“When reminded of their death, participants craved cannabis, even though there was no change in their conscious negative mood… Results indicate that cannabis served as a buffer and prevented death-related thoughts from entering consciousness, thus acting as a defense mechanism against death anxiety.” http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25950588
“The anti-tumor properties of cannabinoids have recently been evidenced, mainly with delta9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC).
Here we investigated whether the most potent endogenous cannabinoid, arachidonylethanolamide (AEA), could be a candidate.
We observed that AEA induced apoptosis in long-term and recently established glioma cell lines via aberrantly expressed vanilloid receptor-1 (VR1).
In contrast with their role in THC-mediated death, both CB1 and CB2 partially protected glioma against AEA-induced apoptosis.
These data show that the selective targeting of VR1 by AEA or more stable analogues is an attractive research area for the treatment of glioma.”
“Delta(9)-Tetrahydrocannabinol, the active agent of Cannabis sativa, exhibits well-documented antitumor properties, but little is known about the possible effects mediated by endogenous cannabinoids on human tumors. In the present study, we analyzed the effect of arachidonyl ethanolamide (AEA) on cervical carcinoma (CxCa) cell lines.
The major finding was that AEA induced apoptosis of CxCa cell lines via aberrantly expressed vanilloid receptor-1, whereas AEA binding to the classical CB1 and CB2 cannabinoid receptors mediated a protective effect…
Overall, these data suggest that the specific targeting of VR1 by endogenous cannabinoids or synthetic molecules offers attractive opportunities for the development of novel potent anticancer drugs.”
“Drugs that facilitate dopaminergic neurotransmission such as amphetamine induce PPI disruption in human and rodents.
Clinical and neurobiological findings suggest that the endocannabinoid system and cannabinoids may be implicated in the pathophysiology and treatment of schizophrenia.
Cannabidiol (CBD), a non-psychotomimetic constituent of the Cannabis sativa plant, has also been reported to have potential as an antipsychotic.
Our aim was to investigate if CBD pretreatment was able to prevent PPI disruption induced by amphetamine…
Pretreatment with CBD attenuated the amphetamine-disruptive effects…
These results corroborate findings indicating that CBD induces antipsychotic-like effects.
In addition, they pointed to the nucleus accumbens as a possible site of these effects.”
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25943166
http://www.thctotalhealthcare.com/category/schizophrenia/
“There is a great need for safe and effective therapies for treatment of infantile spasms (IS) and Lennox-Gastaut syndrome (LGS). Based on anecdotal reports and limited experience in an open-label trial, cannabidiol (CBD) has received tremendous attention as a potential treatment for pediatric epilepsy, especially Dravet syndrome.
We sought to document the experiences of children with IS and/or LGS who have been treated with CBD-enriched cannabis preparations.
Perceived efficacy and tolerability were similar across etiologic subgroups.
Eighty-five percent of all parents reported a reduction in seizure frequency, and 14% reported complete seizure freedom.
Reported side effects were far less common during CBD exposure, with the exception of increased appetite (30%).
A high proportion of respondents reported improvement in sleep (53%), alertness (71%), and mood (63%) during CBD therapy… this study suggests a potential role for CBD in the treatment of refractory childhood epilepsy including IS and LGS…”
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25935511
“The aim of this study was to evaluate the role of the type 2 cannabinoid receptor (Cnr2) in regulating susceptibility to osteoarthritis in mice.
These studies demonstrate that the Cnr2 pathway plays a role in the pathophysiology of osteoarthritis in mice and shows that pharmacological activation of CB2 has a protective effect.
Further studies of the role of cannabinoid receptors in the pathogenesis of osteoarthritis in man are warranted.”
“In recent years, the endocannabinoid system has emerged as a new therapeutic target in variety of disorders associated with inflammation and tissue injury, including those of the neuronal, liver, renal and cardiovascular system.
The aim of the present review is to elucidate the effect of endocannabinoid system on ischemia reperfusion injury (IRI) in different organs and systems.
Expert opinion: CB2 receptors may play an important compensatory role in controlling tissue inflammation and injury in cells of the neuronal, cardiovascular, liver and renal systems, as well as in infiltrating monocytes/macrophages and leukocytes during various pathological conditions of the systems (atherosclerosis, restenosis, stroke, myocardial infarction, heart, liver and renal failure).
These receptors limit inflammation and associated tissue injury.
On the basis of preclinical results, pharmacological modulation of CB2 receptors may hold a unique therapeutic potential in stroke, myocardial infarction, atherosclerosis, IRI and liver disease.”
“Several recent studies suggest that selective CB2 receptor agonists may represent a valid pharmacological approach in the treatment of various diseases due to the absence of relevant psychoactive side effect…
Two compounds showing the best binding and selectivity profile behaved as a full agonist and a partial agonist at the CB2 receptor and induced a concentration-dependent decrease of cell viability on LNCaP, a prostatic cancer cell line expressing CB2 receptor.
Moreover considering that the CB2 receptor is mainly expressed in cells and organs of the immune system, the same compounds were studied for their potential immune-modulatory and anti-inflammatory effects in activated lymphocytes isolated from healthy controls and multiple sclerosis (MS) patients.”
“According to a study published online in the journal Psychiatry Research, individuals with bipolar disorder who used cannabis showed higher neurocognitive performance than patients who did not use cannabis.
Researchers at The Zucker Hillside Hospital in Long Island, NY, in collaboration with a team at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine and the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York City, examined the difference in cognitive performance among 50 individuals with bipolar disorder who had a history of cannabis use, with 150 bipolar patients who had no history of cannabis use.
The team discovered that patients who used cannabis showed superior neurocognitive performance than those who did not…
“These data could be interpreted to suggest that cannabis use may have a beneficial effect on cognitive functioning in patients with severe psychiatric disorders…””
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/249006.php
“Patients with severe psychiatric disorders actually function better in neurocognitive assessments when they have a history of marijuana use.
Patients with bipolar I disorder performed better in neurocognitive assessments when they had a history of marijuana use.”