“Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) are characterized by a chronic and recurrent gastrointestinal condition, including mainly ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn’s disease (CD). Cannabis sativa (CS) is widely used for medicinal, recreational, and religious purposes. The most studied compound of CS is tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD). Besides many relevant therapeutic roles such as anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties, there is still much controversy about the consumption of this plant since the misuse can lead to serious health problems. Because of these reasons, the aim of this review is to investigate the effects of CS on the treatment of UC and CD. The literature search was performed in PubMed/Medline, PMC, EMBASE, and Cochrane databases. The use of CS leads to the improvement of UC and CD scores and quality of life. The medical use of CS is on the rise. Although the literature shows relevant antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects that could improve UC and CD scores, it is still not possible to establish a treatment criterion since the studies have no standardization regarding the variety and part of the plant that is used, route of administration and doses. Therefore, we suggest caution in the use of CS in the therapeutic approach of IBD until clinical trials with standardization and a relevant number of patients are performed.”
Tag Archives: marijuana
A Comprehensive Patient and Public Involvement Program Evaluating Perception of Cannabis-Derived Medicinal Products in the Treatment of Acute Postoperative Pain, Nausea, and Vomiting Using a Qualitative Thematic Framework.
“Cannabis-derived medicinal products (CDMPs) have antiemetic properties and in combination with opioids have synergistic analgesic effects in part signaling through the delta and kappa opioid receptors.
The objective of this patient and public involvement program was to determine perception of perioperative CDMPs in our local population to inform design of a clinical trial.
Consensus was that potential benefits of CDMPs were attractive compared with the known risk profile of opioid use. Decrease in opioid dependence was agreed to be an appropriate clinical end-point for a randomized controlled clinical trial and there was concurrence of positive opinion of a therapeutic schedule of 5 days.
The perception of postoperative CDMP therapy was overwhelmingly positive in this West London population. The data from this thematic analysis will inform protocol development of clinical trials to determine analgesic and antiemetic efficacy of CDMPs.”
A preliminary study of the effects of cannabidiol (CBD) on brain structure in patients with epilepsy.
“This preliminary study examines whether daily CBD dose of 15-25 mg/kg produces cerebral macrostructure changes and, if present, how they relate to changes in seizure frequency.
In conclusion, short-term exposure to highly purified CBD may not affect cortical macrostructure.”
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/32322816
“We document no effect of CBD on gray matter volume and cortical thickness.”
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S258998641930111X?via%3Dihub
Cannabis Indica speeds up Recovery from Coronavirus
“Cannabis Indica Speeds up Recovery from Coronavirus Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) is a viral respiratory disease caused by the SARS coronavirus (SARS-CoV).
Cannabis indica speeds up recovery.
Recovered individuals do not infect others.
Cannabis indica resin is antiviral and inhibits cell proliferation.
It has a higher efficacy than any single compound like THC or CBD”
Bidirectional Longitudinal Associations Between Cannabis Use and Body Mass Index Among Adolescents.
“Literature on the association between cannabis use and body mass index (BMI) among adults suggests that greater cannabis use is associated with a lower BMI. However, results are mixed among adolescents, with both cross-sectional and longitudinal studies finding positive, negative, and nonsignificant associations between cannabis use and BMI.
This longitudinal study aims to shed light on these associations by prospectively examining the associations between cannabis use and BMI across a 2-year window in a large sample of adolescent cannabis users.
Results: Results showed that baseline BMI predicted a positive and significant association with cannabis use slope. In addition, there was a significant and negative correlation between the cannabis use slope and the BMI slope. These significant associations remained after controlling for relevant covariates.
Conclusions: Results are consistent with the adult literature that reports a negative association between cannabis use and BMI. Future research should focus on uncovering the mechanisms that may drive the association between cannabis use and BMI.”
Oral Cannabidiol Does Not Convert to Δ8-THC or Δ9-THC in Humans: A Pharmacokinetic Study in Healthy Subjects.
“Recent studies have suggested that cannabidiol (CBD) could interconvert into Delta-8- and Delta-9- tetrahydrocannabinol. Thus, we tested the plasma samples of 120 healthy human subjects (60 male and 60 female), 60 in fasting and the other 60 under normal feeding conditions after acute administration of an oral solution containing CBD 300 mg.
The results showed that THC was not detected in plasma after the administration of CBD, and those study participants did not present psychotomimetic effects.
The findings presented here are consistent with previous evidence suggesting that the oral administration of CBD in a corn oil formulation is a safe route for the administration of the active substance without bioconversion to THC in humans.”
Cannabidiol improves survival and behavioural co-morbidities of Dravet syndrome in mice.
“Dravet syndrome is a severe, genetic form of paediatric epilepsy associated with premature mortality and co-morbidities such as anxiety, depression, autism, motor dysfunction and memory deficits. Cannabidiol is an approved anticonvulsive drug in the United States and Europe for seizures associated with Dravet syndrome in patients 2 years of age and older. We investigated its potential to prevent premature mortality and improve associated co-morbidities.
EXPERIMENTAL APPROACH:
The efficacy of sub-chronic cannabidiol administration in two mouse models of Dravet syndrome was investigated. The effect of cannabidiol on neonatal welfare and survival was studied using Scn1a-/- mice. We then used a hybrid, heterozygote Scn1a+/- mouse model to study the effect of cannabidiol on survival and behavioural co-morbidities: motor deficits (rotarod and static-beam test), gait abnormality (gait test), social anxiety (social interaction test), anxiety-like (elevated plus maze) and depressive-like behaviours (sucrose preference test) and cognitive impairment (radial arm maze test).
KEY RESULTS:
In Scn1a-/- mice, cannabidiol increased survival and delayed worsening of neonatal welfare. In Scn1a+/- mice, chronic cannabidiol administration did not show any adverse effect on motor function and gait, reduced premature mortality, improved social behaviour and memory function, and reduced anxiety-like and depressive-like behaviours.
CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONS:
We are the first to demonstrate a potential disease-modifying effect of cannabidiol in animal models of Dravet syndrome. Cannabidiol treatment reduced premature mortality and improved several behavioural co-morbidities in Dravet syndrome mice. These crucial findings may be translated into human therapy to address behavioural co-morbidities associated with Dravet syndrome.”
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/32321192
https://bpspubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/bph.15003
Cannabinoids in epilepsy: Clinical efficacy and pharmacological considerations.
“Advances in the development of drugs with novel mechanisms of action have not been sufficient to significantly reduce the percentage of patients presenting drug-resistant epilepsy. This lack of satisfactory clinical results has led to the search for more effective treatment alternatives with new mechanisms of action.
The aim of this study is to examine epidemiological aspects of the use of cannabis-based products for the treatment of epilepsy, with particular emphasis on the main mechanisms of action, indications for use, clinical efficacy, and safety.
In recent years there has been growing interest in the use of cannabis-based products for the treatment of a wide range of diseases, including epilepsy. The cannabis plant is currently known to contain more than 100 terpenophenolic compounds, known as cannabinoids. The 2 most abundant are delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol and cannabidiol.
Studies of preclinical models of epilepsy have shown that these cannabinoids have anticonvulsant properties, and 100% purified cannabidiol and cannabidiol-enriched cannabis extracts are now being used to treat epilepsy in humans. Several open-label studies and randomised controlled clinical trials have demonstrated the efficacy and safety of these products.”
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/32317123
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0213485320300402?via%3Dihub
In Search of Preventative Strategies: Novel Anti-Inflammatory High-CBD Cannabis Sativa Extracts Modulate ACE2 Expression in COVID-19 Gateway Tissues
Cannabinoids.
“Cannabinoids, broadly speaking, are a class of biological compounds that bind to cannabinoid receptors. They are most frequently sourced from and associated with the plants of the Cannabis genus, including Cannabis sativa, Cannabis indica, and Cannabis ruderalis.
The earliest known use of cannabinoids dates back 5,000 years ago in modern Romania, while the documentation of the earliest medical dates back to around 400 AD. However, formal extraction, isolation, and structural elucidation of cannabinoids have taken place rather recently in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Since then, numerous advancements have been made in further isolating naturally occurring cannabinoids, synthesizing artificial equivalents, and discovering the endogenous the endocannabinoid system in mammals, reptiles, fish, and birds.”