Health-related quality of life across cancer cachexia stages.

“Cancer cachexia (CC) is common in advanced cancer and is accompanied by negative effects on health-related quality of life (HRQOL).

However, methods to identify the impact of CC on HRQOL are limited.

Finally, the use of cannabinoids in treating appetite loss was examined,

54 patients underwent cannabinoid treatment for appetite loss within a community-based, physician-lead, medical cannabis clinic.

Edmonton Symptom Assessment System (ESAS) score for lack of appetite significantly improved between baseline and follow-up after cannabinoid treatment, with no significant difference in weight.

Improvement of HRQOL via appetite stimulation, may be achieved through a multidisciplinary approach, which includes cannabinoid therapy.”

An Integrated Review of Cannabis and Cannabinoids in Adult Oncologic Pain Management.

Pain Management Nursing

“The objective of this paper is to review the available literature regarding the use of cannabis and cannabinoids in adult oncologic pain management.

RESULTS:

The final number of articles included is nine articles. Of the nine studies reviewed, eight reviewed the effect of the cannabinoid THC on cancer pain, and one study reviewed the use of medicinally available whole plant cannabis. The following study types were included: multiple multi-center, randomized, placebo- controlled trials and two prospective observational survey studies.

RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS:

Of the eight studies that reviewed the effect of the cannabinoid THC, five found THC to be more effective than placebo, one found THC to be more effective than placebo in American patients but ineffective in patients from other countries, and two found THC to be no more effective than placebo. The study that reviewed the effect of the whole plant cannabis found that there was a significant decrease in pain among those patients smoking cannabis.”

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30527857

https://www.painmanagementnursing.org/article/S1524-9042(18)30209-1/fulltext

Reduced prevalence of alcoholic gastritis in hospitalized individuals who consume cannabis.

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“Alcoholic gastritis, a superficial erosive disease of the stomach, is a common manifestation of risky alcohol use. In contrast, cannabis which is frequently co-used with alcohol suppresses gastric acidity and might counteract the deleterious effect of alcohol on the gastric mucosa.

RESULTS:

Our study revealed that among risky alcohol users, cannabis co-users have a lower prevalence of alcoholic gastritis compared to non-cannabis users (1,289[1,169-1,421] vs. 1,723[1,583-1,875] per 100,000 hospitalizations for risky alcohol use), resulting in a 25% decreased probability of alcoholic gastritis (aRR:0.75[0.66-0.85]; p-value:<0.0001). Furthermore, dependent cannabis usage resulted in a lower prevalence of alcoholic gastritis when compared to both non-dependent-cannabis users (0.72[0.52-0.99]), and to non-cannabis-users (0.56[0.41-0.76]).

CONCLUSIONS:

We reveal that risky alcohol drinking combined with cannabis use is associated with reduced prevalence of alcohol-associated gastritis in patients. Given increased cannabis legislation globally, understanding if and how the specific ingredients in cannabis plant extract can be used in the treatment of alcoholic gastritis is paramount. In this regard, further molecular mechanistic studies are needed to delineate the mechanisms of our novel findings not only for alcoholic gastritis but also gastritis from other causes.”

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30536396

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/acer.13930

Effects of cannabinoids in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) murine models: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

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“Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) is a neurodegenerative disorder that results from motor neuron damage.

Cannabinoids have been proposed as treatments for ALS due to their anti-excitotoxicity, anti-oxidant, and anti-inflammatory effects.

This review provides some evidence for the efficacy of cannabinoids in prolonging survival time in an ALS mouse model. A delay in disease progression is also suggested following cannabinoid treatment”

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30520038

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/jnc.14639

“The endocannabinoid system in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. There is increasing evidence that cannabinoids and manipulation of the endocannabinoid system may have therapeutic value in ALS, in addition to other neurodegenerative conditions. Cannabinoids exert anti-glutamatergic and anti-inflammatory actions through activation of the CB(1) and CB(2) receptors, respectively. Cannabinoid agents may also exert anti-oxidant actions by a receptor-independent mechanism. Therefore the ability of cannabinoids to target multiple neurotoxic pathways in different cell populations may increase their therapeutic potential in the treatment of ALS.”  https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18781981

http://www.thctotalhealthcare.com/category/amyotrophic-lateral-sclerosis-als-lou-gehrigs-disease/

Behavioral effects of psychostimulants in mutant mice with cell-type specific deletion of CB2 cannabinoid receptors in dopamine neurons.

Behavioural Brain Research

“Activation of the endocannabinoid system modulate dopaminergic pathways that are involved in the effects of psychostimulants including amphetamine, cocaine, nicotine and other drugs of abuse. Genetic deletion or pharmacological activation of CB2 cannabinoid receptor is involved in the modulation of the effects of psychostimulants and their rewarding properties. Taken together, our data suggest that CB2Rs play a role in the modulation of dopamine-related effects of psychostimulants and could be exploited as therapeutic target in psychostimulant addiction and other psychiatric disorders associated with dopamine dysregulation.”

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30508607

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0166432818311987?via%3Dihub

Cannabinoid receptor 2 agonist prevents local and systemic inflammatory bone destruction in rheumatoid arthritis.

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“Cannabinoid receptor 2 (CB2) has been implicated as an important clinical regulator of inflammation and malignant osteolysis. Here, we observed that CB2 expression was markedly higher in the collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) mice synovium and bone tissues than in the non-inflamed synovium and bone tissues. We found that JWH133 ameliorates pathologic bone destruction in CIA mice via the inhibition of osteoclastogenesis and modulation of inflammatory responses, thereby highlighting its potential as a treatment for human rheumatoid arthritis.”

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30508319

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/jbmr.3637

Cannabinoid-1 Receptor Antagonism Improves Glycemic Control and Increases Energy Expenditure via Sirt1/mTORC2 and AMPK Signaling.

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“Endocannabinoids promote energy conservation in obesity, whereas cannabinoid-1 receptor (CB1 R) blockade reverses body weight gain and insulin resistance and increases energy expenditure.

Here we investigated the molecular mechanisms of the catabolic effects of CB1 R blockade in the liver.

CONCLUSION: peripheral CB1 R blockade in obese mice improves glycemic control via the hepatic Sirt1/mTORC2/Akt pathway, whereas it increases fatty acid oxidation via LKB1/AMPK signaling.”

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30506571

https://aasldpubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/hep.30364

Disordered Peptides Looking for Their Native Environment: Structural Basis of CB1 Endocannabinoid Receptor Binding to Pepcans.

Image result for frontiers in molecular biosciences

“Endocannabinoid peptides, or “pepcans,” are endogenous ligands of the CB1 cannabinoid receptor. Depending on their length, they display diverse activity: For instance, the nona-peptide Pepcan-9, also known as hemopressin, is a powerful inhibitor of CB1, whereas the longer variant Pepcan-12, which extends by only three amino acid residues at the N-terminus, acts on both CB1 and CB2 as an allosteric modulator. These findings open the way to structure-driven design of selective peptide modulators of CB1.”

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30505835

https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmolb.2018.00100/full

Cannabinoid receptor type-1 partially mediates metabolic endotoxemia-induced inflammation and insulin resistance.

Physiology & Behavior

“Cannabinoid receptor type-1 partially mediates metabolic endotoxemia-induced inflammation and insulin resistance. Despite no significant differences in body weight among groups, chronic exposure to low-level LPS altered hepatic endocannabinoid signaling, increased inflammation, and impaired insulin sensitivity and insulin clearance. CB1 inhibition significantly attenuated LPS signaling, which attenuated LPS-induced metabolic alterations. Therefore, we concluded that CB1 contributes to LPS-mediated inflammation and insulin resistance, suggesting that blocking CB1 signaling may have therapeutic benefits in reducing inflammation-induced metabolic abnormalities.”

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30502357

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0031938418304190?via%3Dihub

Cannabis-based products for pediatric epilepsy: A systematic review.

Epilepsia banner

“Evidence from high-quality randomized controlled trials (RCTs) suggests that cannabidiol probably reduces seizures among children with drug-resistant epilepsy (moderate certainty).”

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30515765 

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/epi.14608

“Phytocannabinoids produce anticonvulsant effects through the endocannabinoid system, with few adverse effects.” https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25475762