Cannabidiol as a potential treatment for psychosis

Image result for therapeutic advances in psychopharmacology“Accumulating evidence implicates the endocannabinoid system in the pathophysiology of psychosis.

If the endocannabinoid system plays a role in psychosis pathophysiology, it raises the interesting possibility that pharmacological compounds that modulate this system may have therapeutic value.

Cannabidiol (CBD), a phytocannabinoid constituent of Cannabis sativa, has been heralded as one such potential treatment.

Cannabidiol (CBD), a non-intoxicating constituent of the cannabis plant, has emerged as a potential novel class of antipsychotic with a unique mechanism of action.

In this review, we set out the prospects of CBD as a potential novel treatment for psychotic disorders.

In sum, CBD currently represents a promising potential novel treatment for patients with psychosis.”

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/2045125319881916

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31741731

Antidepressant active ingredients from herbs and nutraceuticals used in TCM: pharmacological mechanisms and prospects for drug discovery.

Pharmacological Research“Depression is a widespread psychological disorder that affects up to 20% of the world’s population. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), with its unique curative effect in depression treatment, is gaining increasing attention as the discovery of novel antidepressant drug has become the pursuit of pharmaceutical. This article summarizes the work done on the natural products from TCM that have been reported to conceive antidepressant effects in the past two decades, which can be classified according to various mechanisms including increasing synaptic concentrations of monoamines, alleviating the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis dysfunctions, lightening the impairment of neuroplasticity, fighting towards immune and inflammatory dysregulation. The antidepressant active ingredients identified can be generally divided into saponins, flavonoids, alkaloids, polysaccharides and others. Albiflorin, Baicalein, Berberine chloride, beta-Asarone, cannabidiol, Curcumin, Daidzein, Echinocystic acid (EA), Emodin, Ferulic acid, Gastrodin, Genistein, Ginsenoside Rb1, Ginsenoside Rg1, Ginsenoside Rg3, Hederagenin, Hesperidin, Honokiol, Hyperoside, Icariin, Isoliquiritin, Kaempferol, Liquiritin, L-theanine, Magnolol, Paeoniflorin, Piperine, Proanthocyanidin, Puerarin, Quercetin, Resveratrol (trans), Rosmarinic acid, Saikosaponin A, Senegenin, Tetrahydroxystilbene glucoside and Vanillic acid are Specified in this review. Simultaneously, chemical structures of the active ingredients with antidepressant activities are listed and their sources, models, efficacy and mechanisms are described. Chinese compound prescription and extracts that exert antidepressant effects are also introduced, which may serve as a source of inspiration for further development. In the view of present study, the antidepressant effect of certain TCMs are affirmative and encouraging. However, there are a lot of work needs to be done to evaluate the exact therapeutic effects and mechanisms of those active ingredients, specifically, to establish a unified standard for diagnosis and evaluation of curative effect.”

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31706012

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1043661819322601?via%3Dihub

Relieving tension: effects of cannabinoids on vagal afferent sensitivity.

Publication cover image“Endocannabinoids are produced within the gastrointestinal (GI) tract and modulate energy homeostasis and food intake, at least in part, via vagally-dependent actions. The recent paper by Christie et al., [Christie, et al. J Physiol, 2019] demonstrate, for the first time, that cannabinoids exert biphasic effects on the mechanosensitivity of tension-sensitive gastric vagal afferents. At higher concentrations, anandamide increased vagal afferent sensitivity in a CB1 and TRPV1 receptor dependent manner. At lower concentrations, however, anandamide decreased afferent mechanosensitivity; while this was also dependent upon CB1 and TRPV1 receptors, it also appeared dependent upon signaling via the potent orexigenic neurohormone, ghrelin. These results provide further evidence to support the remarkable degree of neuroplasticity within vagal afferent signaling, and suggest that untangling the complex interactions of cannabinoid effects on food intake and energy homeostasis will require careful physiological and pharmacological investigations.”

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31707736

https://physoc.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1113/JP279173

“A clear understanding of the mechanisms which mediate these events may provide novel therapeutic targets for the treatment of gastrointestinal disorders due to vago-vagal pathway malfunctions.” https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6318799/

Potential new therapies against a toxic relationship: neuroinflammation and Parkinson’s disease.

 Image result for ovid journal“Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disorder classically associated with motor symptoms, but several nonmotor disturbances appear decades before the clinical diagnosis of the disease.

A variety of hypotheses exist to explain the onset of PD, and neuroinflammation is one of the most investigated processes. In fact, strong evidence suggests that PD begins with an inflammatory process; currently, however, no anti-inflammatory therapy is clinically employed to alleviate the typical motor and the prodromal disturbances such as olfactory loss, cognitive impairments, depression and anxiety, sleep disturbances, and autonomic disorders.

In fact, the classical dopaminergic therapies are not effective in alleviating these symptoms and there is no other specific therapy for these outcomes. Therefore, in this review, we will discuss novel potential pharmacological therapeutic strategies focusing on cannabinoids, caffeine, melatonin, and dietary compounds, which could act as adjuvants to regular PD therapy.

These described chemicals have been extensively investigated as anti-inflammatory agents possibly promoting beneficial effects on nonmotor symptoms of PD. The investigation of the inflammatory process at different stages of PD progression should give us a better view of the therapeutic scenario and could improve our understanding of the mechanisms of this disease.”

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31703030

https://insights.ovid.com/crossref?an=00008877-201912000-00008

Bone Anabolic Response in the Calvaria Following Mild Traumatic Brain Injury is Mediated by the Cannabinoid-1 Receptor.

 Scientific Reports“Brain trauma was clinically associated with increased osteogenesis in the appendicular skeleton. We showed previously in C57BL/6J mice that mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) transiently induced bone formation in the femur via the cannabinoid-1 (CB1) receptor. Here, we subjected ICR mice to mTBI and examined the bone response in the skull using microCT. We also measured mast cell degranulation (MCD)72 h post-injury. Finally, we measured brain and calvarial endocannabinoids levels post-mTBI. mTBI led to decreased bone porosity on the contralateral (untouched) side. This effect was apparent both in young and mature mice. Administration of rimonabant (CB1 inverse agonist) completely abrogated the effect of mTBI on calvarial porosity and significantly reduced MCD, compared with vehicle-treated controls. We also found that mTBI resulted in elevated levels of anandamide, but not 2-arachidonoylglycerol, in the contralateral calvarial bone, whereas brain levels remained unchanged. In C57BL/6J CB1 knockout mice, mTBI did not reduce porosity but in general the porosity was significantly lower than in WT controls. Our findings suggest that mTBI induces a strain-specific CB1-dependent bone anabolic response in the skull, probably mediated by anandamide, but seemingly unrelated to inflammation. The endocannabinoid system is therefore a plausible target in management of bone response following head trauma.”

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31700010

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-019-51720-w

Pharmacokinetics of Phytocannabinoid Acids and Anticonvulsant Effect of Cannabidiolic Acid in a Mouse Model of Dravet Syndrome.

 Go to Volume 0, Issue 0“Cannabis sativa produces a complex mixture of many bioactive molecules including terpenophenolic compounds known as phytocannabinoids. Phytocannabinoids come in neutral forms (e.g., Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol, THC; cannabidiol, CBD; etc.) or as acid precursors, which are dominant in the plant (e.g., Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinolic acid, THCA; cannabidiolic acid, CBDA; etc.).

There is increasing interest in unlocking the therapeutic applications of the phytocannabinoid acids; however, the present understanding of the basic pharmacology of phytocannabinoid acids is limited. Herein the brain and plasma pharmacokinetic profiles of CBDA, THCA, cannabichromenic acid (CBCA), cannabidivarinic acid (CBDVA), cannabigerolic acid (CBGA), and cannabigerovarinic acid (CBGVA) were examined following intraperitoneal administration in mice.

Next it was examined whether CBDA was anticonvulsant in a mouse model of Dravet syndrome (Scn1aRX/+ mice). All the phytocannabinoid acids investigated were rapidly absorbed with plasma tmax values of between 15 and 45 min and had relatively short half-lives (<4 h). The brain-plasma ratios for the acids were very low at ≤0.04. However, when CBDA was administered in an alternate Tween 80-based vehicle, it exhibited a brain-plasma ratio of 1.9. The anticonvulsant potential of CBDA was examined using this vehicle, and it was found that CBDA significantly increased the temperature threshold at which the Scn1aRX/+ mice had a generalized tonic-clonic seizure.”

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31686510

https://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/acs.jnatprod.9b00600

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The Expanded Endocannabinoid System/Endocannabinoidome as a Potential Target for Treating Diabetes Mellitus.

 “The endocannabinoid (eCB) system, i.e. the receptors that respond to the psychoactive component of cannabis, their endogenous ligands and the ligand metabolic enzymes, is part of a larger family of lipid signals termed the endocannabinoidome (eCBome). We summarize recent discoveries of the roles that the eCBome plays within peripheral tissues in diabetes, and how it is being targeted, in an effort to develop novel therapeutics for the treatment of this increasingly prevalent disease.

RECENT FINDINGS:

As with the eCB system, many eCBome members regulate several physiological processes, including energy intake and storage, glucose and lipid metabolism and pancreatic health, which contribute to the development of type 2 diabetes (T2D). Preclinical studies increasingly support the notion that targeting the eCBome may beneficially affect T2D. The eCBome is implicated in T2D at several levels and in a variety of tissues, making this complex lipid signaling system a potential source of many potential therapeutics for the treatments for T2D.”

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31686231

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs11892-019-1248-9

Does cannabis use modify the effect of post-traumatic stress disorder on severe depression and suicidal ideation? Evidence from a population-based cross-sectional study of Canadians

Image result for journal of psychopharmacology“Post-traumatic stress disorder sharply increases the risk of depression and suicide. Individuals living with post-traumatic stress disorder frequently use cannabis to treat associated symptoms.

We sought to investigate whether cannabis use modifies the association between post-traumatic stress disorder and experiencing a major depressive episode or suicidal ideation.

This study provides preliminary epidemiological evidence that cannabis use may contribute to reducing the association between post-traumatic stress disorder and severe depressive and suicidal states. There is an emerging need for high-quality experimental investigation of the efficacy of cannabis/cannabinoids for the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder.”

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31684805

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0269881119882806

“Cannabis could help alleviate depression and suicidality among people with PTSD” https://medicalxpress.com/news/2019-11-cannabis-alleviate-depression-suicidality-people.html

Anticancer effects of n-3 EPA and DHA and their endocannabinoid derivatives on breast cancer cell growth and invasion.

Prostaglandins, Leukotrienes and Essential Fatty Acids Home“The anticancer effects of the omega-3 long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LCPUFA), EPA and DHA may be due, at least in part, to conversion to their respective endocannabinoid derivatives, eicosapentaenoyl-ethanolamine (EPEA) and docosahexaenoyl-ethanolamine (DHEA).

Here, the effects of EPEA and DHEA and their parent compounds, EPA and DHA, on breast cancer (BC) cell function was examined. EPEA and DHEA exhibited greater anti-cancer effects than EPA and DHA in two BC cells (MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231) whilst displaying no effect in non-malignant breast cells (MCF-10a).

Both BC lines expressed CB1/2 receptors that were responsible, at least partly, for the observed anti-proliferative effects of the omega-3 endocannabinoids as determined by receptor antagonism studies. Additionally, major signalling mechanisms elicited by these CB ligands included altered phosphorylation of p38-MAPK, JNK, and ERK proteins.

Both LCPUFAs and their endocannabinoids attenuated the expression of signal proteins in BC cells, albeit to different extents depending on cell type and lipid effectors. These signal proteins are implicated in apoptosis and attenuation of BC cell migration and invasiveness.

Furthermore, only DHA reduced in vitro MDA-MB-231 migration whereas both LCPUFAs and their endocannabinoids significantly inhibited invasiveness. This finding was consistent with reduced integrin β3 expression observed with all treatments and reduced MMP-1 and VEGF with DHA treatment.

Attenuation of cell viability, migration and invasion of malignant cells indicates a potential adjunct nutritional therapeutic use of these LCPUFAs and/or their endocannabinoids in treatment of breast cancer.”

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31679810

https://www.plefa.com/article/S0952-3278(19)30112-7/fulltext

Endocannabinoid System Alterations in Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: A Review of Developmental and Accumulative Effects of Trauma.

 Image result for sage journals chronic stress“The role of the endocannabinoid system in stress-related psychiatric symptoms has been investigated in many animal and human studies.

Although most of these studies consistently report long-lasting effects of prolonged stress and trauma on the endocannabinoid system, the nature and direction of these changes are controversial.

We reviewed the available preclinical and clinical studies investigating the endocannabinoid system alterations long after chronic stress and trauma.

We propose that the effects of prolonged stress or trauma on the endocannabinoid system are different based on the developmental age of subjects at the time of experiencing the trauma and its repetitiveness and accumulative effects.

The current literature consistently demonstrates decreased levels of endocannabinoid ligands and receptors if the trauma occurs in childhood, whereas decreased levels of endocannabinoid ligands and increased levels of cannabinoid receptors are reported when trauma has happened in adulthood.

It is important to note that these changes are region-specific in the brain and also there are important sex differences, which are beyond the scope of this review.”

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31660473

“More studies are needed to compare the effects of childhood and adulthood trauma, with or without PTSD presentations, on the eCB system. These studies would have important clinical implications, not only for individuals with trauma and PTSD who commonly have comorbid recreational cannabis use, and medical marijuana users with PTSD being one of its main indicators but also for studies investigating the potential therapeutic use of cannabinoids and eCB enhancers in PTSD treatment.”

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/2470547019864096