers concluded:
“Oral administration of subthreshold doses of THC and CBDA may be an effective new treatment for acute nausea and anticipatory nausea and appetite enhancement in chemotherapy patients.”
The study was published in the journal Psychopharmacology, and published online by the National Institute of Health.
The full study can be found here.
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