Treating Arthropathy Gout with CBD – Benefits & Effects

Modern research has pointed out to the fact that CBD, a powerful substance in cannabis could be used in treating arthropathy gout. The reason is that CBD is not only a potent anti-inflammatory, but it’s also an excellent quality pain reliever. It is worthy to note that CBD has been proven to have the ability to reduce the body’s lymphocytes (white blood cells) which are known to contribute to inflammation.

Arthropathy gout is a common type of arthritis, which is characterized by pain, swelling and stiffness in the joints. It used to be referred to as ‘disease of the king’ because many people considered it a disease which only rich people who had access to good foods and abundance wine could develop.

Gout attacks could come quickly and keep returning, thereby slowly harming tissues in the region of the inflammation. This condition is quite common and according to statistics from the Center for Disease control (CDC), an estimated 8.3 million Americans were affected by gout between 2007 and 2008 alone.

Arthropathy gout has been reported to be more common in men, even though women also become a lot susceptible to it after menopause. Moreover, certain lifestyle choices, medications, weight and other health problems are risk factors to developing arthropathy gout. Some of the common symptoms of arthropathy gout include intense joint pain, inflammation, discomfort as well as redness of the affected area.

This condition can be treated with medications that treat the symptoms, prevent future flares as well as reduce the risk of gout complications like kidney stones. That said, anti-inflammation drugs, colchicine, or corticosteroids are used to treat gouts but the downside is that most of these medications are associated with adverse side effects that affect sufferers a great deal.

In a bid to understand the effectiveness of CBD in treating gout, it is imperative to first of all have a background knowledge of the connection between the endocannabinoid system (ECS), gout and CBD. The ECS plays the important role of controlling many internal responses to stress, thereby creating a harmonized homeostasis in the body. Nevertheless, the ECS has been reported to not always fully function like other natural processes since it sometimes misfire and cause the immune system to overreact, thereby possibly resulting in the development of an autoimmune disease like arthropathy gout.

There is mounting evidence that CBD, a key compound in medical cannabis can be used in treating epilepsy. This explains why in June 2018, the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the use of CBD for the treatment of epilepsy. It should be noted that CBD had earlier been recommended for the treatment of seizures caused by Lennox-Gastaut syndrome and Dravet syndrome, which are two rare forms of epilepsy. Studies have revealed that when CBD is taken with other anticonvulsant medications, it reduces the frequency and severity of seizures among people with these disorders.

Several studies have been carried on the effectiveness of CBD in treating arthropathy gout. The findings from a 2008 study that was conducted on mice with rheumatoid arthritis indicated that CBD was effective in reducing inflammation associated with all forms of gout. Detailed findings from this study showed that there was a 50% reduction of inflammation in the rats that had been administered CBD.

The results from the 2008 study are quite similar to the findings from another study that was carried on humans at the Royal National Hospital for Rheumatic Diseases. This study that aimed at examining the effectiveness of cannabis in easing arthritis joints and pains in humans revealed that rheumatoid arthritis patients who were administered CBD-based medications registered a lot of improvements, some of which included a reduction of pain, improved quality sleep as well as more movements.

According to researchers, CBD can also help alleviate the excruciating pains that are associated with arthropathy gout. It should be noted that when gouts create deposits that form into kidney stones, it becomes too painful. Well, CBD can help reduce this pain by elevating the endocannabinoid anandamide, which binds to the CB1 cannabinoid receptor and help control the neurological functions. Of course, these functions include sleep, appetite, mood as well as sensitivity to pain. Anandamide has been reported to block pain signals whenever it binds to CB1 receptors.

Even though more research is needed on this subject, many gout patients have resulted in using CBD-based products like balms, CBD oil, pills, capsules and other edibles in a bid to be relieved from the symptoms of arthropathy gout.