Portuguese specialists test complementary treatment with oral cannabidiol for cats with chronic gingivostomatitis

Date of publication: September 19, 2023

Translation: MVZ Flor Ortiz

Edition: ICAN Publishing House 

A placebo-controlled study evaluated the clinical efficacy and safety of a commercially available oral formulation of cannabidiol (CBD) as an adjunctive treatment for the pain management of feline chronic gingivostomatitis (CFGS). 

CBD supplemented a routine multimodal treatment in cats with GSFC that underwent dental extractions. Subsequently, the investigation included an additional 22 cats. 

The first group was treated with a fixed dose of 4 mg per cat every 12 h for 15 consecutive days. The second group received a placebo with similar characteristics.

Treatments began 2 h before dental extractions. Pain and disease severity were assessed on days 0 and 15 using the Composite Oral Pain Scale (COPS-C/F) and the Stomatitis Disease Activity Index (SDAI) score. Weight, vital and biochemical parameters, and analgesic reinforcement requirements were also recorded on days 0 and 15. 

In CBD-treated cats, blood was drawn after 4, 8 and 12 h to determine serum CBD concentrations by ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS/MS). 

After data analysis using mixed models, a significant improvement was found in CBD-medicated cats in SDAI scores. The protocol was safe as no serious adverse effects or biochemical changes were observed during the treatment period .

Reference
Coelho, J. C., Duarte, N., Bento da Silva, A., Bronze, M. do R., & Mestrinho, L. A. (2023). Placebo-controlled trial of daily oral cannabidiol as adjunctive treatment for cats with chronic gingivostomatitis. Animals: An Open Access Journal from MDPI, 13(17), 2716. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani13172716