Joao P. De Aquino, MD, assistant professor of psychiatry, has been awarded an R01 grant for a study on the combined therapeutic effects of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD) in individuals with opioid use disorder and chronic pain.
The study will recruit 120 participants for a randomized, placebo-controlled, crossover trial. It will employ quantitative sensory testing (QST) — a computerized, psychophysical approach for measuring pain in humans — and behavioral pharmacology methods to examine opioid craving, alongside reward-related and cognitive performance assessments.
The research will investigate the impact of various doses and combinations of THC and CBD on nociceptive, cognitive, and affective dimensions of pain, focusing on central sensitization — a key mechanism by which the central nervous system becomes more sensitive to painful stimuli. Additionally, it will examine potential drug-drug interactions between cannabis constituents and medications for opioid use disorder.
De Aquino emphasizes the study's critical role in enhancing our understanding of the combined effects of cannabis's primary constituents, THC and CBD, on individuals with opioid use disorder and chronic pain. The findings will inform future research into the potential risks and benefits of THC and CBD use in this population, increasingly turning to cannabis and its cannabinoids for pain management.
Funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), De Aquino leads the Pain and Addiction Interaction Neurosciences (PAIN) Lab, dedicated to developing novel therapeutics for pain and addiction through a combination of behavioral pharmacology, multimodal assessment of pain, and clinical trials.