Medical cannabis ‘significantly improves’ anxiety, pain and sleep scores in Sapphire registry study
The first cohort of patient outcomes recorded by the UK Medical Cannabis Registry showed ‘significant improvements’ to anxiety, pain and sleep scores.
The Registry, which now includes more than 2,000 patients, was set up by doctors at Sapphire Medical Clinics but includes real-world data from patients across the UK.
The study, published in the journal Neuropsychopharmacology Reports, analysed the outcomes of the first 129 patients enrolled on the registry.
The patient‐reported outcome measures (PROMs) revealed improvements to general anxiety, sleep and pain, with an overall improvement to quality of life also recorded at one and three months following treatment.
The medicines were also well-tolerated among the cohort, with 24% recording mostly mild-to-moderate adverse effects via the online questionnaire.
Dr Simon Erridge, Head of Research and Access at Sapphire Medical, said:
“We are very pleased to see the first peer reviewed publication of outcomes of medical cannabis patients since legalisation in print, which suggests that these treatments are safe and well tolerated in this patient group.
“By placing data collection at the heart of our clinical processes we hope to contribute to the evidence base and thereby allow more patients to access these treatments on the NHS.”
Patients were enrolled onto the registry with a wide range of primary, secondary and tertiary conditions, ranging from depression to palliative care.
Sapphire patient Laura Drummond is prescribed medical cannabis for fibromyalgia – a hard-to-treat condition believed to affect one in 20 people in the UK.
She said:
“I’ve been a medical cannabis patient at Sapphire Medical Clinics for over a year now and love the idea of contributing to the Registry and growing evidence which no doubt will help many others in the future.
“My journey with treatment has reduced my pain but more significantly, improved my sleep and the ability to enjoy quality time with my young daughter.”
Read more about medical cannabis and fibromyalgia in Issue 11 of The CANNAVIST
