Therapeutic Response of Cannabidiol in Rheumatoid Arthritis

The DAS28 is a combined index for measuring disease activity in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The index includes swollen joint counts (SJC) and tender joint counts (TJC), both scored 0-28 (higher scores indicate higher disease activity), as well as acute phase response (APR) determined as erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), and general health (GH), both scored 1-100 (higher scores indicate higher disease activity). DAS28 was calculated according to the following formula: DAS28 equals (=) [0.56 multiplied by (*) the square root (√) of TJC] plus (+) [0.28 * √ of SJC] + (0.70 * the natural logarithm (ln) ESR in millimeters per hour (mm/h)] + [0.014 * GH in mm visual analogue assessment (VAS)]. A negative change from randomization indicated improvement.

Tolerability will be evaluated based on the number of participants that drop out due to treatment emergent adverse events or serious adverse events.

34 joints will be evaluated using a 0 to 3 point scale for each joint and the sum of these represents PDUS. PDUS ranges from 0 to 102. Scores of 0 indicate the least amount of inflammation of the joint while scores of 3 indicate the most amount of inflammation. A higher value of the total score for PDUS represents more severe disease level.

34 joints will be evaluated using a 0 to 3 point scale for each joint and the sum of these represents GSUS. GSUS ranges from 0 to 102. Scores of 0 indicate the least amount of inflammation of the joint while scores of 3 indicate the most amount of inflammation. A higher value of the total score for GSUS represents more severe disease level.

Inflammatory cytokines and chemokine concentrations from plasma will be evaluated using multiplex cytokine array.

WBC subset percentages will be assessed via flow cytometry.

CDAI was derived as the sum of the following: tender joint count (TJC), swollen joint count (SJC), participant global assessment (PGA) of disease activity, and physician assessment of disease activity. TJC and SJC were taken as the number of tender and swollen joints, respectively, out of 28 assessed joints. PGA and physician assessment of disease activity were scored 0-100 millimeters (mm) and rounded to the nearest centimeter (cm) on a visual analog scale (VAS), where higher scores indicate greater perceived disease activity. The total CDAI score range is 0-76, where higher scores indicate increased disease activity.

The HAQ-DI is a patient-reported assessment of physical function that includes 20 items in eight categories representing a comprehensive set of functional activities, including dressing and grooming, arising, eating, walking, hygiene, reach, grip and common daily activities. Patients are asked about their ability to complete these tasks in the past week using the following categories: without any difficulty (0); with some difficulty (1); with much difficulty (2); and unable to do (3). Scores on each task are summed and averaged to provide an overall score ranging from 0 (best) to 3 (worst), with a higher score representing a high-dependency disability.