Tag Archives: medications

Marijuana and its receptor protein in brain control epilepsy

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“VCU study is first to test anticonvulsant potential of marijuana and brain recurrent seizures. 

Ingredients in marijuana and the cannabinoid receptor protein produced naturally in the body to regulate the central nervous system and other bodily functions play a critical role in controlling spontaneous seizures in epilepsy, according to a new study by researchers at Virginia Commonwealth University.

The study, the first to look at marijuana and the brain’s cannabinoid system in live animals with spontaneous, recurrent seizures, suggests new avenues that researchers can explore in their search for more-effective drugs to treat epileptic patients who don’t respond to today’s anticonvulsant medications or surgery.

The results appear in the Oct. 1 issue of the Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics.

“Although marijuana is illegal in the United States, individuals both here and abroad report that marijuana has been therapeutic for them in the treatment of a variety of ailments, including epilepsy,” says Dr. Robert J. DeLorenzo, professor of neurology in the VCU School of Medicine.

 “If we can understand how marijuana works to end seizures, we may be able to develop novel drugs that might do a better job of treating epileptic seizures.” 

Epilepsy is one of the most common neurological conditions, characterized by spontaneously recurrent seizures. Approximately 1 percent of Americans have epilepsy, and 30 percent of those patients are resistant to conventional anticonvulsant drug treatments.

Cannabinoids have been used as a natural remedy for seizures for thousands of years, and studies since at least 1974 have found that the primary psychoactive compound in marijuana displays anticonvulsant properties.” 

More:http://www.news.vcu.edu/news/Marijuana_and_its_receptor_protein_in_brain_control_epilepsy

Children with epilepsy need medical marijuana

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“Medical marijuana shouldn’t be for ‘adults only’.

My 9-year-old daughter has Aicardi syndrome, a rare genetic disorder that causes extremely hard-to-control seizures, debilitation, disability and early mortality. She began having seizures at three months of age, and since that time has had multiple seizures every day, with rare exception — probably to the tune of nearly 200,000 seizures in her lifetime…

She is one of the 3 million Americans who have epilepsy, and one of the 40 percent whose seizures cannot be controlled by anti-seizure drugs. She has tried 10 anti-seizure medications as well as a high-protein/low-carbohydrate diet called the ketogenic diet; she takes three anti-seizure medications at once and has a vagus nerve stimulator implant that sends mild electrical pulses to the brain. These drugs help her, but she nonetheless experiences an average of three seizures every day. Moreover, the medications cause persistent side effects that negatively impact her quality of life, particularly her gastrointestinal, bone, dental, cognitive and mental health.

The Illinois Senate Executive Committee recently voted, 10-5, to move the House-passed medical marijuana legislation to the Senate for a vote. The bill is expected to pass, and though Gov. Pat Quinn has not committed to signing it, the general expectation is that the bill will become law. This should be received as great news for the many people with “debilitating” conditions that the bill is supposed to help — people for whom medical science has documented real, measurable and safe outcomes of the controlled use of cannabis or its component of chemical compounds.

It’s too bad that the legislature has ignored the medical needs of some of the most debilitated, and most vulnerable, patients in the state: children with epilepsy.

Imagine her father’s and my reaction upon learning that the legislature, in its concern not to send a “message” to kids that it is safe to smoke marijuana, decided that kids like ours, for whom medical cannabis has the potential to be as safe and effective as typical anti-seizure drugs, should be excluded from the benefits of this new law.

They have done so, I hope, only out of ignorance…

There is no likelihood that my daughter will become a drug addict from using a compound within cannabis in a medically controlled setting. There is, however, a good chance that participation in a controlled study of these compounds could open the door to new treatments for her, and the many children like her, who desperately need medical innovation to save or improve their lives.”

More: http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2013-05-15/opinion/ct-oped-0515-marijuana-20130515_1_dravet-seizures-medical-cannabis

Father successfully treats son’s epilepsy with medical cannabis (marijuana)

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Marijuana

 
“A California father’s desperate quest to find a viable solution to his young son’s rare form of epilepsy has led him to incredible success in medicinal marijuana. The Los Angeles Times (LAT) reports that Jason David’s son Jayden now functions normally, eats solid food, and takes only four prescription medications for his condition rather than the 22 he had been takingprior to starting the cannabis protocol.Young Jayden suffers from an extremely rare, and potentially fatal, epileptic condition known as Dravet syndrome that is categorized as a “catastrophic form of intractable epilepsy.” For Jayden, symptoms of the condition have included things like intense “grand mal” seizure fits, continuous muscle twitching, inability to respond to or interact with others, difficulty chewing, and frequent screaming episodes.

According to Jayden’s father Jason, Jayden had spent most of his life either sleeping or seizing, which put incredible strain on the family as it unsuccessfully tried using prescription drug after prescription drug to at least ease Jayden’s symptoms. But Jayden’s condition only got progressively worse in response to pharmaceuticals, which led Jason to actually consider committing suicide as he says he simply could no longer bear watching his son suffer in this horrific way.

After praying intensely about the situation and meeting with their local religious congregation for guidance; however, the Davids stumbled upon medical marijuana, and particularly cannabidiol (CBD), one of the many cannabinoid compounds naturally found in certain varieties of marijuana. Following a period of heavy research into the history and effectiveness of CBD, Jason decided it was worth giving the treatment a try with his son — and upon doing so, the Davids observed an almost immediate improvement in Jayden’s condition.” 

 

Medicinal marijuana stops seizures, brings hope to a little Black Forest girl

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“Six-year-old Charlotte Figi, a picture of precious in her “Gatsby”-style bob and blue toenails, stands patiently as her mother reaches up her dress to change her out of her soiled Pull-Ups. – Charlotte never says a word. She hasn’t in the past hour, and won’t for at least another 30 minutes, when she finally whispers the name of a visitor who is about to leave.

In the Figi household, these are signs of progress: Charlotte saying something. Charlotte eating and drinking. Charlotte standing and walking.

Charlotte breathing.

About 18 months ago, in the winter of 2011, Paige and Matt Figi signed a “do not resuscitate” order telling medical personnel to forgo life-saving measures for their daughter and let fate take its course.

They’d done all they could to control the seemingly endless, violent seizures that hit Charlotte 20, 40, 60 times a day. They put her on an extreme diet. They tried at least a dozen medications, many with harmful side effects. Despite some promising starts, nothing worked. And the rescue medications they were giving her to stop the seizures in fact stopped her breathing. CPR brought her back to life more than once.

After years of watching a cruel, incurable genetic disorder called Dravet Syndome rob their daughter of her basic bodily functions and send her into convulsions that caused head injuries and broken teeth, they had reached the end.

“We really thought, this is a horrible existence; she’s not going to live much longer.” Paige says. “This is not a life for her. This is torture. She is suffering all day. I’m not OK with this. She wasn’t even human anymore. She’d lie in my arms drooling, seizing, screaming and crying.”

Then, in an act of desperation, or inspiration – or maybe both – Matt called Paige from overseas, where he was working, and suggested a radical approach to Charlotte’s treatment.

“We need to try cannabis for Charlotte,” he told Paige. “We live in a compassionate state.”

Fifteen months later, the little girl with the DNR order is standing in the kitchen of their Black Forest home with her mother getting her Pull-Ups changed, cuddling in the arms of a visitor, playing with toys and strategically pushing the buttons on her “talker,” an electronic device that communicates when Charlotte can’t.

Her seizures have dropped from 1,200 a month to three, and the ones she has are shorter in duration and less severe. She’s off all the other medications with their troubling side effects. And, as one of the youngest medical marijuana patients in Colorado, her dramatic turnaround is starting to draw national attention, with a CNN report on the horizon.”

More: http://gazette.com/medicinal-marijuana-stops-seizures-brings-hope-to-a-little-girl/article/1502070

Synthetic and Patented Cannabinoids

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“Historically, laboratory synthesis of cannabinoids were often based on the structure of herbal cannabinoids, and a large number of analogs have been produced and tested, especially in a group led by Roger Adams as early as 1941 and later in a group led by Raphael Mechoulam.

Newer compounds are no longer related to natural cannabinoids or are based on the structure of the endogenous cannabinoids.

Synthetic cannabinoids are particularly useful in experiments to determine the relationship between the structure and activity of cannabinoid compounds, by making systematic, incremental modifications of cannabinoid molecules.

Medications containing natural or synthetic cannabinoids or cannabinoid analogs:

  • Dronabinol (Marinol), is Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), used as an appetite stimulant, anti-emetic, and analgesic
  • Nabilone (Cesamet), a synthetic cannabinoid and an analog of Marinol. It is Schedule II unlike Marinol, which is Schedule III
  • Sativex, a cannabinoid extract oral spray containing THC, CBD, and other cannabinoids used for neuropathic pain and spasticity in Canada and Spain. Sativex develops whole-plant cannabinoid medicines
  • Rimonabant (SR141716), a selective cannabinoid (CB1) receptor antagonist used as an anti-obesity drug under the proprietary name Acomplia. It is also used for smoking cessation

Other notable synthetic cannabinoids include:

  • CP-55940, produced in 1974, this synthetic cannabinoid receptor agonist is many times more potent than THC
  • Dimethylheptylpyran
  • HU-210, about 100 times as potent as THC
  • HU-331 a potential anti-cancer drug derived from cannabidiol that specifically inhibits topoisomerase II.
  • SR144528, a CB2 receptor antagonists
  • WIN 55, a potent cannabinoid receptor agonist
  • JWH-133, a potent selective CB2 receptor agonist
  • Levonantradol (Nantrodolum), an anti-emetic and analgesic but not currently in use in medicine”

http://www.news-medical.net/health/Synthetic-and-Patented-Cannabinoids.aspx

Medical Marijuana use for Muscular Dystrophy

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“Since he can’t use his arms Michael Oliveri’s mother Christiane assists him when drinking his green tea. Michael Oliveri, 25, is in a wheel chair due to muscular dystrophy.”

Medical Marijuana use for Muscular Dystrophy 

“After trying numerous medications in search for relief from tremendous pain, he tried medical marijuana, which he says miraculously improved his quality of life so much so that he left his family and friends in New Jersey to live in California, where his meds is legal and accessible.”
 
 

Medical Marijuana For Arthritis: A Natural Cure?

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“TruthOnPot.com – Medical marijuana seems to be a gift from nature for anyone who suffers from pain, which is a symptom that most patients with arthritis are all-too-familiar with. Interestingly, the earliest evidence of medical marijuana’s use as a treatment for arthritis dates as far back as 2800 BC, which makes it more of a historical finding than a scientific breakthrough.
 

Today, more than 31 million Americans suffer from arthritis. And while the Arthritis Foundation lists over 100 different medications that are available for this disease, many patients continue to suffer from painful and often debilitating symptoms without adequate relief.

For those patients, medical marijuana seems to provide hope.”

Read More: http://www.truthonpot.com/2013/04/18/medical-marijuana-for-arthritis-a-natural-cure/

Smoking Cannabis Reduces Pain, Helps Sleep And Improves Mood For Those With Chronic Symptoms

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“For patients with chronic (long-term) neuropathic pain, smoking cannabis was found to reduce symptoms of pain, improve mood and help sleep, a report published in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Journal Association) revealed. When damage or dysfunction of the nervous system results in chronic neuropathic pain, patients have few treatment options, such as antidepressants, local anesthetics, anticonvulsants or opioids. However, these medications often have undesirable side effects and do not work for everybody.

The authors inform that oral cannabinoids have been effective in reducing the symptoms of some types of pain. However, they many have different effects and risks compared to smoked cannabis.

Investigators from McGill University Health Centre (MUHC) and McGill University carried out a randomized, controlled trial to determine the analgesic effect of smoked cannabis in 21 patients, aged 18 years or more, all of them with chronic neuropathic pain. THC levels (drug potencies) were divided into 2.5%, 6% and 9.4%. Some participants also received a placebo (0%).

The researchers inform that there was a correlation between increased THC content and better sleep quality. Symptoms of depression and/or anxiety were also reduced at 9.5% THC level.”

More: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/199376.php

[Marihuana and cannabinoids as medicaments].

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“Biological activity of cannabinoids is caused by binding to two cannabinoid receptors CB1 and CB2. Psychoactive is not only tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) but also: cannabidiol, cannabigerol or cannabichromen. Formerly, the usefulness of hemp was assessed in the relation to temporary appeasement of the symptoms of some ailments as nausea or vomiting.

 Present discoveries indicates that cannabis-based drugs has shown ability to alleviate of autoimmunological disorders such as: Multiple sclerosis (MS), Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) or inflammatory bowel disease. Another studies indicates that cannabinoids play role in treatment of neurological disorders like Alzheimer disease or Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) or even can reduce spreading of tumor cells.

 Cannabinoids stand out high safety profile considering acute toxicity, it is low possibility of deadly overdosing and side-effects are comprise in range of tolerated side-effects of other medications.

In some countries marinol and nabilone are used as anti vomiting and nausea drug. First cannabis-based drug containg naturally occurring cannabinoids is Sativex. Sativex is delivered in an mucosal spray for patients suffering from spasticity in MS, pain relevant with cancer and neuropathic pain of various origin. Despite the relatively low acute toxicity of cannabinoids they should be avoid in patients with psychotic disorders, pregnant or breastfeeding woman. Cannabinoids prolong a time of reaction and decrease power of concentration that’s why driving any vehicles is forbidden.

 Cannabis side-effects varies and depend from several factors like administrated dose, rout of administration and present state of mind. After sudden break from long-lasting use, withdrawal symptoms can appear, although they entirely disappear after a week or two.”

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23421098

Medical cannabis relieves sufferers of chronic ailments

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“Treatment can improve appetite, ease chronic pain, and more, say TAU researchers. Though controversial, medical cannabis has been gaining ground as a valid therapy, offering relief to suffers of diseases such as cancer, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, ALS and more. The substance is known to soothe severe pain, increase the appetite, and ease insomnia where other common medications fail.”

More: http://www.virtualmedicalcentre.com/news/medical-cannabis-relieves-sufferers-of-chronic-ailments/18330