“Cannabinoid was licensed in 2012 for the treatment of spasticity associated with multiple sclerosis in Finland. Spasticity is one of the main symptoms in cerebral palsies and a risk factor of multiple painful anomalies of the skeletal network. We describe a 28-year-old man with severe cerebral palsy, whose quality of life improved and the need for help decreased by using two daily mouth sprays of cannabinoid.”
“Treatment options for neuropathic pain have limited efficacy and use is fraught with dose-limiting adverse effects.
The endocannabinoid system has been elucidated over the last several years, demonstrating a significant interface with pain homeostasis.
Exogenous cannabinoids have been demonstrated to be effective in a range of experimental neuropathic pain models, and there is mounting evidence for therapeutic use in human neuropathic pain conditions.
This article reviews the history, pharmacologic development, clinical trials results, and the future potential of nonsmoked, orally bioavailable, nonpsychoactive cannabinoids in the management of neuropathic pain.”
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25160710
http://www.thctotalhealthcare.com/category/neuropathic-pain/
“Neuropathic orofacial pain (NOP) exists in several forms including pathologies such as burning mouth syndrome (BMS), persistent idiopathic facial pain (PIFP), trigeminal neuralgia (TN) and postherpetic neuralgia (PHN).
The pathophysiology of some of these conditions is still unclear and hence treatment options tend to vary and include a wide variety of treatments including cognitive behavior therapy, anti-depressants, anti-convulsants and opioids; however such treatments often have limited efficacy with a great amount of inter-patient variability and poorly tolerated side effects.
Analgesia is one the principal therapeutic targets of the cannabinoid system and many studies have demonstrated the efficacy of cannabinoid compounds in the treatment of neuropathic pain.
This review will investigate the potential use of cannabinoids in the treatment of symptoms associated with NOP.”
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25150831
http://www.thctotalhealthcare.com/category/neuropathic-pain/
“Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most common form of progressive neurodegenerative disease characterized by cognitive impairment and mental disorders… AD is multifaceted in nature and is linked to different multiple mechanisms in the brain…
The ideal treatment for AD should be able to modulate the disease through multiple mechanisms rather than targeting a single dysregulated pathway.
Recently, the endocannabinoid system emerged as novel potential therapeutic target to treat AD.
In fact, exogenous and endogenous cannabinoids seem to be able to modulate multiple processes in AD, although the mechanisms that are involved are not fully elucidated.
This review provides an update of this area. In this review, we recapitulate the role of endocannabinoid signaling in AD and the probable mechanisms through which modulators of the endocannabinoid system provide their effects, thus highlighting how this target might provide more advantages over other therapeutic targets.”
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25147120
http://www.thctotalhealthcare.com/category/alzheimers-disease-ad/
“…cannabinoids are emerging novel agents for the treatment of glaucoma.
Although increased intraocular pressure (IOP) is a risk factor, associated retinal damage is of prime concern. This study determines the ability of cannabinoids to decrease IOP and confer neuroprotection…
Conclusion: Topically applied cannabinoids are effective agents that reduce IOP and confer neuroprotection and are prime candidates for potential glaucoma treatment.”
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1755-3768.2014.T022.x/abstract
“Cannabinoid agonists might serve as neuroprotective agents in neurodegenerative disorders… Cannabinoids may also offer neuroprotection in Huntington’s disease (HD)…
Here, we examined this hypothesis in a rat model ofHuntington’s disease (HD)…
Our results showed that only compounds able to activate CB2 receptors were capable of protecting striatal projection neurons from malonate-induced death. That CB2 receptor agonists are neuroprotective was confirmed…
…neuroprotection was attained exclusively with antioxidant cannabinoids like Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ9-THC; or cannabidiol (CBD)…
In summary, our results demonstrate that stimulation of CB2 receptors protect the striatum against malonate toxicity, likely through a mechanism involving glial cells, in particular reactive microglial cells in which CB2 receptors would be upregulated in response to the lesion. Activation of these receptors would reduce the generation of proinflammatory molecules like TNF-alpha.
Altogether, our results support the hypothesis that CB2 receptors could constitute a therapeutic target to slowdown neurodegeneration in HD.”
“Cannabinoid-derived drugs are promising agents for the development of novel neuroprotective strategies.
…in Huntington’s disease there is a very early downregulation of CB1 receptors in striatal neurons that, together with the undesirable psychoactive effects triggered by CB1 receptor activation, foster the search for alternative pharmacological treatments.
These findings support a pivotal role for CB2 receptors in attenuating microglial activation and preventing neurodegeneration that may pave the way to new therapeutic strategies for neuroprotection in Huntington’s disease as well as in other neurodegenerative disorders with a significant excitotoxic component.
Overall, the reduction of neuronal CB1 receptors and the upregulation of microglial CB2 receptors support a crucial role for the ECB system in the pathogenesis of Huntington’s disease.
The use of drugs targeting the ECB system via CB1 receptors aimed at restoring neurochemical alterations and palliating symptoms might constitute an interesting strategy for the management of Huntington’s disease and other neurodegenerative disorders with a significant excitotoxicity component.”
“Here, we show that the genetic deletion of CB2 receptors in a slowly progressing HD mouse model accelerates the onset of motor deficits and increases their severity.
Treatment of mice with a CB2 receptor agonist extends life span and suppresses motor deficits, synapse loss, and CNS inflammation…
The development of peripherally restricted CB2 receptor agonists holds promise for treating HD and other neurodegenerative diseases.
In summary, our results suggest CB2 receptor signaling in peripheral immune cells has an important role in HD and other neurodegeneration disorders. Further elucidation of the molecular mechanisms that underlie these effects may lead to novel therapeutic strategies to treat these disorders.”
“Smoking marijuana doesn’t have to be a bad thing – Especially if you have HD.
The idea that THC can be used to relieve disease symptoms isn’t a new thing – Glaucoma, HIV, and cancer patients have all benefited from the use of CB1 agonists whether in the form of marijuana leaves or a pharmacologically similar product (like dronabinol).
Nevertheless, the idea of using THC or other CB1 agonists for the treatment of HD is pretty new…
The results of this study suggest that THC and other CB1 compounds may not only be able to improve symptoms in already symptomatic HD patients, but also slow down the progression of such a devestating disease.
Good news all around and a great use of THC as far as I’m concerned (medical use and removal from schedule-1 anyone?!).”
“Huntington’s disease (HD) is a devastating neurodegenerative disease…
The endocannabinoid system (ECS) is a relevant candidate to participate in the etiopathology of HD as it is a key modulator of brain function, especially in areas primarily affected by HD…
… improving ECS function may constitute a useful strategy to eliminate or at least delay the appearance of HD symptoms…
…chronic administration was able to prevent the appearance of motor deficits, to increase the number of striatal huntingtin inclusions and to prevent the loss of striatal medium-sized spiny neurons, without affecting the social or cognitive alterations.
These findings suggest that prolonged administration of cannabinoid receptor agonists could be an appropriate strategy for selectively improving motor symptoms and stimulating neuroprotective processes in HD patients.”