Category Archives: THC (Delta-9-Tetrahydrocannabinol)

The Use of Tetrahydrocannabinol Is Associated with an Increase in Survival Time in Palliative Cancer Patients: A Retrospective Multicenter Cohort Study

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“Introduction: Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is often prescribed for ambulatory palliative patients to improve sleep quality and appetite and to reduce anxiety, stress, and pain. However, it is not known if THC has also an effect on the mortality of these patients.

Method: The objective was the impact of THC on mortality of ambulatory palliative patients. For this purpose, data from the palliative treatment documentation from 5 ambulatory palliative care teams in Brandenburg, Germany were used for this analysis. Survival time was calculated for 3 groups of patients: (1) without THC; (2) with THC in a low dosage (≤4.7 mg per day); and (3) THC in higher doses (≥4.7 mg per day). The analysis was done for 2 cohorts of patients. Cohort 1: all patients with a survival time of at least 7 days after inclusion in specialized ambulatory palliative care (SAPC) and cohort 2: a subgroup of patients with a survival time between 7 and 100 days. Kaplan-Meier curves were created, and multivariate analysis was done to investigate the impact of THC on mortality.

Results: A total of 9,419 patients with a survival time of at least 7 days after inclusion in SAPC were included in the analysis (cohort 1). 7,085 among them had a survival time between 7 and 100 days (cohort 2). In both cohorts, survival time was significantly prolonged by THC, but only when the daily THC dose was above the median of 4.7 mg. Survival time was 15 days longer in cohort 2 (40 vs. 25 days), when more than 4.7 mg THC were prescribed per day.

Conclusion: Use of THC is associated with a significant increase in survival time in ambulatory palliative patients which survive longer than 7 days the initiation of THC prescription and which use of THC >4.7 mg/day.”

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38655402/

“Thus, in view of its significant prolongation of patient survival time, THC therapy should be included as part of the first-line therapy for ambulatory palliative patients.”

https://karger.com/mca/article/7/1/59/896816/The-Use-of-Tetrahydrocannabinol-Is-Associated-with

Medicinal Cannabis oil improves anxiety-like and depressive-like behaviors in CCS mice via the BDNF/TRPC6 signaling pathway

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“Background: Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) refers to a chronic impairing psychiatric disorder occurring after exposure to the severe traumatic event. Studies have demonstrated that medicinal cannabis oil plays an important role in neuroprotection, but the mechanism by which it exerts anti-PTSD effects remains unclear.

Methods: The chronic complex stress (CCS) simulating the conditions of long voyage stress for 4 weeks was used to establish the PTSD mice model. After that, behavioral tests were used to evaluate PTSD-like behaviors in mice. Mouse brain tissue index was detected and hematoxylin-eosin staining was used to assess pathological changes in the hippocampus. The indicators of cell apoptosis and the BDNF/TRPC6 signaling activation in the mice hippocampus were detected by western blotting or real-time quantitative reverse transcription PCR experiments.

Results: We established the PTSD mice model induced by CCS, which exhibited significant PTSD-like phenotypes, including increased anxiety-like and depression-like behaviors. Medicinal cannabis oil treatment significantly ameliorated PTSD-like behaviors and improved brain histomorphological abnormalities in CCS mice. Mechanistically, medicinal cannabis oil reduced CCS-induced cell apoptosis and enhanced the activation of BDNF/TRPC6 signaling pathway.

Conclusions: We constructed a PTSD model with CCS and medicinal cannabis oil that significantly improved anxiety-like and depressive-like behaviors in CCS mice, which may play an anti-PTSD role by stimulating the BDNF/TRPC6 signaling pathway.”

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38641178/

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S016643282400161X?via%3Dihub

Medicinal cannabis in neurodegenerative disorders: an open label, dose finding, safety and efficacy study

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“Aim: Currently, there exist no curative treatments for neurodegenerative disorders. Recently, there has been a resurgence of interest in the use of medicinal cannabis to improve neurological conditions. 

Methods: A 12-month, open label, dose-finding, safety and efficacy study was conducted including 48 subjects with a variety of neurodegenerative disorders. 

Results: In our participants, we observed a reduction in pain, improved sleep, enhanced well-being and less agitation. 

Conclusion: Our findings suggest that medicinal cannabis might be useful in patients with neurodegenerative disorders in controlling pain, enhancing sleep, reducing difficult behaviors, controlling unusual and complex symptoms when other treatments have failed – this offers medicinal cannabis a role in palliation.”

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38639578/

Cannabis effectiveness on immunologic potency of pulmonary contagion

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“Respiratory illnesses and its repercussions are becoming more prevalent worldwide. It is necessary to research both innovative treatment and preventative techniques. Millions of confirmed cases and fatalities from the COVID-19 epidemic occurred over the previous two years.

According to the review research, cannabinoids are a class of medicines that should be considered for the treatment of respiratory conditions. Cannabinoids and inhibitors of endocannabinoid degradation have illustrated advantageous anti-inflammatory, asthma, pulmonary fibrosis, and pulmonary artery hypotension in numerous studies (in vitro and in vivo). It has been also noted that CB2 receptors on macrophages and T-helper cells may be particularly triggered to lower inflammation in COVID-19 patients.

Since the majority of lung tissue contains cannabinoid receptors, cannabis can be an effective medical tool for treating COVID-19 as well as pulmonary infections. Notably, CB2 and CB1 receptors play a major role in immune system modulation and anti-inflammatory activities.

In this review, we put forth the idea that cannabis might be helpful in treating pulmonary contagion brought on by viral integration, such as that caused by SARS-CoV-2, haemophilus influenza type b, Streptococcus pneumoniae, influenza virus, and respiratory syncytial virus.

Also, a detailed overview of CB receptors, intricate mechanisms, is highlighted connecting link with COVID-19 viral structural modifications along with molecular basis of CB receptors in diminishing viral load in pulmonary disorders supported through evident literature studies. Further, futuristic evaluations on cannabis potency through novel formulation development focusing on in vivo/in vitro systems can produce promising results.”

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38635412/

https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/jbcpp-2023-0030/html

Possible Role of Cannabis in the Management of Neuroinflammation in Patients with Post-COVID Condition

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“The post-COVID condition (PCC) is a pathology stemming from COVID-19, and studying its pathophysiology, diagnosis, and treatment is crucial.

Neuroinflammation causes the most common manifestations of this disease including headaches, fatigue, insomnia, depression, anxiety, among others. Currently, there are no specific management proposals; however, given that the inflammatory component involves cytokines and free radicals, these conditions must be treated to reduce the current symptoms and provide neuroprotection to reduce the risk of a long-term neurodegenerative disease.

It has been shown that cannabis has compounds with immunomodulatory and antioxidant functions in other pathologies. Therefore, exploring this approach could provide a viable therapeutic option for PCC, which is the purpose of this review. This review involved an exhaustive search in specialized databases including PubMed, PubChem, ProQuest, EBSCO, Scopus, Science Direct, Web of Science, and Clinical Trials.

Phytocannabinoids, including cannabidiol (CBD), cannabigerol (CBG), and Delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), exhibit significant antioxidative and anti-inflammatory properties and have been shown to be an effective treatment for neuroinflammatory conditions.

These compounds could be promising adjuvants for PCC alone or in combination with other antioxidants or therapies. PCC presents significant challenges to neurological health, and neuroinflammation and oxidative stress play central roles in its pathogenesis. Antioxidant therapy and cannabinoid-based approaches represent promising areas of research and treatment for mitigating adverse effects, but further studies are needed.”

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38612615/

https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/25/7/3805

Investigating the Impact of Cannabis Consumption on Hospital Outcomes in Patients With Primary Spontaneous Pneumothorax: A Nationwide Analysis

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“Introduction Existing data suggest an association between primary spontaneous pneumothorax (PSP) and cannabis consumption, although evidence remains controversial.

Methods This study used the 2016-2019 National Inpatient Sample Database to examine inpatients with PSP, categorizing them as cannabis users and non-users. Multivariate regression analyzed continuous variables, chi-square assessed categorical variables, and logistic regression models were built. Propensity score matching (PSM) mitigated the confounding bias.

Results A total of 399,495 patients with PSP were admitted during the study period (13,415 cannabis users and 386,080 non-cannabis users). Cannabis users were more likely to be younger (p<0.001) and male (p<0.001) with a lower risk of baseline comorbidities than non-users. Cannabis users had a lower risk of sudden cardiac arrest, vasopressor use, the development of acute kidney injury, venous thromboembolism, the requirement for invasive and non-invasive mechanical ventilation, hemodialysis, ventilator-associated pneumonia, and the need for a tracheostomy. Cannabis use was associated with a 3.4 days shorter hospital stay (p<0.001), as confirmed by PSM analysis (2.3 days shorter, p<0.001). Additionally, cannabis users showed a lower risk of in-hospital mortality (p<0.001), a trend maintained in the PSM analysis (p<0.001).

Conclusions Our study revealed correlations suggesting that cannabis users with PSP might experience lower in-hospital mortality and fewer complications than non-cannabis users.”

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38586642/

“Our study makes a significant contribution to understanding the association between cannabis use and PSP outcomes. It reveals correlations suggesting that cannabis users with PSP might experience lower in-hospital mortality and fewer complications compared to non-cannabis users.”

https://www.cureus.com/articles/226735-investigating-the-impact-of-cannabis-consumption-on-hospital-outcomes-in-patients-with-primary-spontaneous-pneumothorax-a-nationwide-analysis#!/

Traumatic Brain Injury Outcomes After Recreational Cannabis Use

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“Purpose: Basic science data indicate potential neuroprotective effects of cannabinoids in traumatic brain injury (TBI). We aimed to evaluate the effects of pre-TBI recreational cannabis use on TBI outcomes.

Patients and methods: We used i2b2 (a scalable informatics framework; www.i2b2.org) to identify all patients presenting with acute TBI between 1/1/2014 and 12/31/2016, then conducted a double-abstraction medical chart review to compile basic demographic, urine drug screen (UDS), Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS), and available outcomes data (mortality, modified Rankin Scale (mRS), duration of stay, disposition (home, skilled nursing facility, inpatient rehabilitation, other)) at discharge and at specific time points thereafter. We conducted multivariable nested ordinal and logistic regression analyses to estimate associations between cannabis use, other UDS results, demographic factors, and selected outcomes.

Results: i2b2 identified 6396 patients who acutely presented to our emergency room with TBI. Of those, 3729 received UDS, with 22.2% of them testing positive for cannabis. Mortality was similar in patients who tested positive vs negative for cannabis (3.9% vs 4.8%; p = 0.3) despite more severe GCS on admission in the cannabis positive group (p = 0.045). Several discharge outcome measures favored the cannabis positive group who had a higher rate of discharge home vs other care settings (p < 0.001), lower discharge mRS (p < 0.001), and shorter duration of hospital stay (p < 0.001) than the UDS negative group. Multivariable analyses confirmed mostly independent associations between positive cannabis screen and these post-TBI short- and long-term outcomes.

Conclusion: This study adds evidence about the potentially neuroprotective effects of recreational cannabis for short- and long-term post-TBI outcomes. These results need to be confirmed via prospective data collections.”

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38586307/

“Available basic science and limited clinical data indicate potential neuroprotective effects of cannabinoids in traumatic brain injury (TBI). In this large retrospective study, we show that recreational cannabis use prior to TBI may confer neuroprotective short- and long-term benefits.”

https://www.dovepress.com/traumatic-brain-injury-outcomes-after-recreational-cannabis-use-peer-reviewed-fulltext-article-NDT

Cannabis use associated with lower mortality among hospitalized Covid-19 patients using the national inpatient sample: an epidemiological study

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“Background: Prior reports indicate that modulation of the endocannabinoid system (ECS) may have a protective benefit for Covid-19 patients. However, associations between cannabis use (CU) or CU not in remission (active cannabis use (ACU)), and Covid-19-related outcomes among hospitalized patients is unknown.

Methods: In this multicenter retrospective observational cohort analysis of adults (≥ 18 years-old) identified from 2020 National Inpatient Sample database, we utilize multivariable regression analyses and propensity score matching analysis (PSM) to analyze trends and outcomes among Covid-19-related hospitalizations with CU and without CU (N-CU) for primary outcome of interest: Covid-19-related mortality; and secondary outcomes: Covid-19-related hospitalization, mechanical ventilation (MV), and acute pulmonary embolism (PE) compared to all-cause admissions; for CU vs N-CU; and for ACU vs N-ACU.

Results: There were 1,698,560 Covid-19-related hospitalizations which were associated with higher mortality (13.44% vs 2.53%, p ≤ 0.001) and worse secondary outcomes generally. Among all-cause hospitalizations, 1.56% of CU and 6.29% of N-CU were hospitalized with Covid-19 (p ≤ 0.001). ACU was associated with lower odds of MV, PE, and death among the Covid-19 population. On PSM, ACU(N(unweighted) = 2,382) was associated with 83.97% lower odds of death compared to others(N(unweighted) = 282,085) (2.77% vs 3.95%, respectively; aOR:0.16, [0.10-0.25], p ≤ 0.001).C

Conclusions: These findings suggest that the ECS may represent a viable target for modulation of Covid-19. Additional studies are needed to further explore these findings.”

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38582889/

“This study marks the first attempt to examine active cannabis use and Covid-19 outcomes among people who use cannabis using a national inpatient sample database. The results reveal significantly lower odds of Covid-19-related hospitalization, MV, PE, and mortality among individuals with a history of cannabis use compared to those without such history. These findings underscore the potential of the ECS as a viable target for modulating moderate and severe Covid-19 cases.”

https://jcannabisresearch.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s42238-024-00228-w

Antimicrobial and antibiofilm effect of cannabinoids from Cannabis sativa against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) causing bovine mastitis

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“Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) poses a serious threat to human, animal, and plant health on a global scale. Search and elimination techniques should be used to effectively counter the spread of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections. With only a few novel drugs in clinical development, the quest for plant-based alternatives to prevent the spread of antibiotic resistance among bacteria has accelerated. Treatment of MRSA infections is challenging owing to rapidly emerging resistance mechanisms coupled with their protective biofilms. In the present research, we examined the antibacterial properties of ten plant-derived ethanolic leaf extracts.

The most effective ethanolic leaf extract against MRSA in decreasing order of zone of inhibition, Cannabis sativa L. > Syzygium cumini > Murraya koenigii > Eucalyptus sp. > while Aloe barbadensis, Azadirachta indica, had very little impact. Mangifera indica, Curcuma longa, Tinospora cordifolia, and Carica papaya did not exhibit inhibitory effects against MRSA; hence, Cannabis was selected for further experimental study. The minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) of Cannabis sativa L. extract was 0.25 mg ml-1 with 86% mortality. At a sub-MIC dosage of 0.125 mg ml-1, the biofilm formation was reduced by 71%.

The two major cannabinoids detected were cannabidiol and delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ9-THC), which were majorly attributed to substantial inhibitory action against MRSA. The time-kill kinetics demonstrated a bactericidal action at 4 MIC over an 8-20-h time window with a 90% reduction in growth rate. The results from SEM, and light microscopy Giemsa staining revealed a reduction in cells in the treated group with increased AKP activity, indicating bacterial cell membrane breakdown.

These findings suggested cannabinoids may be a promising alternative to antibiotic therapy for bovine biofilm-associated MRSA.”

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38568425/

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10123-024-00505-x

A Cross-Sectional Survey Study of Cannabis Use for Fibromyalgia Symptom Management

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“Objective: To assess the use of cannabis as a symptom management strategy for patients with fibromyalgia.

Patients and methods: An electronic, cross-sectional survey was conducted among patients diagnosed with fibromyalgia and treated in Integrative Medicine & Health at Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota. The survey was constructed with the Symptom Management Theory tool and was sent anonymously via web-based software to patients with a diagnosis of fibromyalgia.

Results: Of 5234 patients with fibromyalgia sent the online survey, 1336 (25.5%) responded and met the inclusion criteria. Survey respondents had a median age of 48 (Q1-Q3: 37.5-58.0) years, and most identified as female. Nearly half of respondents (49.5%, n=661) reported cannabis use since their fibromyalgia diagnosis. The most common symptoms for which respondents reported using cannabis were pain (98.9%, n=654); fatigue (96.2%; n=636); stress, anxiety, or depression (93.9%; n=621); and insomnia (93.6%; n=619). Improvement in pain symptoms with cannabis use was reported by 82.0% (n=536). Most cannabis-using respondents reported that cannabis also improved symptoms of stress, anxiety, and depression and of insomnia.

Conclusion: Considering that cannabis is a popular choice among patients for managing fibromyalgia symptoms, clinicians should have adequate knowledge of cannabis when discussing therapeutic options for fibromyalgia with their patients.”

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38569809/

https://www.mayoclinicproceedings.org/article/S0025-6196(24)00102-2/fulltext