It is estimated that between 5 and 30 percent of women of reproductive age struggle with endometriosis, which amounts to about 180 million women worldwide (including about 1 million Polish women). Accompanying the disease, pain and other discomforts negatively affect patients' quality of functioning, psychological well-being and life satisfaction. Diagnosis and treatment of endometriosis are complex and lengthy. Research on the possibility of using CBD and other cannabinoids of hemp in patients with endometriosis has been conducted for years. Results of studies with female patients confirm the beneficial effects of CBD in endometriosis.

What is endometriosis?

Endometriosis is a chronic, autoimmune disease that involves the presence of endometrial cells - the endometrium - outside the uterine cavity, which is where they physiologically should not be.

The endometrium is the lining of the uterus, during the monthly cycle it grows, creating a favorable environment for the reception of a fertilized egg. If fertilization does not occur, then it flakes off during menstruation. In some cases, menstrual blood along with endometrial cells enter the abdominal cavity and begin to grow elsewhere in the body.

Abnormal endometrial cells form cysts in the ovaries, ovarian fossa, on the uterosacral ligaments. They can also occur in other places in the pelvis, such as on the intestines, stomach, urinary bladder, and in rarer cases also in distant places in the woman's body, such as the pleura, pericardium, orbit, brain.

In some patients, parallel to or independent of endometrial cysts outside the uterus, a particular form of endometriosis develops. adenomyosis, which involves the formation of endometrial foci in the muscular layer of the uterine wall. This leads to disruption of its structure, "thickening" and is associated with pain in this organ.

Proliferating, infiltrating endometrial cysts can lead to serious health complications at both the bodily and psychological levels, for example:

The fusion of internal organs, which can lead to impaired functioning,
inflammations digestive system,
chronic, severe pain, causing nervous system dysfunction, which leads to, among other things, hyper-responsiveness to pain signals,
Mental problems (depression, anxiety).

Symptoms and diagnosis of endometriosis

Endometriosis is a complex, heterogeneous disease, with symptoms occurring in different patients at different rates. Symptoms are often uncharacteristic, endometriosis is sometimes confused with other diseases, and diagnosis is usually lengthy and requires patients to strenuously consult many specialists and perform various tests to rule out other diseases.

Obtaining a diagnosis often takes patients a very long time (even several years), which, as the sufferers themselves declare, negatively reflects on their mental condition and is often associated with the progression of an untreated disease. Patients tell of years of "bouncing from one doctor to another," the experience of having their ailments downplayed or "psychiatrized."

The most common symptoms of endometriosis are:

Extremely painful periods,
Heavy menstrual bleeding,
Pelvic pain (during ovulation or throughout the menstrual cycle),
Gastrointestinal complaints (intestinal pain, stomach pain, bloating, digestive problems, inflammation of the digestive tract, bacterial and inflammatory diseases of the intestines, constipation, diarrhea),
Frequent or chronic headaches,
A feeling of pressure on the bladder, frequent urination,
Numbness in the lower extremities,
joint pains,
painful coexistence,
Painful bowel movements and urination,
A feeling of weakness, lack of energy.

Treatment of endometriosis

At the moment, there is no medicine available to permanently cure endometriosis. The most common treatments offered to patients are. therapy hormonal therapy and surgical treatment. Urogynecological physiotherapy, light but regular exercise and an anti-inflammatory diet are recommended as additional therapeutic tools.

Psychological support is also not insignificant, including those geared toward better stress management, pain management, learning relaxation techniques and relaxing tensions in the body.

Sometimes it is only with surgery, hormone therapy and the systematic use of all of the above methods over an extended period of time that the discomfort can be reduced to a level at which active, satisfactory functioning is possible.

Hormone therapy, like any other long-term treatment, can be tolerated by patients better or worse and is fraught with side effects. Some patients choose not to take hormones. In such situations, it is possible pain management, following an anti-inflammatory diet, avoiding stress, attending physiotherapy, and playing light sports. Therapy CBD and other cannabinoids may be part of such a treatment approach endometriosis.

CBD and other cannabinoids in endometriosis - scientific research

Some of the most important properties of CBD that may be helpful in the treatment of endometriosis include anti-inflammatory effects, analgesic effects, regulation of the immune system, mood regulation, and stress relief.

Let's look at two selected studies on the use of CBD in endometriosis:

An article published in 2022 described the results of an animal study, which showed that daily administration of CBD strongly reduced the diameter, volume and area of endometrial lesions, and managed to modify the morphology of the lesions. CBD has shown effects antioxidant, alleviated inflammation in both the collected lesions and peritoneal fluids. CBD was also shown to have analgesic effects.

Patients who self-administer hemp cannabinoids to alleviate symptoms of endometriosis were recruited for a questionnaire study.

Collected data showed that 56% female participants saw a decrease in pain levels by 7.6 points on a 10-point scale over the course of a treatment lasting 6 months.

The same group reduced the dose of painkillers by 50%. Cannabis improved the patients' sleep quality (some women with endometriosis complain of sleep problems, often caused by pain) and eased gastrointestinal problems.

New study by Polish scientists confirmed earlier foreign reports. Despite the small study sample (10 female patients), the researchers consider it significant.
The study lasted 3 months, and the endpoints were to assess the intensity of the Pain and overall comfort of patients Before and after therapy. All patients improved in both evaluated parameters with low severity of side effects.

Researchers agree that the results so far encourage further analysis of the effectiveness of the CBD and other hemp cannabinoids In the treatment of endometriosis. Clinical trials involving female patients are currently taking place at several research centers around the world.