A recent study has revealed cannabis use may lower the risk of proliferative vitreoretinopathy after retinal detachment repair, suggesting potential therapeutic benefits.
Study authors said proliferative vitreoretinopathy (PVR) is a major cause of retinal detachment (RD) repair failure, resulting in poor visual outcomes.
The new cohort study, examining data for 1,193 marched patients, found that the use of cannabis might exert a moderately protective effect against the development of PVR after RD repair.1
… this protective association noted with cannabis use could be due to the population using it rather than an effect of the cannabis itself
Patients who underwent initial repair for RD with concomitant cannabis use were less likely to develop PVR and require subsequent complex RD repair compared with matched patients without documented cannabis exposure.
However, the authors noted that the absolute difference in rates was small.
“While this protective association noted with cannabis use could be due to the population using it rather than an effect of the cannabis itself, the findings suggest that cannabis use might have a role in reducing PVR development,” the study concluded.
Reference
- Alshaikhsalama AM, Alsoudi AF, Mukhtar A, et al. Long-term cannabis use and risk of postoperative proliferative vitreoretinopathy. JAMA Ophthalmol. 2025; published online July 3. doi: 10.1001/jamaophthalmol.2025.1851.
