There’s no causal effect between consuming marijuana and kidney disease
As it becomes easier for scientists to study cannabis legally, many are learning how powerful cannabis can be in treating the symptoms of terrible diseases. On the other hand, different research has been biased toward the stigma attached to marijuana. One of the most recent findings sought to establish a causal link between cannabis use and kidney disease. It can be stated with certainty that the use of this plant is related to, but lacks a causal effect on, chronic kidney disease (CKD).
Published in the journal Kidney Medicine, a new study suggests that marijuana use has no association with CKD. Marijuana use has long been linked to a host of harms in the human body, including kidney disease. This has led to medical cannabis not being seen as an option for treating CKD.
However, recent findings may change the landscape and allow patients, even when suffering from CKD, to access medical cannabis treatment. Taking data from more than 22,300 patients, Dellepiane and Paranjpe conducted a retrospective review study. The study analyzed those who had never used cannabis, monthly users, weekly users, and daily users.
The authors first identified a positive link between cannabis use and CKD. The experts on this occasion used Mendelian randomization as a method to measure variation in genes to determine the existence of a causal relationship in observational studies. The results showed that there is no causal effect linking cannabis use and CKD.
While there is very little evidence that cannabidiol (CBD) helps CKD, cannabinoids have been found to have therapeutic benefits such as reducing oxidative stress, inflammation, and cell death and improving kidney functions through stimulation of CB2 receptors. CBD has been shown to be a vasodilator, which aids in increased blood flow that reduces damage.