Category Archives: Uncategorized

Adenosine A2A-Cannabinoid CB1 Receptor Heteromers in the Hippocampus: Cannabidiol Blunts Δ9-Tetrahydrocannabinol-Induced Cognitive Impairment

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“At present, clinical interest in the plant-derived cannabinoid compound cannabidiol (CBD) is rising exponentially, since it displays multiple therapeutic properties. In addition, CBD can counteract the undesirable effects of the psychoactive cannabinoid Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ9-THC) that hinder clinical development of cannabis-based therapies. Here, by combining in vivo and complementary molecular techniques, we demonstrate for the first time that CBD blunts the Δ9-THC-induced cognitive impairment in an adenosine A2A receptor (A2AR)-dependent manner. Overall, these data provide new evidence regarding the mechanisms of action of CBD and the nature of A2AR-CB1R interactions in the brain.”

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30610611

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs12035-018-1456-3

The Cerebellum, THC, and Cannabis Addiction: Findings from Animal and Human Studies.

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“Despite being legally scheduled as a drug with high harm potential and no therapeutic utility in countries like the USA, evidence shows otherwise and legislative changes and reinterpretations of existing ambiguous laws make this drug increasingly available by legal means.”

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30610540

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs12311-018-0993-7

Gender and the Politics of Marijuana

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Social Science Quarterly banner

“The objectives of this study were to understand why, even though women are more liberal than men on a broad range of issues, when it comes to the increasingly prominent issue of marijuana legalization, the direction of the gender gap is reversed, with women more conservative than men.

We find that women’s role as mothers cannot explain this gap, and that mothers are in fact no different from those without children in terms of their support for marijuana policy, as well as their reported use of marijuana. The greater religiosity of women does play a prominent role in the gender gap on marijuana policy, but does not account for the full difference of opinion between women and men. Our findings suggest that men’s greater propensity relative to women to use marijuana is a major driver behind the gender gap.

Conclusions

Not only are attitudes on marijuana legalization likely to continue to liberalize, but as marijuana legalization and marijuana use become normalized, rather than viewed as immoral and dangerous behavior, the existing gender gap should shrink.”

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/ssqu.12558

“Drug use, religion explain ‘reverse gender gap’ on marijuana”  https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/11/181126134251.htm?fbclid=IwAR072Y-SGz0PElUfNtQCTe56kzRC5ZBDoBMmlW2oTagAOy-IOcT_8UxVCEI

Anti-inflammatory mechanisms of cannabinoids: an immunometabolic perspective.

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“A number of studies have implicated cannabinoids as potent anti-inflammatory mediators. However, the exact mechanism by which cannabinoids exert these effects remains to be fully explained.

The recent resurgence in interest regarding the metabolic adaptations undergone by activated immune cells has highlighted the intricate connection between metabolism and an inflammatory phenotype.

In this regard, evidence suggests that cannabinoids may alter cell metabolism by increasing AMPK activity. In turn, emerging evidence suggests that the activation of AMPK by cannabinoids may mediate an anti-inflammatory effect through a range of processes.

First, AMPK may promote oxidative metabolism, which have been shown to play a central role in immune cell polarisation towards a tolerogenic phenotype. AMPK activation may also attenuate anabolic processes which in turn may antagonise immune cell function. Furthermore, AMPK activity promotes the induction of autophagy, which in turn may promote anti-inflammatory effects through various well-described processes.

Taken together, these observations implicate cannabinoids to mediate part of their anti-inflammatory effects through alterations in immune cell metabolism and the induction of autophagy.”

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30610735

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs10787-018-00560-7

Production, digestibility and allergenicity of hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) protein isolates.

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Food Research International

“Hemp (Cannabis sativa L.), traditionally cultivated for industrial use and harvested for fibers and seeds, has raised much interest as a sustainable crop in the last years.

Recently, hemp seeds and derived oil have started to be used in a variety of food products. Hemp-based food products are considered less allergenic than those from other edible seeds, although this statement has never been experimentally verified.

In this study high purity grade hemp flour (HF) and hemp protein isolate (HPI) were obtained through a fast and cheap process starting from defatted hemp cakes, a residue of hempseed oil extraction.

HPI resulted enriched at nearly 86% protein, mainly constituted by the storage protein edestin (accounting for 70% total protein). In vitro protein digestibility was determined using a static model of gastrointestinal digestion (GID), which included a final step with purified brush border membrane (BBM) enzyme preparations. HF and HPI showed a high degree of digestibility. The survival of potential bioactive and/or allergenic peptide sequences in digests was investigated by peptidomic analysis. Only a limited number of sequences survived GID. Among them, fragments from 12 seed proteins. These fragments were precursors of sequences with potential bioactive peptides, which might justify the bioactivity of HPI hydrolysates, reported in previous studies.

More importantly, all known hemp allergens, including the major thaumatin-like protein and LTP, were entirely eliminated by the HPI production process, neither fragments of the proteins were present after GID.

These data support the use of HPI as an ingredient for hypoallergenic foods.”

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30599980

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0963996918307427?via%3Dihub

Cannabidiol.

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Chemical structure

“Cannabidiol has not been studied in nursing women taking the pharmaceutical product.

Cannabidiol has been detected in the breastmilk of some mothers who used cannabis products recreationally.

If cannabidiol is required by the mother, it is not a reason to discontinue breastfeeding.

However, since no information is available on the use of cannabidiol during breastfeeding, an alternate drug may be preferred, especially while nursing a newborn or preterm infant.”

 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30601607
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK535598/

Cannabinoid-mediated retinal rescue correlates with improved circadian parameters in retinal dystrophic rats.

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 Experimental Eye Research“Ocular pathologies and blindness have been linked to circadian disorders. In previous studies, our group has demonstrated that retinitis pigmentosa is associated with degenerative changes in the melanopsin system and weaker circadian patterns.

We have also shown that cannabinoids preserve retinal structure and function in dystrophic P23H rats.

This study is consequently aimed at examining whether the morphologic and functional rescue of retinal degeneration by cannabinoids is associated with amelioration of circadian parameters.

The synthetic cannabinoid HU210 (100 μg/kg, i.p.) or vehicle were administered to transgenic P23H rats three times per week, from postnatal day 24-90. Sprague-Dawley rats were used as a healthy control group. Locomotor activity and scotopic electroretinograms were recorded, and the retinal structure was analyzed at the end of the experiment. The ERG a- and b-wave amplitudes and photoreceptor cell number were more deteriorated in vehicle-administered P23H rats as compared to P23H rats treated with HU210. In cannabinoid-administered P23H rats, the locomotor activity circadian rhythms showed less disturbance than that observed in vehicle-administered P23H rats, the latter showing lower values for mesor, amplitude, acrophase, percentage of variance and non-parametric variables. A positive linear correlation was found between retinal values and circadian parameters of locomotor activity from P23H rats.

This study thus provides evidence of a positive correlation between cannabinoid-mediated rescue of retinal structure and function and improvement of circadian rhythmicity.”

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30605663

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0014483518306511?via%3Dihub

The Misclassification of Medical Marijuana.

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Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law

“Marijuana has a complicated legal, social, and economic history in the United States, as well as an uncertain future. Marijuana has been consistently tied to racial minority groups since its arrival in the United States in the 1900s, and former Attorney General Jeff Sessions further propagated that notion. AG Sessions even recently wrote a memo that directly contradicted Obama-era policy, demonstrating that the current legal status of marijuana in both state and federal government is currently up for debate. While several states have legalized marijuana for medical or even recreational purposes, federal law still categorizes cannabis as a drug with no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse. The comparison between marijuana, opioids, and ketamine in this article demonstrates that marijuana has been unnecessarily withheld and stigmatized by the federal government. Also reviewed is the impact of stringent marijuana-based legal policies upon the racial makeup of prison populations. The implications of current policy upon potential and future research are also discussed, with the determination that current policy has stymied research and prevented a more accurate determination of the risks and benefits of medical marijuana.”

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30593477

“Cannabis was initially marked as Schedule I for reasons related to race and class. The federal government has restricted access to marijuana on the basis of its unknown risks and lack of proven benefits despite the fact that synthetic cannabinoids have been demonstrated to elicit FDA-approved benefits. This article demonstrates that marijuana should be removed from the Schedule I listing, as would be consistent with the labeling of ketamine and opioids, and reclassified as a Schedule III or Schedule II drug. Given the beneficial medical use, possible side effects, and potential for abuse and addiction of each drug, medical cannabis has been unfairly kept from the public through its unnecessary classification as a Schedule I drug.”

http://jaapl.org/content/46/4/472.long

Weight loss and improved mood after aerobic exercise training are linked to lower plasma anandamide in healthy people.

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Physiology & Behavior

“Anandamide, a major endocannabinoid, participates in energy metabolism homeostasis and neurobehavioral processes. In a secondary analyses of an open-label, randomized controlled trial, we investigated the long-term effect of aerobic exercise on resting plasma anandamide, and explored its relationship with changes in body weight, cardiorespiratory fitness, and mood status in healthy, physically inactive individuals.

Thirty-four participants (age = 38 ± 11.5, BMI = 26.6 ± 3.6) were intention to treat-analysed (Exercise: n = 17; Control: n = 17). After intervention, there were significant decreases in plasma anandamide (p < .01), anger, anxiety, and body weight (all p < .05), whereas cardiorespiratory fitness increased (p < .05) in the exercise group. There were no significant changes in any variable for the control group. In the whole cohort, adjusted R2 of multiple linear regressions showed that 12.2% of change body weight was explained by changes in anandamide (β = 0.391, p = .033), while 27% of change in mood disturbance (β = 0.546, p = .003), and 13.1% of change in anger (β = 0.404, p = .03) was explained by changes in anandamide.

Our data suggest that the weight loss and mood improvement through regular moderate exercise may involve changes in anandamide metabolism/signaling.”

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30578894

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0031938418308254?via%3Dihub

Knowledge, Attitudes, and Perceptions of Cannabinoids in the Dermatology Community

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“Recent research has identified potential uses of cannabinoids in dermatology, including psoriasis, atopic dermatitis, and wound healing.

This study examined dermatology providers’ knowledge, attitudes, and perceptions on therapeutic cannabinoids using a 20-question online survey.

The response rate was 21% (n=531). Most responders thought cannabinoids should be legal for medical treatment (86%). Nearly all (94%) believed it is worthwhile to research dermatologic uses of cannabinoids. 55% reported at least one patient-initiated discussion about cannabinoids in the last year. Yet, 48% were concerned about a negative stigma when proposing cannabinoid therapies to patients. While most responders (86%) were willing to prescribe an FDA-approved cannabinoid as a topical treatment, fewer (71%) were willing to prescribe an oral form. 64% of respondents did not know that cannabidiol is not psychoactive and 29% did not know that tetrahydrocannabinol is psychoactive.

 

CONCLUSIONS:

Dermatology providers are interested in prescribing cannabinoids and patients are speaking about cannabinoids with their dermatologists. However, providers’ fund of knowledge on this subject is lacking. These results highlight the need for further education and research to detangle the dermatologic benefits and risks of cannabinoids.”

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30586258

“Cannabinoid system in the skin – a possible target for future therapies in dermatology.” https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19664006