CBD can heal broken Bones
The compound cannabinoid Cannabidiol (CBD), which is a non hallucinogenic chemical in marijuana plants, helps heal bone fractures, the research finds.
The study was done in rats, but rodents have proven to be useful models for human bone treatments in the past, said Yankel Gabet, a bone researcher at Tel Aviv University's Sackler Faculty of Medicine.
All the current clinical treatments for osteoporosis [have] been successfully tested in rodents prior to clinical settings," Gabet wrote in an email to Live Science. "While there is no certainty, these findings hold promise for the potential clinical applicability of using CBD for fracture healing in humans."
CBD produces its effects by triggering the receptors that respond to compounds called endocannabinoids, cannabis like molecules that the body synthesizes naturally. In the brain, pot acts on these receptors to cause mind-altering effects. But cannabinoid receptors are found all over the body, leading some researchers to think that pot compounds might have medical applications beyond helping cancer patients regain their appetites or get relief from pain.
Gabet said he and his team were particularly interested in looking at the effects of cannabis on bone healing, because pot use and broken bones are both fairly common.
"It is likely that many patients suffering from bone fractures consume cannabis that may have beneficial or adverse effects on the healing process," Gabet said.
The researchers found that CBD enhanced bone healing by strengthening the cartilage "bridge" that forms when a bone is on the mend. This bridge is called the fracture callus; it's made of collagen, which then gradually mineralizes and hardens into new bone.
In rats treated with CBD, this collagen tissue was stronger, and the collagen molecules more tightly cross-linked with one another, compared to rats not treated with the marijuana compound. What this means, researchers wrote online May 10 in the Journal of Bone and Mineral Research, is that the healed bone in CBD-treated rats is less likely to break in the future compared to the healed bone in untreated rats. In fact, the treated bone is between 35 percent and 50 percent stronger