Dogs given cannabidiol (CBD) alongside an anti-inflammatory serum treatment following knee surgery showed significantly lower levels of an inflammatory blood marker compared to dogs receiving a placebo, according to a new randomized clinical trial.
The study, published October 10 in the journal Veterinary Sciences, found that dogs receiving the combination treatment had lower concentrations of C-reactive protein (CRP), a marker of inflammation, on the third and fifth days after surgery. However, researchers did not identify consistent improvements in pain, mobility or other clinical recovery measures.
Conducted by researchers at Kasetsart University in Thailand, the trial examined whether combining CBD with autologous conditioned serum (ACS), a blood-derived treatment containing anti-inflammatory proteins, could improve recovery following tibial plateau leveling osteotomy, a common surgical procedure used to treat knee ligament injuries in dogs.
The 27 dogs were randomly divided into three groups of nine. One received a placebo, another received ACS injections into the affected joint, and the third received ACS injections combined with oral CBD.
Dogs in the CBD group received 2 milligrams per kilogram of body weight every 12 hours for 28 days, beginning the evening of surgery.
CRP levels rose sharply in all three groups immediately following surgery, reaching their highest concentrations on the first postoperative day before gradually declining. On days three and five, the ACS-plus-CBD group demonstrated significantly lower levels than the placebo group in the researchers’ primary statistical model.
The difference was particularly notable on day five, when the adjusted statistical comparison produced a p-value of 0.001.
Despite the reductions in inflammatory markers, researchers found no consistent differences between treatment groups in orthopedic evaluations, weight-bearing measurements, owner-reported pain scores or radiographic assessments of healing.
Because the study did not include a group receiving CBD alone, researchers could not determine whether CBD independently contributed to the lower inflammatory markers or whether the findings reflected the combined treatment.
Safety monitoring identified higher alkaline phosphatase activity, a blood enzyme commonly measured when evaluating liver and other physiological processes, among dogs receiving ACS and CBD on day 28. One dog receiving ACS without CBD developed a surgical site infection and was withdrawn from subsequent recovery assessments.
The researchers characterized the inflammation findings as preliminary, with further research needed to determine whether the changes translate into improved recovery.
The study was funded by the Center for Veterinary Research and Innovation at Kasetsart University. Twenty-six of the 27 dogs completed the full 28-day follow-up period.
