Sex differences in endocannabinoid tone in a pilot study of cannabis use disorder and acute cannabis abstinence
Observational studyHumans
- Design
- Observational study
- Subjects
- 10 adults with moderate to severe cannabis use disorder, 5 men and 5 women
- Dose used in the study
- Not applicable; palmitoylethanolamide was measured in plasma, not given
- Duration
- Two study weeks one month apart; cannabis abstinence in the second week
- What was measured
- Plasma endocannabinoids and congeners including PEA, with daily reports of cannabis use and withdrawal symptoms.
What the authors reported
The study found:
- Women reported a larger rise in withdrawal symptoms during abstinence (change 9.4, p < 0.001) than men (change 1.2, p = 0.35).
- Sex differences in AEA, SEA and LEA appeared at the morning time point during abstinence.
- LEA was associated with withdrawal in both sexes; PEA (beta 0.22) and 2-AG (beta 0.32) were associated with withdrawal in women only.
Limits of this study
A pilot of 10 people; findings are preliminary and cannot show cause or any effect of taking PEA. The authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose.
Source
PubMed 37753564 · doi:10.1111/adb.13337
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.