Cannabinoids: New Promising Agents in the Treatment of Neurological Diseases.

“Nowadays, Cannabis sativa is considered the most extensively used narcotic. Nevertheless, this fame obscures its traditional employ in native medicine of South Africa, South America, Turkey, Egypt and in many regions of Asia as a therapeutic drug.

In fact, the use of compounds containing Cannabis and their introduction in clinical practice is still controversial and strongly limited by unavoidable psychotropic effects. So, overcoming these adverse effects represents the main open question on the utilization of cannabinoids as new drugs for treatment of several pathologies.

To date, therapeutic use of cannabinoid extracts is prescribed in patients with glaucoma, in the control of chemotherapy-related vomiting and nausea, for appetite stimulation in patients with anorexia-cachexia syndrome by HIV, and for the treatment of multiple sclerosis symptoms.

Recently, researcher efforts are aimed to employ the therapeutic potentials of Cannabis sativa in the modulation of cannabinoid receptor activity within the central nervous system, particularly for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases, as well as psychiatric and non-psychiatric disorders.

This review evaluates the most recent available data on cannabinoids utilization in experimental and clinical studies, and highlights their beneficial effects in the prevention of the main neurological diseases and for the clinical treatment of symptoms with them correlated.”

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25407719

Cannabis-Based Medicine Reduces Multiple Pathological Processes in AβPP/PS1 Mice.

“Several recent findings suggest that targeting the endogenous cannabinoid system can be considered as a potential therapeutic approach to treat Alzheimer’s disease (AD).

The present study supports this hypothesis demonstrating that delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) or cannabidiol (CBD) botanical extracts, as well as the combination of both natural cannabinoids, which are the components of an already approved cannabis-based medicine, preserved memory in AβPP/PS1 transgenic mice when chronically administered during the early symptomatic stage.

Moreover, THC + CBD reduced learning impairment in AβPP/PS1 mice.

…suggesting a cannabinoid-induced reduction in the harmful effect of the most toxic form of the Aβ peptide.

Among the mechanisms related with these positive cognitive effects, the anti-inflammatory properties of cannabinoids may also play a relevant role…

In summary, the present findings show that the combination of THC and CBD exhibits a better therapeutic profile than each cannabis component alone and support the consideration of a cannabis-based medicine as potential therapy against AD.”

Growing medicine: Small-scale cannabis cultivation for medical purposes in six different countries.

“The production and consumption of cannabis for the treatment of medical conditions is of increasing importance internationally…

Growing cannabis for medical purposes was widespread.

The majority of medical growers reported cultivating cannabis for serious conditions…

There is a wider demand for licit access for medical cannabis than currently available…

many medical growers are using cannabis to treat serious medical conditions without proper medical advice and doctor’s guidance.”

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25123694

Cannabis for inflammatory bowel disease.

“The marijuana plant Cannabis sativa has been used for centuries as a treatment for a variety of ailments. It contains over 60 different cannabinoid compounds.

Studies have revealed that the endocannabinoid system is involved in almost all major immune events. Cannabinoids may, therefore, be beneficial in inflammatory disorders.In murine colitis, cannabinoids decrease histologic and microscopic inflammation.

In humans, cannabis has been used to treat a plethora of gastrointestinal problems, including anorexia, emesis, abdominal pain, diarrhea, and diabetic gastroparesis.

Despite anecdotal reports on medical cannabis in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), there are few controlled studies. In an observational study in 30 patients with Crohn’s disease (CD), we found that medical cannabis was associated with improvement in disease activity and reduction in the use of other medications.

In a more recent placebo-controlled study in 21 chronic CD patients, we showed a decrease in the CD activity index >100 in 10 of 11 subjects on cannabis compared to 4 of 10 on placebo. Complete remission was achieved in 5 of 11 subjects in the cannabis group and 1 of 10 in the placebo group. Yet, in an additional study, low-dose cannabidiol did not have an effect on CD activity.

In summary, evidence is gathering that manipulating the endocannabinoid system can have beneficial effects in IBD, but further research is required to declare cannabinoids a medicine. We need to establish the specific cannabinoids, as well as appropriate medical conditions, optimal dose, and mode of administration, to maximize the beneficial effects while avoiding any potential harmful effects of cannabinoid use”

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24969296

Researchers study neuroprotective properties in cannabis

“With more states opting to legalize the sale of medical marijuana, researchers are taking a closer look at the use of cannabis to treat chronic illnesses.

Dr. Manny Alvarez, senior managing health editor of FoxNews.com, recently sat down with the Medicine Hunter, Chris Kilham, to find out how it’s being studied.

Dr. Manny: Now from the medical marijuana perspective, as far as the treatment of chronic illnesses, what is it about cannabis that makes it that special?

Medicine Hunter: Well, it seems that there are primarily two things – there’s the THC, that’s what people associated with getting high. And that appears to have a saliatory effect on the eyes in case of glaucoma. For people who are suffering from chemotherapy and can’t eat, it helps to get their appetite back. And we also know that it is a potent pain reliever – and science on that goes back to the 1890s.

But there’s another agent in cannabis that is getting more attention now, and that is called cannabidiol. And this is something that you can swallow by the bucket-full, and it won’t get you high at all. But it appears to have profound nerve-protective and brain-enhancing properties. And interestingly enough, it also induces an anti-anxiety effect.

So this appears to be a very important agent, perhaps useful in the treatment of neurodegenerative disorders.

DM: Are they extracting that particular chemical off the marijuana?

MH: There seem to be two pathways that people are taking.  You’ve got G.W. pharmaceuticals in Britain that has come out with a whole cannabis fluid spray. You’ve got people also isolating cannabidiol and playing with that in the lab.

I don’t know how this is all going to settle out – I mean, as a whole-plant person, I’m inclined toward the whole extract. But it does appear that this may also have anti-cancer properties, and that’s very intriguing.

DM: Is marijuana addictive?

MH: I would say that people can absolutely become dependent upon it.  But not physiologically addictive.  And, as you know, that’s not just parsing terms – I mean physiological addiction, you go through very grave withdrawal.

But people can become dependent on it just as they can on any substance.

DM: Tell me about this study in the American Journal of Pediatrics talking about pregnant Jamaican women and the use of pot.

MH: Melanie Dreher, who is the dean of nursing at Rush Medical Center inChicago, did a study in Jamaica. It was actually published in the American Journal of Pediatrics in 1994, but now it’s re-circulating because of all the interest in the neuroprotective properties.

Basically, she studied women during their entire pregnancy, and then studied the babies about a year after birth. And what she studied was a group of women who did smoke cannabis during pregnancy and those who didn’t. She expected to see a difference in the babies as far as birth weight and neuro tests, but there was no difference whatsoever. The differences that the researchers did notice, that are unexplained and kind of curious are that the babies of the women who had smoked cannabis — and we’re talking about daily use during their pregnancy — socialized more quickly, made eye contact more quickly and were easier to engage.

We don’t know why this is so, but all the old saws of smoking during pregnancy will result in low birth weight did not show up — at least in the Jamaican study. In U.S. studies where we’ve seen a similar investigation, women have concurrently been abusing alcohol and other drugs as well.

Alvarez said it’s interesting to note that there may be neuroprotective properties present in cannabis and the cannibidiol extract, but that smoking of any kind in pregnant women is discouraged.”

More research is needed when it comes to medical marijuana, he added.”

http://www.foxnews.com/health/2012/03/20/researchers-study-neuroprotective-properties-in-cannabis/

“Study: Cannabis may prevent brain damage” http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/06/06/study-cannabis-may-prevent-brain-damage/

Cannabis May Help Combat Herpes Viruses

“The compound in marijuana that produces a high, delta-9 tetrahydrocannbinol or THC, may block the spread of several forms of cancer causing herpes viruses, University of South Florida College of Medicine scientists report.

Once a person is infected with herpes, the viruses can remain dormant for long periods within white blood cells before they burst out and begin replicating. This reactivation of the virus boosts the number of cells infected thereby increasing the chances that the cells will become cancerous.

The USF team found that this sudden reactivation was prevented if infected cells were grown in the presence of THC. Furthermore, the researchers showed that THC acts specifically on gamma herpes viruses. The chemical had no effect on another related virus, herpes simplex-1, which causes cold sores and genital herpes.

Small concentrations of THC were found to be more potent and selective against gamma herpes viruses than the commonly used antiviral drugs on the market.

The findings, published Sept. 15 in the online journal BMC Medicine, could lead to the creation of antiviral drugs based on nonpsychoactive derivatives of THC.”

http://stdlabtest.com/2009/06/30/cannabis-may-help-combat-herpes-viruses/

MARIJUANA INGREDIENT KILLS HERPES VIRUSES IN TEST-TUBE STUDY

“Marijuana’s active ingredient killed herpes viruses in test-tube experiments…

University of South Florida microbiologist Gerald Lancz said his study may help scientists discover new anti-herpes medicines.

Lancz said it might be possible to find substances related to THC that don’t affect the mind but do kill viruses.

Lancz and his colleagues incubated THC and various viruses in test tubes.

They found that, in doses somewhat higher than found in the blood of regular marijuana users, THC killed herpes simplex virus 1, which causes the cold sores that typify oral herpes.

The scientists didn’t test THC against herpes simplex 2, the genital herpes virus. But Lancz said the drug almost certainly will kill the genital herpes virus because it is so similar to the oral herpes virus.

The study found THC also killed cytomegalovirus, a herpes virus that causes flu-like symptoms in adults and is the most common infectious cause of birth defects in the United States.”

http://www.apnewsarchive.com/1990/Marijuana-Ingredient-Kills-Herpes-Viruses-in-Test-Tube-Study/id-767b0693c14381d912e5cc89baf71b68

 

Cannabis use in sickle cell disease: a questionnaire study.

“Cannabinoids are increasingly being considered for the management of various painful conditions, and could be considered as an option for treating acute pain in sickle cell disease (SCD).

The objective of this study was to determine the extent of use of cannabis in the community for pain and other symptom relief, and its side effects during self-administration in patients with SCD…

The main reasons for use were to reduce pain in 52%, and to induce relaxation or relieve anxiety and depression in 39%. Symptoms related to sedation and mood effects were reported in 77% of patients. The majority of patients (58%) expressed their willingness to participate in studies of cannabis as a medicine.

We conclude that research in the use of cannabinoids for pain relief in SCD would be both important and acceptable to adult patients.”

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16173972

Medical marijuana could treat pain caused by sickle cell disease

“A group of University of Minnesota researchers is testing to see if medical marijuana can help treat chronic pain caused by sickle cell disease, but state and federal laws are putting a hitch in their study.

As researchers continue with the study’s next step — conducting human trials — they’re heading to California, as Minnesota doesn’t easily allow testing cannabis on people. The state’s recently passed medical marijuana law doesn’t include sickle cell disease as a qualifying medical condition, but the University’s current research could play a role in how that law changes in the future.

“We find that cannabinoids have good outcomes in treating pain [in mice with sickle cell disease],” said chief researcher and associate professor of medicine Kalpna Gupta.

Gupta said the researchers are now ready to expand their study to patients. And in doing so, they will move to California, where medical marijuana became legal nearly two decades ago. Minnesota’s stricter version of that law will take effect next summer.

Right now, the Minnesota Department of Health is working to appoint members to a task force that will oversee medical cannabis therapeutic research in the coming months. The department is also fine-tuning the rules that outline patient access and qualifications.

Qualifying health conditions to receive medical cannabis in the Minnesota law include cancer, glaucoma, HIV/AIDS and seizures. Patients also qualify for the drug if they have chronic pain caused by cancer or a terminal illness.

Department of Health spokesman Mike Schommer said symptoms of sickle cell disease could potentially be added to the list of medical conditions in the future.

The main symptoms of sickle cell disease are fatigue and pain, and according to the state’s law, the commissioner of health may eventually add intractable pain to the list of qualifying medical conditions, making patients of sickle cell disease included.

Sickle cell patients have crescent-shaped blood cells instead of healthy, disc-shaped ones. Sickle cells block blood flow and cause pain and organ damage, according to the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute.

Former University student Brianna Wilson has sickle cell anemia that gives her bone and muscle pain.

“Some people describe it as nails poking you, but for me, it’s pressure in my veins and upper body,” she said.

Physicians usually prescribe opiates, like morphine, to treat the pain, but researchers and patients agree that there are better ways to treat the disease. Wilson said the drugs are addictive and usually don’t offer good results.

School of Dentistry professor and pain expert Donald Simone, who is also working on the research project, said opiates sometimes have “problematic” side effects, such as respiratory depression. And Gupta said patients sometimes receive incorrect dosages of the drugs because their exact amount of pain is unknown.

Developing a means to measure the severe pain could be useful for doctors while making prescriptions, said biomedical engineering professor Bin He, another researcher who is involved in the project.

Medical marijuana is promising for sickle cell patients because it has a pain-relieving effect without as many severe side effects as morphine, Simone said.

The National Institutes of Health awarded the researchers $9.5 million in January to pursue studies on mice and patients. With that money, the research is expanding to California to test the effects of vaporized cannabis on 35 sickle cell disease patients beginning in July.

So far, the researchers’ study has found that mice with sickle cell disease are more sensitive to pain, especially when experiencing pressure, heat or cold, Simone said. By examining how neurons in the peripheral nerves and the spinal cord become overactive, the researchers are able to identify new ways to reduce pain, he said.

University of California-San Francisco professor Donald Abrams, who will lead the clinical trials in partnership with the Minnesota researchers, said there were many “hoops to jump through” in going forward with the study, like gaining approval from numerous government agencies.

Currently, 22 states and the District of Columbia allow medical marijuana programs, all varying in levels of strictness.

Minnesota’s law is among the nation’s strictest, and it prohibits patients from smoking or growing their own marijuana plants. The law mandates that two manufacturers operate four distribution centers each and that medical marijuana identification cards be available beginning July 2015 through a state-monitored registry.

“I can see [medical marijuana] helping,” Wilson said. “It’s chronic pain, so it should help, especially if it’s relaxing the muscles and things like that.””

http://www.mndaily.com/news/campus/2014/06/10/medical-marijuana-could-treat-pain-caused-sickle-cell-disease

“Medical Marijuana Policies Complicate Research Treating Chronic Sickle Cell Pain. A study by University of Minnesota researchers that was testing the effects of medical marijuana in treating chronic pain experienced by sickle cell patients has been forced out of the state due to a combination of restrictive state and federal policies stalling the project.”  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/06/11/minnesota-medical-marijuana_n_5485383.html

Medical Marijuana Helps Cure Chronic Disease

Medical Marijuana Helps Cure Chronic Disease

“The medicinal power of Marijuana is well documented throughtout history

Back in 2700 BC, According to Chinese lore, the Emperor Shen Nung, considered the Father of Chinese medicine, in 2700 BC ,discovered the healing properties of Marijuana as well as Ginseng and Ephedra.

Throughout recorded history, the use of Medical Marijuana  has been linked to the ancient Egyptians, Persians, Greek civilizations, George Washington, Queen Victoria and even mainstream medicine by the 1840s.

From the 1850s to Y 1942, Marijuana was listed in the United States Pharmacopeia, an official public standards-setting authority for all prescription and over-the counter medicines, as a treatment for tetanus, cholera, rabies, dysentery, alcoholism, opiate addiction, convulsive disorders, insanity, excessive menstrual bleeding and many other health problems. My father was a Dental doctor and had a license to dispense the drug, pharmacies carried it back then.

During that same time frame prohibition gained popularity, that along with a growing “faith” in federal government.

By Y 1937, the United States passed its 1st federal law against Marijuana despite objections by the American Medical Association (AMA).

In fact, Dr. William C. Woodward, testifying on behalf of the AMA, told the US Congress:

“The American Medical Association knows of no evidence that Marijuana is a dangerous drug.”

He warned that a prohibition “loses sight of the fact that future investigation may show that there are substantial medical uses for Cannabis.”

Today, we see a growing trend of acceptance of Marijuana for its medicinal purposes.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN’s chief medical correspondent, reversed his Y 2009 opinion against Marijuana when he said, “We have been terribly and systematically misled for nearly 70 yrs in the United States, and I apologize for my own role in that.”

Now people including lawmakers are seeing the legalization of Marijuana in states like Colorado and Washington for “recreational” purposes. Most Americans are in favor of Medical Marijuana,  and the legalization of this drug.

The Big Q: why does the federal government want to ban its usage?

The Big A: it is all about control and money, and there is a major market for it, plus it poses a major threat to the pharmaceutical industry.

Below are just a few of the many health benefits associated with Medical Marijuana:

1. It can stop HIV from spreading throughout the body.
2. It slows the progression of Alzheimer’s.
3. It slows the spread of cancer cells.
4. It is an active pain reliever.
5. It can prevent or help with opiate addiction.
6. It combats depression, anxiety and ADHD.
7. It can treat epilepsy and Tourette’s.
8. It can help with other neurological damage, such as concussions and strokes.
9. It can prevent blindness from glaucoma.
10. Its connected to lower insulin levels in diabetics.

Contrary to popular notions, many patients  experience health benefits from Medical Marijuana without “getting stoned.””

http://www.livetradingnews.com/medical-marijuana-helps-cure-chronic-disease-55569.htm#.U6VjgZRX-uY