Category Archives: Inflammatory Bowel Disease

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?”

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

Cannabis Induces a Clinical Response in Patients with Crohn’s Disease: a Prospective Placebo-Controlled Study.

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“The marijuana plant Cannabis sativa has been reported to produce beneficial effects for patients with inflammatory bowel diseases, but these have not been investigated in controlled trials. We performed a prospective trial to determine whether cannabis can induce remission in patients with Crohn’s disease…

Complete remission was achieved by 5/11 subjects in the cannabis group (45%)… Three patients in the cannabis group were weaned from steroid dependency. Subjects receiving cannabis reported improved appetite and sleep, with no significant side effects.

CONCLUSION:

Although the primary endpoint of the study (induction of remission) was not achieved, 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.

Further studies, with larger patient groups and a non-smoking mode of intake, are warranted. ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01040910.”

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23648372

Treatment of Crohn’s Disease with Cannabis: An Observational Study

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“The marijuana plant cannabis is known to have therapeutic effects, including improvement of inflammatory processes. However, no report of patients using cannabis for Crohn’s disease (CD) was ever published.

OBJECTIVES:

To describe the effects of cannabis use in patients suffering from CD.

RESULTS:

Of the 30 patients 21 improved significantly after treatment with cannabis… The need for other medication was significantly reduced. Fifteen of the patients had 19 surgeries during an average period of 9 years before cannabis use, but only 2 required surgery during an average period of 3 years of cannabis use.

CONCLUSIONS:

This is the first report of cannabis use in Crohn’s disease in humans. The results indicate that cannabis may have a positive effect on disease activity, as reflected by reduction in disease activity index and in the need for other drugs and surgery. Prospective placebo-controlled studies are warranted to fully evaluate the efficacy and side effects of cannabis in CD.”

Full Text: http://www.ima.org.il/IMAJ/ViewArticle.aspx?year=2011&month=08&page=455

Cannabis use amongst patients with inflammatory bowel disease.

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“Experimental evidence suggests the endogenous cannabinoid system may protect against colonic inflammation, leading to the possibility that activation of this system may have a therapeutic role in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).

Medicinal use of cannabis for chronic pain and other symptoms has been reported in a number of medical conditions.

We aimed to evaluate cannabis use in patients with IBD…

CONCLUSION:

Cannabis use is common amongst patients with IBD for symptom relief, particularly amongst those with a history of abdominal surgery, chronic abdominal pain and/or a low quality of life index.

The therapeutic benefits of cannabinoid derivatives in IBD may warrant further exploration.”

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21795981

Anti-inflammatory cannabinoids in diet: Towards a better understanding of CB(2) receptor action?

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“The endocannabinoid system is an ancient lipid signaling network which in mammals modulates neuronal functions, inflammatory processes, and is involved in the aetiology of certain human lifestyle diseases, such as Crohn’s disease, atherosclerosis and osteoarthritis.

The system is able to downregulate stress-related signals that lead to chronic inflammation and certain types of pain, but it is also involved in causing inflammation-associated symptoms, depending on the physiological context.

The cannabinoid type-2 (CB2) receptor, which unlike the CB1 receptor does not induce central side effects, has been shown to be a promising therapeutic target. While CB1 receptor antagonists/inverse agonists are of therapeutic value, also CB2 receptor ligands including agonists are of pharmacological interest.

 Although the endocannabinoid system is known to be involved in the regulation of energy homoeostasis and metabolism (mainly via CB1 receptors) there was hitherto no direct link between food intake and cannabinoid receptor activation. Our recent finding that beta-caryophyllene, a ubiquitous lipohilic plant natural product, selectively binds to the CB2 receptor and acts as a full agonist is unexpected…

In the case of the dietary natural product beta-caryophyllene, a full CB2 receptor-selective agonist in vitro, potent anti-inflammatory cannabimimetic effects are observed. Intriguingly, the lowest oral dose tested (5 mg/Kg) of this widespread and apparently non-toxic compound, which is also an FDA-approve food additive, was the most effective. Maybe this strengthens the hypothesis that beta-caryophyllene is indeed a dietary cannabinoid, thus inferring that by eating this compound the endocannabinoid system may be modulated in a beneficial way…”

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2633791/

The endocannabinoid system in inflammatory bowel diseases: from pathophysiology to therapeutic opportunity.

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“Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis are two major forms of inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), which are chronic inflammatory disorders of the gastrointestinal tract. These pathologies are currently under investigation to both unravel their etiology and find novel treatments.

Anandamide and 2-arachidonoylglycerol are endogenous bioactive lipids that bind to and activate the cannabinoid receptors, and together with the enzymes responsible for their biosynthesis and degradation [fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH) and monoacylglycerol lipase (MAGL)] constitute the endocannabinoid system (ECS).

The ECS is implicated in gut homeostasis, modulating gastrointestinal motility, visceral sensation, and inflammation, as well as being recently implicated in IBD pathogenesis.

Numerous subsequent studies investigating the effects of cannabinoid agonists and endocannabinoid degradation inhibitors in rodent models of IBD have identified a potential therapeutic role for the ECS.”

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22917662

The Cannabinoid 1 Receptor (CNR1) 1359 G/A Polymorphism Modulates Susceptibility to Ulcerative Colitis and the Phenotype in Crohn’s Disease

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“Anecdotal reports suggest that marijuana- or tetrahydrocannabinol-containing products may be effective in alleviating symptoms in patients with ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn’s disease (CD). This is supported by recent studies of our group and others suggesting that pharmacological activation of the cannabinoid 1 (CB1) receptor with selective receptor agonists decreases the inflammatory response in various murine models of colonic inflammation…

Recent evidence suggests a crucial role of the endocannabinoid system, including the cannabinoid 1 receptor (CNR1), in intestinal inflammation. We therefore investigated the influence of the CNR1 1359 G/A (p.Thr453Thr; rs1049353) single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) on disease susceptibility and phenotype in patients with ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn’s disease (CD)…

Conclusion

The CNR1 p.Thr453Thr polymorphism appears to modulate UC susceptibility and the CD phenotype. The endocannabinoid system may influence the manifestation of inflammatory bowel diseases, suggesting endocannabinoids as potential target for future therapies.

…our findings provide further evidence that endocannabinoids modulate intestinal inflammation, suggesting that this system could act as a target for future therapeutic interventions.”

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2829088/

Targeting endocannabinoid degradation protects against experimental colitis in mice: involvement of CB1 and CB2 receptors.

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“The endocannabinoid (EC) system mediates protection against intestinal inflammation. In this study, we investigated the effects of blocking EC degradation or cellular reuptake in experimental colitis in mice…

 In conclusion, drugs targeting EC degradation offer therapeutic potential in the treatment of inflammatory bowel diseases. Furthermore, reduction of FAAH mRNA expression is involved in the pathophysiological response to colitis.”

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18493729