Study: Oral THC Administration Mitigates Sleep Apnea
Chicago, IL:
The oral administration of synthetic THC reduces symptoms of sleep
apnea, according to clinical trial data published online in the scientific journal
Frontiers in Psychiatry.
Sleep apnea is a
medical disorder characterized by frequent interruptions in
breathing of up to ten seconds or more during sleep. The condition
is associated with numerous physiological disorders, including
fatigue, headaches, high blood pressure, irregular heartbeat, heart
attack and stroke.
Investigators at the University of Illinois at Chicago,
Department of Medicine assessed the safety, tolerability, and
efficacy of dronabinol (oral THC in sesame seed oil) in 17 subjects
with Obstructive Sleep Apnea.
Oral THC administration was associated with a significant change
in Apnea Hypopnea Index over a 21-day period. Authors further
determined dronabinol treatment to be safe and well tolerated.
They concluded, "These findings should be confirmed in a larger
study in order to identify sub-populations with OSA that may
benefit from cannabimimetic pharmacologic therapy."
Dronabinol, marketed under the trade name Marinol, is
FDA-approved to treat nausea and vomiting caused by
chemotherapy.
For more information, please contact Paul Armentano, NORML
Deputy Director, at: paul@norml.org. Full text
of the study, "Proof of concept trial of dronabinol in
obstructive sleep apnea," is available in Frontiers in
Psychiatry.
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