ELUCIDATING DISEASE-MODIFYING MECHANISMS OF DELTA-9-TETRAHYDROCANNABINOL IN PRE-CLINICAL OSTEOARTHRITIS

Purpose: Osteoarthritis (OA) affects all joint tissues, including cartilage and synovium. Significant pain, disability, and a decreased quality of life result from OA joint degeneration. Current treatments available provide only temporary symptomatic relief, cause negative side-effects, or are ineffective, supporting the need for efficacious symptom- and disease-modifying therapies. Patients with OA use cannabinoid products to alleviate chronic pain symptoms. However, minimal research exists on the impact of cannabinoids on OA pain and disease pathogenesis; thus, there is insufficient evidence-based knowledge about the appropriate use of cannabis products as OA therapy.