“Researchers from the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have found that smoking marijuana can help relieve pain, and muscle tightness “spasticity” in individuals with multiple sclerosis (MS). The study is published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ).”
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/245430.php
“Cannabis sativa is a herb belonging to the Cannabaceae family, characterized by palmate leaves and numerous fibers. Its first record as a medicine dates back to 5000 years ago and it was found in China, where cannabis was used for a myriad of purposes and diseases, including malaria, neuropathic pain, nausea, sexual dysfunction and constipation.
The use of cannabis spread from Central Asia and deeply influenced Indian folk medicine. However, sedative and psychotropic effects of cannabis turned it into a recreational drug. This fact resulted in discrimination against the consumption of the cannabis plant and its derivatives, which delayed the scientific findings in this field…
In recent years, a growing interest has been dedicated to the study of the endocannabinoid system. The isolation of Cannabis sativa main psychotropic compound, Δ(9)-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), has led to the discovery of an atypical neurotransmission system that modulates the release of other neurotransmitters and participates in many biological processes, including the cascade of inflammatory responses.
In this context, cannabinoids have been studied for their possible therapeutic properties in neuroinflammatory diseases. In this review, historic and biochemical aspects of cannabinoids are discussed, as well as their function as modulators of inflammatory processes and therapeutic perspectives for neurodegenerative disorders, particularly, multiple sclerosis.
Cannabinoid compounds may be extracted from the plant (phytocannabinoids) or be artificially obtained (synthetic cannabinoids)…
To date, it is still impossible to prove or rule out all benefits of cannabis described empirically by ancient herbal practitioners. For now, science aims to understand how cannabinoid compounds are associated with neuroinflammation and how cannabis-based medicine can help millions of patients worldwide.”
The cannabinoid system is evolutionally conserved and is present in invertebrates and vertebrates. One of the best-studied cannabinoids is Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the predominant active component of Cannabis sativa or marijuana.
The marijuana plant has been exploited by humans since their early history and was used for centuries in Asian medicine to reduce the severity of pain, inflammation and asthma. However, only recently have the mechanisms of the medicinal properties of THC begun to be understood. This understanding is largely due to the identification and cloning of two cannabinoid receptors.
The cannabinoid system is now recognized as a regulator of both the nervous and immune systems.
Although marijuana has been used for centuries for the treatment of a variety of disorders, its therapeutic mechanisms are only now being understood.
The best-studied plant cannabinoid, delta9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), produced by Cannabis sativa and found in marijuana, has shown evidence of being immunosuppressive in both in vivo and in vitro.
These studies are theoretically in agreement with the suggestions of others that cannabinoid receptor agonists would be beneficial for the treatment of MS in humans.”
“Since the discovery of the endocannabinoids [eCB; anandamide and 2-arachidonoylglycerol (2-AG), various pathological conditions were shown to increase the eCB tone and to inhibit molecular mechanisms that are involved in the production, release, and diffusion of harmful mediators such as proinflammatory cytokines or excess glutamate.
In this issue of PNAS, Witting et al. demonstrate that, unexpectedly and contrary to the effects of other brain diseases, cell damage induced by experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), an immune-mediated disease widely used as a laboratory model of multiple sclerosis (MS), does not lead to enhancement of eCB levels, although the cannabinoid receptors remain functional.
Nearly two decades ago, Lyman et al. reported that Δ9-THC, the psychoactive component of marijuana, suppresses the symptoms of EAE. A few years later, Wirguin et al. reported the same effect by Δ8-THC, a more stable and less psychotropic analogue of Δ9-THC.
Thus, THC was shown to inhibit both clinical and histological signs of EAE even before the endocannabinoids were described.
THC was also shown to control spasticity and tremor in chronic relapsing EAE, a further autoimmune model of MS , and to inhibit glutamate release via activation of the CB1-cannabinoid receptor in EAE. Moreover, mice deficient in the cannabinoid receptor CB1 tolerate inflammatory and excitotoxic insults poorly and develop substantial neurodegeneration after immune attack in EAE.
Thus, the brain loses some of its endogenous neuroprotective capacity, but it may still respond to exogenous treatment with 2-AG or other CB1 agonists. Assuming that the biochemical changes taking place in the EAE model of MS are similar to those in MS itself, these results represent a biochemical-based support to the positive outcome noted with cannabinoid therapy in MS.
These data suggest that the high level of IFN-γ in the CNS, noted in mice with EAE, disrupts eCB-mediated neuroprotection, while maintaining functional cannabinoid receptors, thus providing additional support for the use of cannabinoid-based medicine to treat MS.”
“Focal cerebral ischemia and traumatic brain injury induce an escalating amount of cell death because of harmful mediators diffusing from the original lesion site.
Evidence suggests that healthy cells surrounding these lesions attempt to protect themselves by producing endocannabinoids (eCBs) and activating cannabinoid receptors, the molecular target for marijuana-derived compounds.
Indeed, activation of cannabinoid receptors reduces the production and diffusion of harmful mediators.
Here, we provide evidence that an exception to this pattern is found in experimental autoimmuneencephalomyelitis (EAE), a mouse model of multiple sclerosis…
Our data suggest that the high level of CNS IFN-gamma associated with EAE disrupts eCB-mediated neuroprotection while maintaining functional cannabinoid receptors, thus providing additional support for the use of cannabinoid-based medicine to treat multiple sclerosis.”
“In 2008, over one million individuals were diagnosed with colon cancer, also known as colorectal cancer or bowel cancer and it caused over 600,000 deaths globally. The results of a study published in the journal Phytomedicine in October 2013 suggest that a botanical extract made from high-CBD (cannabidiol) cannabis can selectively target colon cancer cells, while leaving healthy cells unharmed.
Researchers were able to reduce tumor growth and pre-cancerous lesions in mice with colon cancer using the pot molecule CBD as part of a “botanical drug substance”. The authors believe that CBD’s benefits as demonstrated by the results of the study could have clinical relevance for the use of cannabis-based medicines in cancer patients.
Current colon cancer treatments are not only very toxic but also fail to prevent the progression of the disease in some patients. Disease incidence and mortality have not reduced using screening strategies for colon cancer.
Researchers have made progress in investigating cannabis as a treatment for breast and brain cancers considering its antiproliferative CB1 and CB2-mediated effects in colorectal cancer cells and action in experimental models of colon cancer. The study was partially funded through grants from GW Pharmaceuticals and lead by researchers from Italy and the UK.”
“A new clinical study published in the journal Pharmacology and by the National Institute of Health has found that cannabis is effective in treating Crohn’s disease, which is a form of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD)…
The study, entitled: “Cannabis Finds Its Way into Treatment of Crohn’s Disease” is co-authored by Rudolf Schicho, PhD and M. Storr, both of the Institute of Experimental and Clinical Pharmacology, Medical University of Graz in Graz, Austria.
In the study abstract, Schicho and Storr note that In ancient medicine, cannabis was widely used to treat and cure bowel disturbances and inflammation, and a recent clinical study now shows that the medicinal herb Cannabis sativa lived up to expectations and proved to be highly efficient in cases of inflammatory bowel diseases.”
“Cannabis sativa L. has been utilized for treatment of pain and sleep disorders since ancient times.
This review examines modern studies on effects of Delta9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD) on sleep. It goes on to report new information on the effects on sleep in the context of medical treatment of neuropathic pain and symptoms of multiple sclerosis, employing standardized oromucosal cannabis-based medicines containing primarily THC, CBD, or a 1 : 1 combination of the two (Sativex).
Sleep-laboratory results indicate a mild activating effect of CBD, and slight residual sedation with THC-predominant extracts. Experience to date with Sativex in numerous Phase I-III studies in 2000 subjects with 1000 patient years of exposure demonstrate marked improvement in subjective sleep parameters in patients with a wide variety of pain conditions including multiple sclerosis, peripheral neuropathic pain, intractable cancer pain, and rheumatoid arthritis, with an acceptable adverse event profile.
No tolerance to the benefit of Sativex on pain or sleep, nor need for dosage increases have been noted in safety extension studies of up to four years, wherein 40-50% of subjects attained good or very good sleep quality, a key source of disability in chronic pain syndromes that may contribute to patients’ quality of life.”
“For centuries Cannabis sativa and cannabis extracts have been used in natural medicine.
Delta(9)-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is the main active ingredient of Cannabis. THC seems to be responsible for most of the pharmacological and therapeutic actions of cannabis.
In a few countries THC extracts (i.e. Sativex) or THC derivatives such as nabilone, and dronabinol are used in the clinic for the treatment of several pathological conditions like chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting, multiple sclerosis and glaucoma.
Over recent years, alternative approaches using synthetic cannabinoid receptor agonists or agents acting as activators of the endocannabinoid systems are under scrutiny with the hope to develop more effective and safer clinical applications.
The present article review recent study and patents with focus on the cannabinoid system as a target for the treatment of central nervous system disorders with emphasis on agonists.”
“Marijuana’s primary side-effect as a medicine — memory loss — may soon become all but forgotten.
In a stunningly simple turn, investigators found that a simple over-the-counter painkiller, such as ibuprofen, blocks memory loss from the drug’s active ingredient, delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). The drug combination may also prevent neurological damage from Alzheimer’s Disease, opening possibilities too for the treatment of a variety of other diseases and conditions.
Nearly five millennia into the history of medical marijuana, investigators from Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center say they’ve found a way to strip marijuana’s most deleterious side effect. The discovery may prompt U.S. regulators to soon approve marijuana-based treatments for ailments beyond nausea and vomiting in chemotherapy patients.”