Urol. praxi. 2019;20(4):166-170 | DOI: 10.36290/uro.2019.071

Medical marijuana as a medicament for chronic pelvic pain?

doc. MUDr. Jozef Marenčák, PhD.

Bratislava

Marijuana is a mixture of dry parts of leaves, fruits and flowers of female plants of the genus Cannabis with declared cannabinoid content. Cannabinoids is the collective term for a group of chemical compounds that either are derived from Cannabis plant, or are synthetic analogues, or occur endogenously. Although cannabinoids act mostly at the level of currently known cannabinoid receptors, they may have cross-reactivity and also act, for example, at opioid receptors. Unfortunately, there are so far only rare clinical studies to support cannabis use in patients with chronic pelvic pain syndrome (CPPS). The article reviews current knowledge about the effectiveness, dosage and side effects of medical marijuana. Managing chronic algia is key to improving the quality of life and increasing activities in the patient population that failed standard treatment. Therefore, it seems reasonable to consider medical marijuana treatment as part of a carefully considered, multimodal, biomedical strategic management for persons with severe chronic pelvic pain. It is always necessary to consider the coefficient of effectiveness and possible adverse effects of cannabis. Of course, there is a need for further studies that can answer a number of issues that have not yet been resolved and explain the ambiguous results of some clinical observations made so far.

Keywords: medical marijuana, chronic pelvic pain

Published: October 10, 2019  Show citation