Cannabidiol (CBD) in Pain Reduction for Knee Osteoarthritis
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ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT05020028 |
Recruitment Status :
Recruiting
First Posted : August 25, 2021
Last Update Posted : May 24, 2023
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Condition or disease | Intervention/treatment | Phase |
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Knee Arthritis | Drug: Cannabidiol (CBD) Drug: Placebo | Phase 2 Phase 3 |
Study Type : | Interventional (Clinical Trial) |
Estimated Enrollment : | 100 participants |
Allocation: | Randomized |
Intervention Model: | Parallel Assignment |
Masking: | Single (Participant) |
Primary Purpose: | Treatment |
Official Title: | The Use of Cannabidiol (CBD) in Pain Reduction for Knee Osteoarthritis. A Double-Blind, Randomized Control Study |
Actual Study Start Date : | June 22, 2022 |
Estimated Primary Completion Date : | June 2024 |
Estimated Study Completion Date : | June 2024 |

Arm | Intervention/treatment |
---|---|
Experimental: CBD Group
The first cohort will take two 25mg cannabidiol (total dose: 50mg) Orally Disintegrating Tablets (CBD ODT) three times daily for a maximum dose of 150mg per day.
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Drug: Cannabidiol (CBD)
Patients will be dispensed enough 25mg cannabidiol (CBD) Orally Disintegrating Tablets (ODT) to take a standard dose of 50mg three times daily for 84 days.
Other Name: Cannabidiol |
Placebo Comparator: Placebo Group
Cohort 2 will receive the same instructions, but with the placebo Orally Disintegrating Tablets (ODT) instead.
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Drug: Placebo
25mg Placebo ODT looks like the cannabidiol (CBD) Orally Disintegrating Tablets (ODT), but contains no active ingredients. |
- VAS Pain Severity Score [ Time Frame: Day 1 ]A Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) will be used to measure differences in pain between patients receiving CBD with knee OA undergoing physiotherapy compared to patients who do not receive CBD. Patients rate their pain on a scale ranging from 0 (no pain) to 10 (worst pain imaginable). Total scores range from 0-10; higher scores indicates greater pain intensity.
- VAS Pain Severity Score [ Time Frame: Day 2 ]A Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) will be used to measure differences in pain between patients receiving CBD with knee OA undergoing physiotherapy compared to patients who do not receive CBD. Patients rate their pain on a scale ranging from 0 (no pain) to 10 (worst pain imaginable). Total scores range from 0-10; higher scores indicates greater pain intensity.
- VAS Pain Severity Score [ Time Frame: Day 7 ]A Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) will be used to measure differences in pain between patients receiving CBD with knee OA undergoing physiotherapy compared to patients who do not receive CBD. Patients rate their pain on a scale ranging from 0 (no pain) to 10 (worst pain imaginable). Total scores range from 0-10; higher scores indicates greater pain intensity.
- VAS Pain Severity Score [ Time Frame: Day 14 ]A Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) will be used to measure differences in pain between patients receiving CBD with knee OA undergoing physiotherapy compared to patients who do not receive CBD. Patients rate their pain on a scale ranging from 0 (no pain) to 10 (worst pain imaginable). Total scores range from 0-10; higher scores indicates greater pain intensity.
- VAS Pain Severity Score [ Time Frame: Day 28 ]A Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) will be used to measure differences in pain between patients receiving CBD with knee OA undergoing physiotherapy compared to patients who do not receive CBD. Patients rate their pain on a scale ranging from 0 (no pain) to 10 (worst pain imaginable). Total scores range from 0-10; higher scores indicates greater pain intensity.
- VAS Pain Severity Score [ Time Frame: Day 42 ]A Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) will be used to measure differences in pain between patients receiving CBD with knee OA undergoing physiotherapy compared to patients who do not receive CBD. Patients rate their pain on a scale ranging from 0 (no pain) to 10 (worst pain imaginable). Total scores range from 0-10; higher scores indicates greater pain intensity.
- VAS Pain Severity Score [ Time Frame: Day 84 ]A Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) will be used to measure differences in pain between patients receiving CBD with knee OA undergoing physiotherapy compared to patients who do not receive CBD. Patients rate their pain on a scale ranging from 0 (no pain) to 10 (worst pain imaginable). Total scores range from 0-10; higher scores indicates greater pain intensity.
- Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS) [ Time Frame: Baseline ]
KOOS is a knee-specific instrument, developed to assess patients' opinion about their knee and associated problems. The five patient-relevant subscales of KOOS are scored separately: Pain (9 items); Symptoms (7 items); ADL Function (17 items); Sport and Recreation Function (5 items); Quality of Life (4 items).
Patients rank each item using a 5-piont Likert scale ranging from 0 (No Problems) to 4 (Extreme Problems) and each of the five scores are calculated as the sum of the items included. Scores are transformed to a 0-100 scale, with zero representing extreme knee problems and 100 representing no knee problems.
- Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS) [ Time Frame: Week 6 ]
KOOS is a knee-specific instrument, developed to assess patients' opinion about their knee and associated problems. The five patient-relevant subscales of KOOS are scored separately: Pain (9 items); Symptoms (7 items); ADL Function (17 items); Sport and Recreation Function (5 items); Quality of Life (4 items).
Patients rank each item using a 5-piont Likert scale ranging from 0 (No Problems) to 4 (Extreme Problems) and each of the five scores are calculated as the sum of the items included. Scores are transformed to a 0-100 scale, with zero representing extreme knee problems and 100 representing no knee problems.
- Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS) [ Time Frame: Week 12 ]
KOOS is a knee-specific instrument, developed to assess patients' opinion about their knee and associated problems. The five patient-relevant subscales of KOOS are scored separately: Pain (9 items); Symptoms (7 items); ADL Function (17 items); Sport and Recreation Function (5 items); Quality of Life (4 items).
Patients rank each item using a 5-piont Likert scale ranging from 0 (No Problems) to 4 (Extreme Problems) and each of the five scores are calculated as the sum of the items included. Scores are transformed to a 0-100 scale, with zero representing extreme knee problems and 100 representing no knee problems.
- Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS) [ Time Frame: Week 60 ]
KOOS is a knee-specific instrument, developed to assess patients' opinion about their knee and associated problems. The five patient-relevant subscales of KOOS are scored separately: Pain (9 items); Symptoms (7 items); ADL Function (17 items); Sport and Recreation Function (5 items); Quality of Life (4 items).
Patients rank each item using a 5-piont Likert scale ranging from 0 (No Problems) to 4 (Extreme Problems) and each of the five scores are calculated as the sum of the items included. Scores are transformed to a 0-100 scale, with zero representing extreme knee problems and 100 representing no knee problems.
- VAS Satisfaction with Pain Management Score [ Time Frame: Day 1 ]A Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) will be used to measure patient satisfaction with pain management. Patients rate their satisfaction on a scale ranging from 0 (no satisfaction) to 10 (as satisfied as possible). Total scores range from 0-10; higher scores indicates greater satisfaction with pain management.
- VAS Satisfaction with Pain Management Score [ Time Frame: Day 2 ]A Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) will be used to measure patient satisfaction with pain management. Patients rate their satisfaction on a scale ranging from 0 (no satisfaction) to 10 (as satisfied as possible). Total scores range from 0-10; higher scores indicates greater satisfaction with pain management.
- VAS Satisfaction with Pain Management Score [ Time Frame: Day 7 ]A Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) will be used to measure patient satisfaction with pain management. Patients rate their satisfaction on a scale ranging from 0 (no satisfaction) to 10 (as satisfied as possible). Total scores range from 0-10; higher scores indicates greater satisfaction with pain management.
- VAS Satisfaction with Pain Management Score [ Time Frame: Day 14 ]A Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) will be used to measure patient satisfaction with pain management. Patients rate their satisfaction on a scale ranging from 0 (no satisfaction) to 10 (as satisfied as possible). Total scores range from 0-10; higher scores indicates greater satisfaction with pain management.
- VAS Satisfaction with Pain Management Score [ Time Frame: Day 28 ]A Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) will be used to measure patient satisfaction with pain management. Patients rate their satisfaction on a scale ranging from 0 (no satisfaction) to 10 (as satisfied as possible). Total scores range from 0-10; higher scores indicates greater satisfaction with pain management.
- VAS Satisfaction with Pain Management Score [ Time Frame: Day 42 ]A Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) will be used to measure patient satisfaction with pain management. Patients rate their satisfaction on a scale ranging from 0 (no satisfaction) to 10 (as satisfied as possible). Total scores range from 0-10; higher scores indicates greater satisfaction with pain management.
- VAS Satisfaction with Pain Management Score [ Time Frame: Day 84 ]A Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) will be used to measure patient satisfaction with pain management. Patients rate their satisfaction on a scale ranging from 0 (no satisfaction) to 10 (as satisfied as possible). Total scores range from 0-10; higher scores indicates greater satisfaction with pain management.
- Number of Patients Requiring Rescue Corticosteroid Use [ Time Frame: Up to Week 60 ]

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Ages Eligible for Study: | 40 Years to 75 Years (Adult, Older Adult) |
Sexes Eligible for Study: | All |
Accepts Healthy Volunteers: | No |
Inclusion Criteria:
- Patients presenting with knee osteoarthritis (KL Grade II-III)
- Knee pain for at least three months, occurring in at least half of the days in that period
- VAS ≥ 4
- Patients ages 40-75, inclusive
- If female patients are pre-menopausal they must be currently practicing effective forms of two types of birth control, which are defined as those, alone or in combination, that result in a low failure rate (less than 1% per year) when used consistently and correctly
- Male patients must be using an effective form of contraception
Exclusion Criteria:
- Knee Injections within the last 3 months (cortisone, PRP, hyaluronic acid)
- Legally incompetent or mentally impaired (e.g., minors, Alzheimer's subjects, dementia, etc.)
- Younger than 40 years of age
- Older than 75 years of age
- Any patient considered a vulnerable subject: pregnant women or fetuses, children, cognitively impaired adults, prisoners
- History of cannabis abuse or dependence
- History of coagulation abnormalities and thromboembolic disease or current abnormal coagulation test values
- History of stroke or acute coronary syndromes within 3 months
- Abnormal coagulation profile
- Renal failure (serum creatinine > 250 μmol/L [2.83 mg/dL]) or liver cirrhosis
- Patients that have been on opioid management for any reason just prior to the study
- Patients with known inflammatory arthritis (such as rheumatoid arthritis, gout, pseudogout etc)
- Patients with a large effusion
- Patients with a BMI > 35
- Patients meeting the DSM-V for major psychiatric illness, such as bipolar disorder
- Patients diagnosed with major depression, psychosis, or substance abuse disorder
- Patients with current or a history of suicidal ideation
- Breastfeeding females
- Abnormal LFTs
- Patients with major neurological disorders, such as dementia, Parkinson's disease, cognitive impairment, epilepsy, history of traumatic brain/head injury, or seizures
- Patients with moderate (Child-Pugh B) and severe hepatic impairment (Child-Pugh C).
- Patients taking moderate or strong inhibitors of CYP3A4 and CYP2C19 (listed below) concomitantly will be considered for exclusion if determined to be clinically significant by the treating physicians
- Patients taking strong CYP3A4 and CYP2C19 inducers (listed below) concomitantly will be considered for exclusion if determined to be clinically significant by the treating physicians
- Patients taking substrates of UTG1A9, UTGB17, CYP2A1, CYP2B6, CYP2C8, CYP2C9 and CYP2C19 (listed below) concomitantly will be considered for exclusion if determined to be clinically significant by the treating physicians

To learn more about this study, you or your doctor may contact the study research staff using the contact information provided by the sponsor.
Please refer to this study by its ClinicalTrials.gov identifier (NCT number): NCT05020028
Contact: Michael J Alaia, MD | 646-501-7223 | michael.alaia@nyulangone.org | |
Contact: Isabel Chalem | isabel.chalem@nyulangone.org |
United States, New York | |
NYU Langone Health | Recruiting |
New York, New York, United States, 10016 | |
Principal Investigator: Michael Alaia, MD |
Principal Investigator: | Michael J Alaia, MD | NYU Langone Health |
Responsible Party: | NYU Langone Health |
ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: | NCT05020028 |
Other Study ID Numbers: |
21-00334 |
First Posted: | August 25, 2021 Key Record Dates |
Last Update Posted: | May 24, 2023 |
Last Verified: | May 2023 |
Individual Participant Data (IPD) Sharing Statement: | |
Plan to Share IPD: | No |
Plan Description: | The data will only be available to the researchers involved in this study. |
Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated Drug Product: | Yes |
Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated Device Product: | No |
Osteoarthritis Osteoarthritis, Knee Arthritis Joint Diseases |
Musculoskeletal Diseases Rheumatic Diseases Cannabidiol Anticonvulsants |