Medical Cannabis for Pediatric Moderate to Severe Complex Motor Disorders.

Posted on May 17, 2018 by David

“A complex motor disorder is a combination of various types of abnormal movements that are associated with impaired quality of life (QOL). Current therapeutic options are limited. We studied the efficacy, safety, and tolerability of medical cannabis in children with complex motor disorder. This pilot study was approved by the institutional ethics committee.

Two products of cannabidiol (CBD) enriched 5% oil formulation of cannabis were compared: one with 0.25% δ-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) 20:1 group, the other with 0.83% THC 6:1 group. Patients aged 1 to 17 years (n = 25) with complex motor disorder were enrolled. The assigned medication was administered for 5 months.

Significant improvement in spasticity and dystonia, sleep difficulties, pain severity, and QOL was observed in the total study cohort, regardless of treatment assignment. Adverse effects were rare and included worsening of seizures in 2 patients, behavioral changes in 2 and somnolence in 1.”

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29766748

http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0883073818773028?journalCode=jcna

Cannabis in End-of-Life Care: Examining Attitudes and Practices of Palliative Care Providers.

Posted on May 2, 2018 by David

Publication Cover

“Medical cannabis research has become quite extensive, with indications ranging from glaucoma to chemotherapy-induced nausea.

Despite increased interest in cannabis‘ potential medical uses, research barriers, cannabis legislation, stigma, and lack of dissemination of data contribute to low adoption for some medical populations.

Of interest, cannabis use appears low in palliative care settings, with few guidelines available to palliative care providers. The present study sought to examine the attitudes, beliefs, and practices of palliative care providers regarding the use of cannabis for terminally ill patients.

Results demonstrated that palliative care providers endorse cannabis for a wide range of palliative care symptoms, end-of-life care generally, and as an adjuvant medication.

Nevertheless, the gap between these beliefs and actual recommendation or prescription appears vast. Many who support the use of cannabis in palliative care do not recommend it as a treatment. These data suggest recommendations for healthcare providers and palliative care organizations.”

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29714640

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02791072.2018.1462543?journalCode=ujpd20

Cannabidiol Based Medical Cannabis in Children with Autism- a Retrospective Feasibility Study

Posted on April 23, 2018 by David

“Objective: This retrospective study assessed safety, tolerability and efficacy of cannabidiol (CBD) based medical cannabis, as an adjuvant therapy, for refractory behavioral problems in children with ASD.

Background: Anecdotal evidence of successful cannabis treatment in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are accumulating but formal studies are lacking.

Design/Methods: Sixty children with ASD (age = 11.8± 3.5, range 5.0–17.5; 77% low functioning; 83% boys) were treated with oral CBD and tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) at a ratio of 20:1. The dose was up-titrated to effect (maximal CBD dose − 10mg/kg/d). Tolerability and efficacy were assessed using a modified Liverpool Adverse Events Profile, the Caregiver Global Impression of Change (CGIC) scale, the Home Situations Questionnaire–Autism Spectrum Disorder (HSQ-ASD) and the Autism Parenting Stress Index (APSI).

Results: Following the cannabis treatment, behavioral outbreaks were much improved or very much improved (on the CGIC scale) in 61% of patients. The anxiety and communication problems were much or very much improved in 39% and 47% respectively. Disruptive behaviors, were improved by 29% from 4.74±1.82 as recorded at baseline on the HSQ-ASD to 3.36±1.56 following the treatment. Parents reported less stress as reflected in the APSI scores, changing by 33% from 2.04±0.77 to 1.37±0.59. The effect on all outcome measures was more apparent in boys with non-syndromic ASD. Adverse events included sleep disturbances (14%) irritability (9%) and loss of appetite (9%).

Conclusions: This preliminary study support the feasibility of CBD based medical cannabis as a promising treatment option for refractory behavioral problems in children with ASD. Based on these promising results, we have launched a large, double blind, placebo controlled cross-over trial with 120 participants (NCT02956226).”

http://n.neurology.org/content/90/15_Supplement/P3.318

Efficacy of CBD-enriched medical cannabis for treatment of refractory epilepsy in children and adolescents – An observational, longitudinal study.

Posted on April 21, 2018 by David

Cover image volume 40, Issue 5

“The objective of this observational study was to evaluate the efficacy of medical cannabis for the treatment of refractory epilepsy.

Fifty-seven patients (age 1-20 years) with epilepsy of various etiologies were treated with Cannabis oil extract (CBD/THC ratio of 20:1) for at least 3 months (Median follow up time-18 months). Forty-Six Patients were included in the efficacy analysis. Average CBD dose was11.4 mg/kg/d.

Twenty-six patients (56%) had ≤50% reduction in mean monthly seizure frequency. There was no statistically significant difference in response rate among various epilepsy etiologies, and cannabis strain used.

Younger age at treatment onset (<10 years) and higher CBD dose (>11 mg/kg/d) were associated with better response to treatment. Adverse reactions were reported in 46% of patients and were the main reason for treatment cessation.

Our results suggest that adding CBD-enriched cannabis extract to the treatment regimen of patients with refractory epilepsy may result in a significant reduction in seizure frequency according to parental reports.”

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29674131

http://www.brainanddevelopment.com/article/S0387-7604(18)30112-8/fulltext

Cannabis and Anti-Cancer Drugs: Societal Usage and Expected Pharmacological Interactions – A Review.

Posted on April 17, 2018 by David

Fundamental & Clinical Pharmacology banner

“Cannabis is a plant that has been used for centuries to relieve a wide range of symptoms. Since the 1960s, interest in medical research into this plant has grown steadily. Already very popular for recreational use, a growing number of consumers not accustomed to using cannabis for psychoactive purposes, have begun to use it as an alternative or complement to mainstream pharmaceutical medicines. The principal unsubstantiated or “social” uses of cannabis are based mainly on data that is at best controversial, but usually not scientifically proven. The aim of this review is to identify the scientific basis and reasons that lead patients with cancer to consume cannabis, and also to identify whether there is a risk of interaction between cannabis and anti-cancer medicines through drug transporters (P-glycoprotein and other ABC-superfamily members) Cytochromes P450 (3A, 1A, 2B, 2C 2D families…) and glucuronyl-transferases.”

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29660159

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/fcp.12373

“Cannabinoids as Anticancer Drugs.” https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28826542

“Targeting the endocannabinoid system as a potential anticancer approach.” https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29390896

“Anticancer mechanisms of cannabinoids” https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4791144/

http://www.thctotalhealthcare.com/tag/anticancer/

A Naturalistic Examination of the Perceived Effects of Cannabis on Negative Affect

Posted on April 16, 2018 by David

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“Cannabis is commonly used to alleviate symptoms of negative affect. However, a paucity of research has examined the acute effects of cannabis on negative affect in everyday life.

The current study provides a naturalistic account of perceived changes in symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress as a function of dose and concentration of Δ⁹tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD).

Cannabis is commonly used to alleviate depression, anxiety, and stress. Indeed, one of the most commonly reported motives for cannabis use is to cope with stress, with 72% of daily cannabis users reporting use of cannabis to relax or relieve tension.

Results from the present study indicate that medical cannabis users report a substantial and significant reduction in symptoms of negative affect shortly after using cannabis.”

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29656267

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0165032718303100

Cannabis and joints: scientific evidence for the alleviation of osteoarthritis pain by cannabinoids.

Posted on April 12, 2018 by David

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“Cannabis has been used for millennia to treat a multitude of medical conditions including chronic pain.

Osteoarthritis (OA) pain is one of the most common types of pain and patients often turn to medical cannabis to manage their symptoms.

While the majority of these reports are anecdotal, there is a growing body of scientific evidence which supports the analgesic potential of cannabinoids to treat OA pain.

OA pain manifests as a combination of inflammatory, nociceptive, and neuropathic pain, each requiring modality-specific analgesics. The body’s innate endocannabinoid system (ECS) has been shown to ameliorate all of these pain subtypes.

This review summarizes the components of the ECS and details the latest research pertaining to plant-based and man-made cannabinoids for the treatment of OA pain. Recent pre-clinical evidence supporting a role for the ECS to control OA pain is described as well as current clinical evidence of the efficacy of cannabinoids for treating OA pain in mixed patient populations.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29635215

Accuracy of Patient Opioid Use Reporting at the Time of Medical Cannabis License Renewal.

Posted on April 7, 2018 by David

“The decision to authorize a patient for continued enrollment in a state-sanctioned medical cannabis program is difficult in part due to the uncertainty in the accuracy of patient symptom reporting and health functioning including any possible effects on other medication use.

We conducted a pragmatic convenience study comparing patient reporting of previous and current prescription opioid usage to the opioid prescription records in the Prescription Monitoring Program (PMP) among 131 chronic pain patients (mean age = 54; 54% male) seeking the first annual renewal of their New Mexico Medical Cannabis Program (NMMCP) license.

Seventy-six percent of the patients reported using prescription opioids prior to enrollment in the NMMCP, however, the PMP records showed that only 49% of the patients were actually prescribed opioids in the six months prior to enrollment.

Of the 64 patients with verifiable opioid prescriptions prior to NMMCP enrollment, 35 (55%) patients reported having eliminated the use of prescription opioids by the time of license renewal.

PMP records showed that 26 patients (63% of patients claiming to have eliminated the use of opioid prescriptions and 41% of all patients with verifiable preenrollment opioid use) showed no prescription opioid activity at their first annual NMMCP renewal visit.”

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29623144

https://www.hindawi.com/journals/prm/2018/5704128/

Medical cannabis for paediatric developmental–behavioural and psychiatric disorders

Posted on April 4, 2018 by David

Publication cover image

“Humans have used marijuana for millennia, variously as a spiritual sacrament, herbal medicine, dietary supplement or psychoactive inebriant. Use of Medical Cannabis (MC) is advocated for an increasing range of medical indications. Anecdotally, use of naturally occurring cannabis (phytocannabinoids) is said to have a calming effect in some children. There has been little drug discovery work in the field of child and adolescent mental health for many years, and there is an urgent need to develop safe and effective therapeutics for this vulnerable patient group. Medical cannabis may be one such treatment. In summary, MC has potential as a therapeutic option in the management of paediatric mental health symptoms; however, the evidence to support its use for these patients is not yet in. ” https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/jpc.13902

Association of Medical and Adult-Use Marijuana Laws With Opioid Prescribing for Medicaid Enrollees

Posted on April 3, 2018 by David

“In this population-based, cross-sectional study using the all-capture Medicaid prescription data for 2011 to 2016, medical marijuana laws and adult-use marijuana laws were associated with lower opioid prescribing rates (5.88% and 6.38% lower, respectively).

Medical and adult-use marijuana laws have the potential to lower opioid prescribing for Medicaid enrollees, a high-risk population for chronic pain, opioid use disorder, and opioid overdose, and marijuana liberalization may serve as a component of a comprehensive package to tackle the opioid epidemic.

These findings suggest that medical and adult-use marijuana laws have the potential to reduce opioid prescribing for Medicaid enrollees, a segment of population with disproportionately high risk for chronic pain, opioid use disorder, and opioid overdose.

Marijuana is one of the potential nonopioid alternatives that can relieve pain at a relatively lower risk of addiction and virtually no risk of overdose.”

https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamainternalmedicine/fullarticle/2677000

“Medicare, Medicaid Opioid Scripts Decline in Medical Marijuana States” https://www.medpagetoday.com/neurology/opioids/72105