Genetic influences on Cannabis Response in Fibromyalgia. An Observational Study
The authors’ names:
1 Poli Paolo M.D., Surgeon Specialist in Anesthesia and Intensive Care and Pain Therapy,
2 Barale Roberto, Ph.D, Ordinary Professor of Genetics, Department of Biology,
1 Scocca Antonella, RGN, Project Manager and Hospitality Manager,
1 Poggioli Marta Ph.D., Psychologist,
1 Carnevale Simona Ph.D., Psychologist,
1 Sannino Chiara Ph.D., Psychologist,
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1 Poli Pain Clinic, Via, Svezia 4, 56124, Pisa,Italy
2 University of Pisa, Via Derna 1, 56126, Pisa,Italy
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Correspondence to: Sannino Chiara, Poli Pain Clinic, Via Svezia 4, 56124, Pisa (PI). E-mail:
The category of the manuscript: Original research
Founding sources: No founding sources
Medical Cannabis is increasingly used in the treatment of fibromyalgia
However, in clinical practice there is often a high variability in the treatment response with Medical Cannabis which is not always completely justified by pain intensity or clinical conditions.
The main aim of this research is to describe the presence of a significant association between genetic polymorphisms encoding for cannabinoid receptors and response to treatment with Medical cannabis in fibromyalgia
A sample was composede by 113 subjects affected by fibromyalgia evaluated at Baseline, one month follow up and three months follow up.
Variables analyzed were clinical, genetic and psychological.
Clinical variables were represented by pain intensity (VAS) and frequence of drop out.
As far as genetic factors they have been selected ABCB1,FAAH and UGTB7 genes and their polymorphism because their importance in encoding of cannabinoid.
Psychological dimension was evaluated with Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) and Italian Pain Questionnaire in the form of Questionario Italiano del dolore (QUID).
Statistical analyzes show that, in the one month follow up, AA polymorphism of UGTT2B is associated with a significant greater pain reduction compared to GG and GA version (F 5,64 p< 0,05)
These preliminary results underline the influences of genetic factors on Medical Cannabis response in fybromyalgia suggesting personalized treatment alternatives based on genetic structure.
Further analysis and a larger sample will be needed to make the results more stastically resistant and to investigate in more detail the relationship between genetics, psychological variables and response to treatment with Medical Cannabis