Category Archives: Crohn’s Disease

News: Can marijuana treat the symptoms of Crohn’s Disease?

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“A new study, published in the journal Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology, suggests that cannabis could help relieve symptoms of Crohn’s Disease, a lifelong chronic illness that causes abdominal pain, cramping, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, weight loss and lack of energy.”

News: Can marijuana treat the symptoms of Crohn

“That’s good news for sufferers, especially considering there is currently no cure.

Researchers studied 21 patients with Crohn’s Disease. Participants were randomly assigned to one of two groups: The first group was given cannabis cigarettes twice a day, the second group was given a  placebo containing cannabis flowers from which the THC had been removed.

“A short course (8 week) of THC-rich cannabis produced significant clinical, steroid-free benefits to 11 patients with active CD, compared to placebo, without side effects,” the study’s authors wrote.

The most promising part?

“Complete remission was achieved by 5/11 subjects in the cannabis group.”

Crohn’s patients aren’t the only ones who can benefit from marijuana’s medical properties, according to new research.

A recent study published in the American Journal of Medicine, suggests that marijuana can lower the risk of diabetes as well.

Marijuana users have lower fasting insulin levels, Murray Mittleman, associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and the lead author of the study told Time Healthland. They are “less resistant to the insulin produced by their body to maintain a normal blood sugar level,”he says.

According to Health Canada, medical marijuana can also be used to manage symptoms like severe pain, cachexia, anorexia, weight loss, and severe nausea from cancer; arthritis pain; seizures from epilepsy; and pain and muscle spasms from spinal cord injuries and multiple sclerosis.”

More:http://www.besthealthmag.ca/blog/post/news-can-marijuana-cure-crohns-disease

Marijuana May Smoke Out Crohn’s Disease Symptoms

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“Crohn’s Disease treatment in the form of medical marijuana may result in a complete remission of symptoms in some people. A new study researched the effects of marijuana on this chronic condition that affects the digestive tract.”

Medical marijuana products are displayed at a medical dispensary
 
“Symptoms of the bowel condition include persistent diarrhea, rectal bleeding, abdominal cramps and pain. Crohn’s Disease can also cause severe vomiting, weight loss and arthritis. The feeling of low energy and fatigue is also common among people who suffer from Crohn’s Disease.
 
 Medical marijuana used as treatment has a significant effect on the symptoms of Crohn’s Disease, according to a new study.
 

In the very first placebo-controlled trial, researchers found that medical marijuana can reduce the symptoms of Crohn’s disease or eliminate them all together. Results of the study were published in the journal Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology.”

Read more: http://www.itechpost.com/articles/9298/20130516/marijuana-smoke-out-crohns-disease-symptoms.htm

Marijuana may help patients with Crohn’s disease, study says

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“New research published earlier this month might have more patients with Crohn’s disease turning to medical marijuana for relief.”
 
Crohn’s disease is an inflammatory bowel disease that affects around 500,000 people in North America.

 

In a first-of-its-kind clinical trial, an 8-week treatment regimen involving daily smoking of marijuana ‘cigarettes’ resulted in a reduction in overall disease severity in 10 of the 11 patients that were studied. 5 of these patients experienced complete remission of their disease.

 

The results were published online in the journal Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology and authored by scientists at the Meir Medical Clinical in Israel. Israel has one of the most fastest growing medical marijuana programs in the world, with over 11,000 registered patients as of today — up from just 400 in 2009.

 

While the researchers say that their study was the first placebo-controlled trial — the “gold standard” when it comes to medical research — to investigate the effects of marijuana use on patients with Crohn’s disease, other studies have produced similar results.

 

Based on findings from both animal and human research, experts suggest that cannabis could play a role in the treatment of Crohn’s and other inflammatory bowel diseases by regulating intestinal hyperactivity, inflammation and pain.

 

Marijuana’s medical properties come directly from compounds known as cannabinoids, including the well-known tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) molecule. Interestingly, the cannabinoids found in the cannabis plant have been shown to mimic the activity of endocannabinoids – cannabinoids that are produced naturally by the human body.

 

Similarly, studies have identified a variety of digestive functions that can be modulated by cannabinoid activity, especially in inflammatory disease states.

 

Although the findings of the current study provide considerable support for the use of marijuana as a Crohn’s disease treatment, the authors call for more studies to “look into the role of cannabinoids in controlling inflammation and symptoms in inflammatory bowel disease.”

 

Indeed, larger studies may be able to provide stronger confirmation or perhaps refute the findings of the newest study, which failed to demonstrate complete remission of Crohn’s in the majority of the treatment group.

 

Still, the authors concluded their research by stating, “a short course of THC-rich cannabis produced significant clinical, steroid-free benefits to 11 patients with active Crohn’s disease, compared to placebo, without side effects.””

http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/350495

Smoking Marijuana Causes ‘Complete Remission’ of Crohn’s Disease, No Side Effects, New Study Shows

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“Marijuana – scientific name “cannabis” – performed like a champ in the first-ever placebo-controlled trial of the drug to treat Crohn’s Disease, also known as inflammatory bowel disease.”

 

“The disease of the digestive tract afflicts 400,000 – 600,000 people in North America alone causing abdominal pain, diarrhea (which can be bloody), severe vomiting, weight loss, as well as secondary skin rashes, arthritis, inflammation of the eye, tiredness, and lack of concentration.

Smoking pot caused a “complete remission” of Crohn’s disease compared to placebo in half the patients who lit up for eight weeks, according to clinical trial data to be published the journal Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology.

Researchers at Israel’s Meir Medical Center took 21 people with intractable, severe Crohn’s disease and gave 11 of them two joints a day for eight weeks. “The standardized cannabis cigarettes” contained 23 percent THC and 0.5 percent CBD (cannabidiol). (Such marijuana is available on dispensary shelves in San Francisco, Oakland, and other cities that have regulated access to the drug.) The other ten subjects smoked placebo cigarettes containing no active cannabinoids.

Investigators reported that smoking weed caused a “complete remission” of Crohn’s Disease in five of the 11 subjects. Another five of the eleven test subjects saw their Crohn’s Disease symptoms cut in half. Furthermore, “subjects receiving cannabis reported improved appetite and sleep, with no significant side effects.”

The study is the first placebo-controlled clinical trial to assess the consumption of cannabis for the treatment of Crohn’s, notes NORML. All of the patients had intractable forms of the disease and did not respond to conventional treatments. Still, the United States government claims that marijuana is as dangerous as heroin and has no medical use. U.S. Attorney Melinda Haag is waging a war on safe access to medical cannabis in the Bay Area.”

http://blog.sfgate.com/smellthetruth/2013/05/14/smoking-marijuana-cured-crohns-disease-with-no-side-effects-new-study-shows/

Marijuana Put My Crohn’s Disease Into Remission and It’s Not A Joke

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Marijuana Put My Crohn’s Disease Into Remission and It’s Not A Joke

Choosing pot over pills may be the way to go for Crohn’s sufferers – MSN

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A man smokes medical marijuana (© Rick Bowmer/AP)

“A new study published in the Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology journal shows that marijuana reduces the symptoms of Crohn’s disease, a condition affecting the bowel. Researchers at the Meir Medical Center in Israel rounded up 21 sufferers, 11 were instructed to smoke marijuana twice a day, while the other 10 were given placebo pot. Although that’s a fairly small test group, the results were pretty miraculous: Eight weeks later the stoners showed significant improvement and five had gone into remission. Unlike ingesting an endless stream of pills, researchers also revealed that partaking in a little ganja had “no significant side effects,” other than helping the group to sleep better and increasing their appetites.”

http://now.msn.com/marijuana-reduces-crohns-disease-symptoms-in-meir-medical-center-study#scpshrjp2

Cannabis Linked To Crohn’s Cure

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“Smoking cannabis may be key in treating Crohn’s disease, research suggest.

In a recent trial marijuana was shown to induce ‘complete remission’ for patients suffering from the condition, which is also known as inflammatory bowel disease.

Scientists at Meir Medical Center, Israel, studied 21 people with severe Crohn’s disease who did not respond to various therapies.

They split the patients into two groups: 11 were given a joint to smoke twice a day for eight weeks, while 10 were given a placebo cigarette which contained no trace of cannabinoids.

A ‘complete remission’ of Crohn’s disease was recorded in 5/11 (45%) of the cannabis group and 1/10 in the placebo group.

A total of 10/11 patients in the cannabis group responded to the clinical trial with Crohn’s symptoms (which include pain, diarrhoea, tiredness and weight loss) significantly reduced.

In addition, study authors wrote: “Subjects receiving cannabis reported improved appetite and sleep, with no significant side effects.”

“Further studies, with larger patient groups and a non-smoking mode of intake, are warranted,” they added.”

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2013/05/21/cannabis-treatment-inflammatory-bowel-disease-crohns_n_3311278.html?utm_hp_ref=uk%3Fncid%3DGEP

Please Note: The title of this article has been changed to “Could Cannabis Cure Crohn’s Disease?”

Now they’re telling us smoking weed will also help fend off diabetes – MSN

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Man smoking a joint (©RL/KEYSTONE USA/Rex Features) 

“The magical weed that helps us stay trim, be less crazy, control seizures, cure Crohn’s, rescue the economy and make watching TV game shows more enjoyable is now being credited for possibly reducing the risk of diabetes, too. Analyzing statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s “National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey,” researchers uncovered the good news that current marijuana users had 16 percent lower fasting insulin levels and 17 percent lower levels of insulin resistance than their nonstoner friends.

Bonus: Scientists found that pot users also had slimmer waistlines and higher levels of “good” cholesterol.”

http://now.msn.com/marijuana-may-fight-diabetes-researchers-say 

Using medical marijuana to ease pain

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“NORWICH, Conn. (WTNH) –The 31-year-old Norwich man was arrested for growing marijuana inside his home, but says he was only trying to ease his pain.

Tuesday, a Norwich man was in court facing drug charges. Wednesday, he felt comfortable enough to show News 8 how he uses medical marijuana to ease his pain.

31-year-old Joseph Tamborra says the effects are immediate.

“What is the difference after you take a hit,” asked News 8’s Tina Detelj.

“Uhhh it just takes my nausea completely away. It’s like night and day,” Tamborra said.

Relief from nausea caused by his Crones Disease and the pain from a hip and back injury after a car accident.

“I don’t have any cartilage in my hip,” Tamborra said.

It was too much to take, so he took matters into his own hands growing pot plants in a second floor bedroom of his Norwich home. However, that’s illegal and he was arrested for possession and operating a drug factory.

While his court case continued he received his medical marijuana card in March. A picture shows him after losing 90 pounds, unable to smoke after his arrest and too nauseous to eat.

“That helped me out like tremendously,” he said. “Once they realized okay there’s a reason for him doing this.”

At New London Superior Court Tamborra was ordered to perform community services and the charges will go away, but he’s still faced with a dilemma. He says because the medical marijuana law is so new there’s no process in place for him to buy the medical marijuana.

“Hopefully mid-summer, by the end of the year, they might have a dispensary or two set up,” Tamborra said. “I’ve also heard they might just limit it to pharmacies, I’m not really sure.”

The state says it is still working on how the medical marijuana will be dispensed and who can be a licensed producer.”

-Tina Detelj

http://www.wtnh.com/dpp/news/new_london_cty/using-medical-marijuana-to-ease-pain#.UYu7Dcp48Qs

 

Cannabis-based drugs could offer new hope for inflammatory bowel disease patients

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“Researchers investigating anecdotal evidence that cannabis relieves some of the symptoms of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) have discovered a potential new target for cannabis-derived drugs for treatment of the disease.

This finding, published in the journal Gastroenterology… could bring new hope for… sufferers of diseases like Crohn’s and ulcerative colitis1 with the possibility that cannabis-derived drugs may help to heal the gut lining, which is damaged during the course of disease. ”

Read more: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/28584.php