As part of the lead-up to a pioneering trial into a formulation of cannabis that might treat endometriosis, patients in Canada and Israel are being asked to take part in an anonymous survey of their cannabis use in addressing disease symptoms.
The questionnaire, released by Strainprint Technologies of Canada along with Israel’s Gynica and Lumir Lab, aims to reach about 1,000 patients from each country, and will be followed by invitations to participants to join the clinical investigation.
Along with Strainprint’s database of patient-reported outcomes among those who use cannabis for endometriosis, survey results will be used to develop a lead cannabis-based treatment candidate, which must then be validated in the trial. Specifically, the goal is to identify which active cannabinoids, terpenes and flavonoids, and in what combination, offer the most effective pain relief and help to prevent reoccurrence.
Developed by Gynica, the study protocol will be used for clinical investigation applications in both countries. A lead candidate will be derived by Lumir from Strainprint’s more than 900,000 real-time patient outcomes and 40 million medical cannabis data points.
“One-hundred-and-80-million people worldwide experience severe pain daily as a result of tissue similar to the uterine lining migrating to other organs inside the body, causing debilitating pain, infertility, fatigue, gastrointestinal and/or bladder symptoms,” Gynica’s Moshe Hod, president of the European Association of Perinatal Medicine, said in a press release. “Our objective is to recruit suffering candidates to explore cannabis as a viable therapy in the hopes of developing improved diagnostics and treatments to those who are undertreated by current solutions.”
The survey will be available through a designated group on the Strainprint Community, a digital platform that educates and supports the cannabis community through various forums. Using the platform, participants may interact and review custom-created disease information.
“We believe many women will be eager to take part in this ground-breaking research,” said Michelle Arbus, Strainprint’s vice president of research. “Our online Strainprint Community already provides a safe space to discuss endometriosis and cannabis treatment with fellow sufferers, and through this questionnaire, participants will have the opportunity to contribute to research and play a more active role in their healthcare with alternative methods not yet explored.”
Those wishing to participate in the survey must be at least 18. After registering with the Strainprint Community via this site, they may seek access to a group open exclusively to questionnaire participants. For more information, visit this site.
Gynica is Lumir’s first research and development collaboration, focused on clinically proven cannabis-based solutions in the field of women’s heath. Strainprint is a demand-side cannabis data and analytics company.
Endometriosis is estimated to affect 1 in 10 women between ages the 15 and 49. Current treatments include pain medications such as non-steroidal anti-inflammatories, hormonal therapy and oral hormonal contraceptives, aromatase inhibitors, and surgery.