Do cannabinoids play a role in the control of glaucoma?

BACKGROUND

The use of cannabinoids in diverse clinical conditions is today a subject of debate. Its use has been proposed for the control of glaucoma. However, there is controversy about its real effectiveness and safety.

METHODS

To answer this question we used Epistemonikos, the largest database of systematic reviews in health, which is maintained by screening multiple information sources, including MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane, among others. We extracted data from the systematic reviews, reanalyzed data of primary studies and generated a summary of findings table using the GRADE approach.

CONCLUSIONS

We identified five systematic reviews including three studies overall, all of them randomized controlled trials. We concluded that although cannabinoids could decrease intraocular pressure, the effect would be transient and associated with frequent adverse effects.