Monthly Archives: August 2016

Activation of type 1 cannabinoid receptor (CB1R) promotes neurogenesis in murine subventricular zone cell cultures.

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“The endocannabinoid system has been implicated in the modulation of adult neurogenesis.

Here, we describe the effect of type 1 cannabinoid receptor (CB1R) activation on self-renewal, proliferation and neuronal differentiation in mouse neonatal subventricular zone (SVZ) stem/progenitor cell cultures.

There is an emerging consensus that endocannabinoid signaling plays a major role in adult neurogenesis.

Cannabinoids act on at least two types of receptors, the type 1 and type 2 cannabinoid receptors (CB1R and CB2R), which are, respectively, predominantly distributed in the central nervous system (CNS) and immune system, although some studies have described the presence of low levels of CB2R in the brain.

Taken together, these results demonstrate that CB1R activation induces proliferation, self-renewal and neuronal differentiation from mouse neonatal SVZ cell cultures.

 Collectively, CB1R agonists render neurons less excitable and thus promote neuroprotection.”

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3660454/

The gastrointestinal tract – a central organ of cannabinoid signaling in health and disease.

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“In ancient medicine, extracts of the marijuana plant Cannabis sativa were used against diseases of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract.

Today, our knowledge of the ingredients of the Cannabis plant has remarkably advanced enabling us to use a variety of herbal and synthetic cannabinoid (CB) compounds to study the endocannabinoid system (ECS), a physiologic entity that controls tissue homeostasis with the help of endogenously produced CBs and their receptors.

After many anecdotal reports suggested beneficial effects of Cannabis in GI disorders, it was not surprising to discover that the GI tract accommodates and expresses all the components of the ECS.

Cannabinoid receptors and their endogenous ligands, the endocannabinoids, participate in the regulation of GI motility, secretion, and the maintenance of the epithelial barrier integrity.

In addition, other receptors, such as the transient receptor potential cation channel subfamily V member 1 (TRPV1), the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor alpha (PPARα) and the G-protein coupled receptor 55 (GPR55), are important participants in the actions of CBs in the gut and critically determine the course of bowel inflammation and colon cancer.

PURPOSE:

The following review summarizes important and recent findings on the role of CB receptors and their ligands in the GI tract with emphasis on GI disorders, such as irritable bowel syndrome, inflammatory bowel disease, and colon cancer.”

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27561826

Severe motor and vocal tics controlled with Sativex®.

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“A single case report on cannabinoid treatment for treatment-resistant Tourette syndrome (TS).

METHOD:

Our subject received 10.8 mg Tetrahydocannabinol and 10 mg cannabidiol daily, in the form of two oro-mucosal sprays of ‘Sativex®‘, twice daily. Assessment was pre-treatment and at week one, two, and four during treatment. He completed the Yale Global Tic Severity Scale as a subjective measure, and was videoed at each stage. The videos were objectively rated by two assessors, blind to the stage of treatment, using the Original Rush Videotape Rating Scale.

RESULTS:

Both subjective and objective measures demonstrated marked improvement in the frequency and severity of motor and vocal tics post-treatment. There was good interrater reliability of results.

CONCLUSIONS:

Our results support previous research suggesting that cannabinoids are a safe and effective treatment for TS and should be considered in treatment-resistant cases.

Further studies are needed to substantiate our findings.”

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27558217

Cannabis and a lower BMI in psychosis: What is the role of AKT1?

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“Cannabis use has been associated with favorable outcomes on metabolic risk factors.

In this study we investigated whether this effect is mediated by the AKT1 gene, as activation of the related enzyme by cannabis may cause metabolic changes.

In conclusion, cannabis use is likely to be associated with a lower BMI in patients with a psychotic disorder.

Moreover, AKT1 risk alleles may increase the incidence of cannabis use in patients with a psychotic disorder, but AKT1 does not appear to mediate the effect of cannabis on BMI.”

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27554198

Targeting the endocannabinoid system: future therapeutic strategies.

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“The endocannabinoid system (ECS) is involved in many physiological regulation pathways in the human body, which makes this system the target of many drugs and therapies. In this review, we highlight the latest studies regarding the role of the ECS and the drugs that target it, with a particular focus on the basis for the discovery of new cannabinoid-based drugs. In addition, we propose some key steps, such as the creation of a cannabinoid-receptor interaction matrix (CRIM) and the use of metabolomics, towards the development of improved and more specific drugs for each relevant disease.”

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27554802

Cannabinoids and post-traumatic stress disorder: clinical and preclinical evidence for treatment and prevention.

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“There is substantial evidence from studies in humans and animal models for a role of the endocannabinoid system in the control of emotional states. Several studies have shown an association between exposure to trauma and substance use. Specifically, it has been shown that there is increased prevalence of cannabis use in post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) patients and vice versa.

Clinical studies suggest that PTSD patients may cope with their symptoms by using cannabis. This treatment-seeking strategy may explain the high prevalence of cannabis use among individuals with PTSD.

Preliminary studies in humans also suggest that treatment with cannabinoids may decrease PTSD symptoms including sleep quality, frequency of nightmares, and hyperarousal.

Studies in animal models have shown that cannabinoids can prevent the effects of stress on emotional function and memory processes, facilitate fear extinction, and have an anti-anxiety-like effect in a variety of tasks.

Moreover, cannabinoids administered shortly after exposure to a traumatic event were found to prevent the development of PTSD-like phenotype.

In this article, we review the existing literature on the use of cannabinoids for treating and preventing PTSD in humans and animal models.

There is a need for large-scale clinical trials examining the potential decrease in PTSD symptomatology with the use of cannabis.

In animal models, there is a need for a better understanding of the mechanism of action and efficacy of cannabis. Nevertheless, the end result of the current clinical and preclinical data is that cannabinoid agents may offer therapeutic benefits for PTSD.”

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27551883

Cannabinoid type 1 receptor antagonism ameliorates harmaline-induced essential tremor in rat.

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“Essential tremor (ET) is a neurological disorder with unknown etiology. Its symptoms include cerebellar motor disturbances, cognitive and personality changes, hearing and olfactory deficits. Excitotoxic cerebellar climbing fibre hyperactivity may underlie essential tremor and has been emulated in rodents by systemic harmaline administration.

Cannabinoid receptor agonists can cause motor disturbances although there are also anecdotal reports of therapeutic benefits of cannabis in motor disorders. We set out to establish the effects of cannabinoid type 1 receptor agonism and antagonism in an established rodent model of ET using a battery of accepted behaviour assays in order to determine risk and therapeutic potential of endocannabinoid system modulation in ET.

Overall, harmaline induced robust tremor that was typically worsened across the measured behavioural domains by CB type 1 (CB1 ) receptor agonism but ameliorated by cannabinoid type 1 receptor antagonism.

CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS:

These results provide the first evidence of effects of endocannabinoid system modulation on motor function in the harmaline model of essential tremor and suggest that CB1 receptor manipulation warrants clinical investigation as a therapeutic approach to protection against behavioural disturbances associated with essential tremor.”

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27545646

Anandamide reverses depressive-like behavior, neurochemical abnormalities and oxidative-stress parameters in streptozotocin-diabetic rats: Role of CB1 receptors.

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“The pathophysiology associated with increased prevalence of depression in diabetics is not completely understood, although studies have pointed the endocannabinoid system as a possible target. Then, we aimed to investigate the role of this system in the pathophysiology of depression associated with diabetes.

Together, our data suggest that in depression associated with diabetes, the endocannabinoid anandamide has a potential to induce neuroadaptative changes able to improve the depressive-like response by its action as a CB1 receptor agonist.”

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27544303

Orchestrated activation of mGluR5 and CB1 promotes neuroprotection.

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“The metabotropic glutamate receptor 5 (mGluR5) and the cannabinoid receptor 1 (CB1) exhibit a functional interaction, as CB1 regulates pre-synaptic glutamate release and mGluR5 activation increases endocannabinoid synthesis at the post-synaptic site. Since both mGluR5 and CB1promote neuroprotection, we delineated experiments to investigate a possible link between CB1 and mGluR5 activation in the induction of neuroprotection using primary cultured corticostriatal neurons. We find that either the pharmacological blockade or the genetic ablation of either mGluR5 or CB1 can abrogate both CB1– and mGluR5-mediated neuroprotection against glutamate insult. Interestingly, decreased glutamate release and diminished intracellular Ca2+ do not appear to play a role in CB1 and mGluR5-mediated neuroprotection. Rather, these two receptors work cooperatively to trigger the activation of cell signaling pathways to promote neuronal survival, which involves MEK/ERK1/2 and PI3K/AKT activation. Interestingly, although mGluR5 activation protects postsynaptic terminals and CB1 the presynaptic site, intact signaling of both receptors is required to effectively promote neuronal survival. In conclusion, mGluR5 and CB1 act in concert to activate neuroprotective cell signaling pathways and promote neuronal survival.”

 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27543109

Cannabinoids and the gut: new developments and emerging concepts.

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“Cannabis has been used to treat gastrointestinal (GI) conditions that range from enteric infections and inflammatory conditions to disorders of motility, emesis and abdominal pain. The mechanistic basis of these treatments emerged after the discovery of Delta(9)-tetrahydrocannabinol as the major constituent of Cannabis. Further progress was made when the receptors for Delta(9)-tetrahydrocannabinol were identified as part of an endocannabinoid system, that consists of specific cannabinoid receptors, endogenous ligands and their biosynthetic and degradative enzymes. Anatomical, physiological and pharmacological studies have shown that the endocannabinoid system is widely distributed throughout the gut, with regional variation and organ-specific actions. It is involved in the regulation of food intake, nausea and emesis, gastric secretion and gastroprotection, GI motility, ion transport, visceral sensation, intestinal inflammation and cell proliferation in the gut. Cellular targets have been defined that include the enteric nervous system, epithelial and immune cells. Molecular targets of the endocannabinoid system include, in addition to the cannabinoid receptors, transient receptor potential vanilloid 1 receptors, peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor alpha receptors and the orphan G-protein coupled receptors, GPR55 and GPR119. Pharmacological agents that act on these targets have been shown in preclinical models to have therapeutic potential. Here, we discuss cannabinoid receptors and their localization in the gut, the proteins involved in endocannabinoid synthesis and degradation and the presence of endocannabinoids in the gut in health and disease. We focus on the pharmacological actions of cannabinoids in relation to GI disorders, highlighting recent data on genetic mutations in the endocannabinoid system in GI disease.”

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20117132/