Beniamino Palmieri MD, Carmen Laurino MSc and Maria Vadalà MSc
Background: Cannabidiol (CBD)-based treatments for several diseases, including Tourette’s
syndrome, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, movement disorders and glaucoma, are proving to be beneficial and the scientific clinical background of the drug is continuously evolving.
Objectives: To investigate the short-term effect of CBD-enriched hemp oil for relieving symptoms and improving the life quality (QOL) in young girls with adverse drug effects (ADRs) following human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine.
Methods: In this anecdotal, retrospective, “compassionate-use”, observational, open-label study, 12 females (age 12–24 years) with severe somatoform and dysautonomic syndrome following HPV vaccination were given sublingual CBD-rich hemp oil drops, 25 mg/kg per day supplemented by 2–5 mg/ml CBD once a week until a maximum dose of 150 mg/ml CBD per day was reached over a 3 month period. Patients’ quality of life was evaluated using the medical outcome short-form health survey questionnaire (SF-36).
Results: Two patients dropped out due to iatrogenic adverse events and another two patients stopped the treatment early due to lack of any improvement. SF-36 showed significant benefits in the physical component score (P < 0.02), vitality (P < 0.03) and social role functioning (P < 0.02) after the treatment. The administration of hemp oil also significantly reduced body pain according to the SF-36 assessment. No significant differences from the start of treatment to several months post-treatment were detected in role limitations due to emotional reactions (P = 0.02).
Conclusions: This study demonstrated the safety and tolerability of CBD-rich hemp oil and the primary efficacy endpoint. Randomized controlled trials are warranted to characterize the safety profile and efficacy of this compound.