Pericarditis, an inflammatory heart disease, refers to inflammation of the pericardium, the sac that surrounds the heart. Symptoms include sharp/stabbing chest pain, dry cough, shortness of breath, and anxiety or fatigue, that may result in physical limitations, reduced quality of life, emergency department visits, and hospitalizations. Patients may have multiple recurrences.
Frequently, the cause of pericarditis is unknown, although the initial trigger is often a viral infection, which then activates an abnormal inflammatory response characterized by cells releasing proteins called cytokines. These cytokines include interleukin-1β (IL-1β) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) and are responsible for the cycle of inflammation in recurrent pericarditis.
The authors concluded that the pharmaceutically manufactured cannabidiol administered in the study may represent a novel therapy for treating pericarditis and preventing its complications and recurrence.
These results provide a strong scientific basis for investigating CardiolRx™ as a potential novel therapy in pericarditis care and support the rationale for Cardiol’s ongoing Phase II pilot study in patients with recurrent pericarditis (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT05494788).
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