Clinical Study to Evaluate Cannabidiol Liver Enzyme Elevations and Drug Interactions

Summary

Cannabidiol (CBD) is available as a prescription drug product for the treatment of seizures associated with Lennox-Gastaut syndrome, Dravet syndrome, or tuberous sclerosis complex. At labeled doses up to 25 mg/kg/day, an increased risk of liver enzyme elevation and drug-induced liver injury has been observed. However, only limited evaluations of the risk of liver enzyme elevation of daily, lower dose CBD use are available. The potential for liver enzyme elevations with lower CBD doses with unapproved consumer products highlights a need for further research. In addition, CBD has the capacity to inhibit cytochrome P450 enzymes and uridine 5'-diphospho-glucuronosyltransferases, leading to potential drug-drug interactions with multiple common medications. The clinical significance of many of these interactions is also unclear. Furthermore, nonclinical studies have suggested the potential for CBD to cause reproductive and endocrine effects. As such, additional high-quality clinical pharmacology studies are needed to further characterize CBD's safety profile. The objective of this study is to characterize the effects of daily CBD use at a dose within the range of what consumers are taking as unapproved CBD products on liver enzyme elevations, drug interactions, and endocrine measures.

Timeline

Start

2024-02-08

Primary completion

2024-09-06

Completion

2024-09-06

Publications

• Background 1. U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Science Board. (2022, June 3). Background materials for the June 14, 2022 meeting of the Science Board to the FDA. Retrieved from https://www.fda.gov/advisory-committees/advisory-committee-roster/science-board-fda/2022-meetings#event-materials.
• Background 2. Cannabidiol (Epidiolex ®) oral solution label obtained from https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/drugsatfda_docs/label/2018/210365lbl.pdf
• Background Lo LA, Christiansen A, Eadie L, Strickland JC, Kim DD, Boivin M, Barr AM, MacCallum CA. Cannabidiol-associated hepatotoxicity: A systematic review and meta-analysis. J Intern Med. 2023 Jun;293(6):724-752. doi: 10.1111/joim.13627. Epub 2023 Mar 13.
• Background Crippa JAS, Zuardi AW, Guimaraes FS, Campos AC, de Lima Osorio F, Loureiro SR, Dos Santos RG, Souza JDS, Ushirohira JM, Pacheco JC, Ferreira RR, Mancini Costa KC, Scomparin DS, Scarante FF, Pires-Dos-Santos I, Mechoulam R, Kapczinski F, Fonseca BAL, Esposito DLA, Pereira-Lima K, Sen S, Andraus MH, Hallak JEC; Burnout and Distress Prevention With Cannabidiol in Front-line Health Care Workers Dealing With COVID-19 (BONSAI) Trial Investigators. Efficacy and Safety of Cannabidiol Plus Standard Care vs Standard Care Alone for the Treatment of Emotional Exhaustion and Burnout Among Frontline Health Care Workers During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA Netw Open. 2021 Aug 2;4(8):e2120603. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2021.20603.
• Background 5. U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Clinical Pharmacology and Biopharmaceutics Review. Retrieved from https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/drugsatfda_docs/nda/2018/210365Orig1s000ClinPharmR.pdf
• Background 6. EFSA NDA Panel (EFSA Panel on Nutrition, Novel Foods and Food Allergens), Turck, D, Bohn, T, Castenmiller, J, De Henauw, S, Hirsch-Ernst, KI, Maciuk, A, Mangelsdorf, I, McArdle, HJ, Naska, A, Pelaez, C, Pentieva, K, Siani, A, Thies, F, Tsabouri, S, Vinceti, M, Cubadda, F, Frenzel, T, Heinonen, M, Marchelli, R, Neuhäuser-Berthold, M, Poulsen, M, Prieto Maradona, M, Schlatter, JR, Trezza, V, van Loveren, H, Albert, O, Dumas, C, Germini, A, Gelbmann, W, Kass, G, Kouloura, E, Noriega Fernandez, E, Rossi, A and Knutsen, HK, 2022. Statement on safety of cannabidiol as a novel food: data gaps and uncertainties. EFSA Journal 2022; 20(6):7322, 25 pp. https://doi.org/10.2903/j.efsa.2022.7322
• Background Carvalho RK, Andersen ML, Mazaro-Costa R. The effects of cannabidiol on male reproductive system: A literature review. J Appl Toxicol. 2020 Jan;40(1):132-150. doi: 10.1002/jat.3831. Epub 2019 Jul 17.
• Background Tallon MJ, Child R. Subchronic oral toxicity assessment of a cannabis extract. Regul Toxicol Pharmacol. 2023 Oct;144:105496. doi: 10.1016/j.yrtph.2023.105496. Epub 2023 Sep 19.
• Background Anderson LL, Doohan PT, Oldfield L, Kevin RC, Arnold JC, Berger M, Amminger GP, McGregor IS. Citalopram and Cannabidiol: In Vitro and In Vivo Evidence of Pharmacokinetic Interactions Relevant to the Treatment of Anxiety Disorders in Young People. J Clin Psychopharmacol. 2021 Sep-Oct 01;41(5):525-533. doi: 10.1097/JCP.0000000000001427.
• Background Armstrong SC, Cozza KL. Pharmacokinetic drug interactions of morphine, codeine, and their derivatives: theory and clinical reality, part I. Psychosomatics. 2003 Mar-Apr;44(2):167-71. doi: 10.1176/appi.psy.44.2.167.
• Background 11. Citalopram (Celexa ®) tablet label obtained from https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/drugsatfda_docs/label/2022/020822s041lbl.pdf
• Background 12. Morphine Sulfate tablet label obtained from https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/drugsatfda_docs/label/2021/022207s010lbl.pdf
• Background Iannone LF, Arena G, Battaglia D, Bisulli F, Bonanni P, Boni A, Canevini MP, Cantalupo G, Cesaroni E, Contin M, Coppola A, Cordelli DM, Cricchiuti G, De Giorgis V, De Leva MF, De Rinaldis M, d'Orsi G, Elia M, Galimberti CA, Morano A, Granata T, Guerrini R, Lodi MAM, La Neve A, Marchese F, Masnada S, Michelucci R, Nosadini M, Pilolli N, Pruna D, Ragona F, Rosati A, Santucci M, Spalice A, Pietrafusa N, Striano P, Tartara E, Tassi L, Papa A, Zucca C, Russo E, Mecarelli O; CBD LICE Italy Study Group. Results From an Italian Expanded Access Program on Cannabidiol Treatment in Highly Refractory Dravet Syndrome and Lennox-Gastaut Syndrome. Front Neurol. 2021 May 20;12:673135. doi: 10.3389/fneur.2021.673135. eCollection 2021.
• Background 14. Sharbaf Shoar N, Fariba KA, Padhy RK. Citalopram. StatPearls https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK482222/
• Background Aithal GP, Watkins PB, Andrade RJ, Larrey D, Molokhia M, Takikawa H, Hunt CM, Wilke RA, Avigan M, Kaplowitz N, Bjornsson E, Daly AK. Case definition and phenotype standardization in drug-induced liver injury. Clin Pharmacol Ther. 2011 Jun;89(6):806-15. doi: 10.1038/clpt.2011.58. Epub 2011 May 4.
• Background Arnold JC, McCartney D, Suraev A, McGregor IS. The safety and efficacy of low oral doses of cannabidiol: An evaluation of the evidence. Clin Transl Sci. 2023 Jan;16(1):10-30. doi: 10.1111/cts.13425. Epub 2022 Oct 19.
• Florian J, Salcedo P, Burkhart K, Shah A, Chekka LMS, Keshishi D, Patel V, Yang S, Fein M, DePalma R, Matta M, Strauss DG, Rouse R. Cannabidiol and Liver Enzyme Level Elevations in Healthy Adults: A Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA Intern Med. 2025 Sep 1;185(9):1070-1078. doi: 10.1001/jamainternmed.2025.2366.

Drugs

Indications