CBD-Hyaluronate Hybrid Gel Intraarticular Injection Effect on Osteoarthritis Progression and Pain Reduction in a Rat Meniscectomy Model

Background: Osteoarthritis is a low grade inflammatory disorder leading to articular cartilage destruction and joint dysfunction. Intra-articular injections can ameliorate pain and joint dysfunction in knee osteoarthritis, and are often performed using hyaluronate. The current study attempts to explore a novel methodology of intra-articular treatment involving a combination of hyaluronate and CBD. CBD is a component of cannabis and specific receptors to it exist within synovial joints. Some studies demonstrate that the CBD receptor activation (CB type 2 receptor) pathway plays a role in the pathophysiology of osteoarthritis in mice and shows that pharmacological activation of CB2 has a protective effect. Evidence exists that the effect of cannabinoids might be attenuation of the inflammatory component as occurs for example in rheumatoid arthritis

Study Primary EndPoint: Imrpovement in proportion of weight born on the operated joint as percentage of total animal body weight.

Animals and procedure: 10 Wistar rats of 0.3 kilogram-weight male rats were used in the study. Open medical meniscectomy and medial collateral ligament incision were performed.

The Linton Incapacitance tester a validated method to assess pain in rodents following medial meniscectomy was used. Five animals received hyaluronate injections, and five received 5% CBD in hyaluronate injections.

Results: Animals in the CBD group bore a significantly increase proportion of body weight on the operated knee as compared with control animals who received HA. Radiographic analysis indicated joint space preservation in the experimental group compared with the control group

Conclusions: A protective effect of CBD-Hyaluronate combination appears to exist relative to hyaluronate only in a rodent model of knee osteoarthritis.