Newswise — San Francisco, CA. (September 23, 2011) – Cannabidiol—a compound derived from marijuana—may be a promising new treatment to prevent the development of painful neuropathy in patients receiving the chemotherapy drug paclitaxel, according to animal experiments reported in the October issue of Anesthesia & Analgesia, official journal of the International Anesthesia Research Society (IARS). Newswise — San Francisco, CA. (September 23, 2011) – Cannabidiol—a compound derived from marijuana—may be a promising new treatment to prevent the development of painful neuropathy in patients receiving the chemotherapy drug paclitaxel, according to animal experiments reported in the October issue of Anesthesia & Analgesia, official journal of the International Anesthesia Research Society (IARS).

"Our preliminary findings…indicate that cannabidiol may prevent the development of paclitaxel-induced allodynia in mice and therefore be effective at preventing dose-limiting paclitaxel-induced peripheral neuropathy in humans," according to the report by Sara Jane Ward, Ph.D., and colleagues of Temple University School of Pharmacy, Philadelphia.