Tag Archives: autism

Cannabis Science And The Unconventional Foundation For Autism (UF4A) Partner To Advance Successful Cannabis-Based Autism Treatments

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  “Cannabis Science, Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: CBIS), a pioneering US biotech company developing pharmaceutical cannabis products, is pleased to announce the partnership with The Unconventional Foundation for Autism (UF4A) to build on the Foundation’s success with its proprietary cannabinoid formulations for Autism treatment. The partnership will focus on advancing the medical cannabis treatments for Autism in conjunction with the successful cannabis treatments of Joey and 10 other families that are now being documented by The University of California Irvine Medical Center (UCI) for the Foundation.

These successful Autism treatments and pioneering efforts of Joey’s Mom, Mieko Hester Perez, can be fully reviewed here.

Mieko and the successful treatment of her son has garnered wide-spread media interest including television appearances and interviews with KABC 7 – Los Angeles & San Francisco, 20/20 ABC, Good Morning America, Fox Morning News, Fox News Rhode Island, CBS Early Show, KCAL 9 & CBS 2 Los Angeles, The Doctor’s TV Show, KABC 790 w/ Peter Tilden, Montel Williams, The Tom Joyner Show, The Kim Frasier Show w/ Dr. Lester Grinspoon, The Bill Press Show, NORML’s Podcast w/ Russ Belville, Thomasina Tafur radio show. Featured interviews: Autism Spectrum Magazine, Treating yourself Magazine, Huffington Post, Autism Spot, Celebstoner, disability scoop, Autism Support Network, Kush Magazine August 2010 Issue Cover, High Times Medical Marijuana Magazine Winter 2011 Issue, Treating yourself Magazine (Joey’s sibling interviewed Issue #23, Weed World UK Issue #89, Now Magazine UK Publications, Medical Cannabis Journal Issue, LA JEMM – Ethical Use of Medical Marijuana in the Treatment of Children with Autism, Orange County Register, California, The Revolution – Argentina publication. 2010 Recognized by the National Organization to Reform Marijauna Laws Woman’s Alliance as one of the woman making history in the medical marijuana movement.

Mieko Hester Perez, Founder and Executive Director of The Unconventional Foundation for Autism (UF4A) stated, “We believe that this new partnership with Cannabis Science will give us additional push and resources required to advance our Autism research. To date, we have already partnered with the University of California Irvine Medical Center to oversee our cannabis-based Autism research. Included in this group of advisors is the Dean of Medicine at UCI, and child psychiatrist Dr. Rebecca Hedrick M.D. Dr. Melamede of Cannabis Science will be an outstanding addition to the Board of the Foundation. His extensive knowledge of cannabinoid science should prove invaluable in our mission.”

As part of the new partnership, Dr. Robert Melamede, CEO of Cannabis Science, will be joining the board of UF4A as a scientific advisor. Dr. Melamede will work with UF4A to further assist in documenting the case studies and oversee the deployment of the Company’s proprietary cannabinoid treatments on Autism patients alongside UF4A and medical professionals. He will also work with UF4A’s legal advisors to progress the legalization of medical marijuana initiatives.

Dr. Robert Melamede Ph.D., Cannabis Science Inc., President & CEO, stated, “Cannabis Science’s partnership with UF4A is another instrumental step in reaching our long-term goal of FDA approval of the Company’s products. The successful results from the Autism patients treated as documented by UF4A are very encouraging and we’re excited to tap into UF4A’s proven track record; providing our scientific expertise to help develop more refined treatment plans with Cannabis Science’s formulations and extracts to achieve scientifically accepted patient outcomes. I’m also extremely excited to be working with the medical professionals at the University of California Irvine. This is a win-win for both our organizations in breaking new ground for medical cannabis treatments. Our partnership will enable both our Company and UF4A to expound upon studies and anecdotal evidence obtained by UF4A in order to catalogue verified case studies and solid science behind the treatment plans. This evidentiary step will help the UF4A and Cannabis Science partnership to move towards formal FDA testing to officially approve UF4A’s successful treatments of Autism using medical cannabinoid extracts and formulations under the direction of physicians. ”

UF4A Case Studies

Mieko Hester-Perez and her son “Joey” have inspired many additional parents with autistic children to step forward. Studies are underway with these children with oversight from Child & Adolescent Psychiatrist Dr. Rebecca M. Hedrick, M.D.

Dr. Hedrick is a child and adolescent emergency attending physician and covers the consult liaison service at UCI Medical. She runs a child and adolescent outpatient psychotherapy and medication management program. She also works with the Regional Center of Orange County in the treatment of individuals with developmental disabilities.”

 http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/219569.php

Consequences of Cannabinoid and Monoaminergic System Disruption in a Mouse Model of Autism Spectrum Disorders

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“Autism is a behaviorally defined neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by impairments in social interaction and communication and repetitive/stereotyped behaviors . The cause of autism is not completely understood and there is no effective cure. However, genetic and environmental factors and the interaction between genes and environment are known to play a role in Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs)…

Our data provides a basis for further studies in evaluating the role of the cannabinoid and monoaminergic systems in the etiology of ASDs.

It is tempting to suggest the evaluation of Δ9-THC or other cannabinoids with reduced psychoactivity in irritability, tantrums and self-injurious behavior associated with autistic individuals.

 The rationale for this novel hypothesis arises from the discovery that the endocannabinoid system is one of the most abundant physiological control systems in animals and humans.”

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3137184/

Would some cannabinoids ameliorate symptoms of autism?

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“Cannabidiol (CBD) is a major nonpsychotropic constituent of cannabis sativa, which unlike the other major constituent delta9-tetrahydrocannabinol (delta9-THC), is virtually inactive at both of its central nervous system receptors. In one study, cell-based calcium mobilization and electrophysiological assays were used to identify and characterize several novel cannabinoid TRPV2 agonists in cultured rat dorsal root ganglion neurons. Among these, CBD was found to be the most robust and potent, followed by delta9-THC and cannabinol. Those cannabinoids may, accordingly, possess the ability, due to their action as TRPV2 agonists, to increase the release of both oxytocin and vasopressin enhancing the stimulation of oxytocin receptor and V1a receptors at the same time. CBD displays a plethora of other actions including anticonvulsive, sedative, hypnotic, antipsychotic, anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective properties. CBD and delta9-THC are components of drugs commercialized, in certain countries, as treatments for neuropathic pain, overactive bladder, and spasticity in patients suffering from multiple sclerosis. Thus, despite their action on oxytocin and vasopressin release, CBD and delta9-THC may help in improving symptoms of ASD by their sedative, antipsychotic, anticonvulsant and tranquilizing effects. In addition, the cannabinoid system has already been shown to be implicated in social behavior in rats.
 
The administration of cannabinoids for children and adolescents suffering from ASD is a controversial legal and ethical issue. Instead, those cannabinoids may be tested when administered to animals presenting autistic symptoms. Animal models of autistic symptoms exist especially in rodents that have their oxytocin and/or vasopressin function impaired such as mice or rats lacking the oxytocin or vasopressin gene or one of their receptors]. Whenever cannabinoids were found efficient in animal models of autism, the rationale supporting their efficacy may outweigh their legal and ethical adversities, when administered to children in the setting of randomized controlled studies.”
 

Can autism be triggered by acetaminophen activation of the endocannabinoid system?

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Abstract

“Acetaminophen use in children has been associated with increased autism risk. Recent evidence suggests that acetaminophen’s analgesic actions result from activation of the endocannabinoid system, and activation of this system can have neuromodulatory consequences during development. This investigation was performed to determine if there is evidence to support the hypothesis that acetaminophen use can trigger autism by activation of the endocannabinoid system.”

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20628445

Variation in the human cannabinoid receptor CNR1 gene modulates gaze duration for happy faces.

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  “From an early age, humans look longer at preferred stimuli and also typically look longer at facial expressions of emotion, particularly happy faces. Atypical gaze patterns towards social stimuli are common in autism spectrum conditions (ASC). However, it is unknown whether gaze fixation patterns have any genetic basis. In this study, we tested whether variations in the cannabinoid receptor 1 (CNR1) gene are associated with gaze duration towards happy faces. This gene was selected because CNR1 is a key component of the endocannabinoid system, which is involved in processing reward, and in our previous functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study, we found that variations in CNR1 modulate the striatal response to happy (but not disgust) faces. The striatum is involved in guiding gaze to rewarding aspects of a visual scene. We aimed to validate and extend this result in another sample using a different technique (gaze tracking).

One of the key molecular systems involved in the functioning of the striatal circuit is the endocannabinoid system. It is a neuropeptidergic circuit involved in reward processing and works in tandem with the mesolimbic dopaminergic system. Expressed selectively in the brain, the cannabinoid receptor 1 (CNR1) is the best-studied molecule of this system.

This finding suggests a role for CNR1 in social reward processing and could have significance for clinical conditions such ASC, which are marked by a deficit in social reward processing as well as atypical responses to facial expressions of emotion.”

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3155489/

Variations in the human cannabinoid receptor (CNR1) gene modulate striatal responses to happy faces.

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Abstract

“Happy facial expressions are innate social rewards and evoke a response in the striatum, a region known for its role in reward processing in rats, primates and humans. The cannabinoid receptor 1 (CNR1) is the best-characterized molecule of the endocannabinoid system, involved in processing rewards. We hypothesized that genetic variation in human CNR1 gene would predict differences in the striatal response to happy faces. In a 3T functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scanning study on 19 Caucasian volunteers, we report that four single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the CNR1 locus modulate differential striatal response to happy but not to disgust faces. This suggests a role for the variations of the CNR1 gene in underlying social reward responsivity. Future studies should aim to replicate this finding with a balanced design in a larger sample, but these preliminary results suggest neural responsivity to emotional and socially rewarding stimuli varies as a function of CNR1 genotype. This has implications for medical conditions involving hypo-responsivity to emotional and social stimuli, such as autism.”

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16623851