Salivary Endocannabinoid Profiles in Chronic Orofacial Pain and Headache Disorders: An Observational Study Using a Novel Tool for Diagnosis and Management

Shimrit Heiliczer, Asaf Wilensky, Tal Gaver, Olga Georgiev, Sharleen Hamad, Alina Nemirovski, Rivka Hadar, Yair Sharav, Doron J Aframian, Joseph Tam, Yaron Haviv. Int J Mol Sci. 2022 Oct 27;23(21):13017.

Observational studyHumans

Design

Observational study

Subjects

83 people with chronic orofacial pain and 43 pain-free controls

Dose used in the study

No palmitoylethanolamide was given; salivary levels were measured

Duration

Not stated in the abstract

What was measured

Salivary anandamide, 2-AG, arachidonic acid, PEA and OEA by LC-MS/MS across diagnoses: post-traumatic neuropathy, trigeminal neuralgia, temporomandibular disorder, migraine, tension-type headache and burning mouth syndrome.

What the authors reported

This observational study found:

• 2-AG was significantly lower in trigeminal neuralgia and tension-type headache, and PEA was significantly lower in migraine.
• Burning mouth syndrome was the only group with raised anandamide.
• Levels correlated with gender, quality of life, BMI, pain duration and sleep awakenings.

Limits of this study

An observational study; PEA was measured, not given, and shows association only. The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Source

PubMed 36361803 · doi:10.3390/ijms232113017

Entry checked against the abstract on PubMed on 2026-09-22. The dose shown is the dose the researchers used. It is not a recommendation. How to read this page.