Tag Archives: medicine

Marijuana Rivals Mainstream Drugs For HIV/AIDS Symptoms – MedicalNewsToday

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“Those in the United States living with HIV/AIDS are more likely to use marijuana than those in Kenya, South Africa or Puerto Rica to alleviate their symptoms, according to a new study published in Clinical Nursing Research, published by SAGE. Those who did use marijuana rate it as effective as prescribed or over the counter (OTC) medicines for the majority of common symptoms, once again raising the issue that therapeutic marijuana use merits further study and consideration among policy makers.”

More: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/151972.php

Human Immunodeficiency Virus In Late-Stage AIDS Inhibited By Marijuana-Like Chemicals – MedicalNewsToday

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“Mount Sinai School of Medicine researchers have discovered that marijuana-like chemicals trigger receptors on human immune cells that can directly inhibit a type of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) found in late-stage AIDS, according to new findings published online in the journal PLoS ONE.

Medical marijuana is prescribed to treat pain, debilitating weight loss and appetite suppression, side effects that are common in advanced AIDS. This is the first study to reveal how the marijuana receptors found on immune cells – called cannabinoid receptors CB1 and CB2 – can influence the spread of the virus. Understanding the effect of these receptors on the virus could help scientists develop new drugs to slow the progression of AIDS.

“We knew that cannabinoid drugs like marijuana can have a therapeutic effect in AIDS patients, but did not understand how they influence the spread of the virus itself,” said study author Cristina Costantino, PhD, Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Pharmacology and Systems Therapeutics at Mount Sinai School of Medicine. “We wanted to explore cannabinoid receptors as a target for pharmaceutical interventions that treat the symptoms of late-stage AIDS and prevent further progression of the disease without the undesirable side effects of medical marijuana.”

HIV infects active immune cells that carry the viral receptor CD4, which makes these cells unable to fight off the infection. In order to spread, the virus requires that “resting” immune cells be activated. In advanced AIDS, HIV mutates so it can infect these resting cells, gaining entry into the cell by using a signaling receptor called CXCR4. By treating the cells with a cannabinoid agonist that triggers CB2, Dr. Costantino and the Mount Sinai team found that CB2 blocked the signaling process, and suppressed infection in resting immune cells.

Triggering CB1 causes the drug high associated with marijuana, making it undesirable for physicians to prescribe. The researchers wanted to explore therapies that would target CB2 only. The Mount Sinai team infected healthy immune cells with HIV, then treated them with a chemical that triggers CB2 called an agonist. They found that the drug reduced the infection of the remaining cells.

“Developing a drug that triggers only CB2 as an adjunctive treatment to standard antiviral medication may help alleviate the symptoms of late-stage AIDS and prevent the virus from spreading,” said Dr. Costantino. Because HIV does not use CXCR4 to enhance immune cell infection in the early stages of infection, CB2 agonists appear to be an effective antiviral drug only in late-stage disease.

As a result of this discovery, the research team led by Benjamin Chen, MD, PhD, Associate Professor of Infectious Diseases, and Lakshmi Devi, PhD, Professor of Pharmacology and Systems Therapeutics at Mount Sinai School of Medicine, plans to develop a mouse model of late-stage AIDS in order to test the efficacy of a drug that triggers CB2 in vivo. In 2009 Dr. Chen was part of a team that captured on video for the first time the transfer of HIV from infected T-cells to uninfected T-cells.”

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/243183.php

Synthetic derivatives of THC may weaken HIV-1 infection to enhance antiviral therapies – MedicalXpress

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“A new use for compounds related in composition to the active ingredient in marijuana may be on the horizon: a new research report published in the Journal of Leukocyte Biology shows that compounds that stimulate the cannabinoid type 2 (CB2) receptor in white blood cells, specifically macrophages, appear to weaken HIV-1 infection. The CB2 receptor is the molecular link through which the pharmaceutical properties of cannabis are manifested. Diminishing HIV-1 infection in this manner might make current anti-viral therapies more effective and provide some protection against certain HIV-1 complications.

“The synthetic compounds we used in our study may show promise in helping the body fight HIV-1 infection,'” said Yuri Persidsky, M.D., Ph.D., a researcher involved in the work from the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at Temple University School of Medicine in Philadelphia, PA. “As compounds like these are improved further and made widely available, we will continue to explore their potential to fight other viral diseases that are notoriously difficult to treat.”

To make this discovery, scientists used a cell culture model to infect human macrophages with HIV-1 and added synthetic compounds similar to the active ingredient in marijuana to activate the CB2 receptor. At different times during the infection, samples from the culture were taken to see if the replication of the HIV virus was decreased. The researchers observed diminished HIV growth and a possible protective effect from some HIV-1 complications.

“HIV/AIDS has posed one of the most significant health challenges in modern medicine,” said John Wherry, Ph.D., Deputy Editor of the Journal of Leukocyte Biology. “Recent high profile vaccine failures mean that all options need to be on the table to prevent or treat this devastating infection. Research on the role of cannabinoid type 2 receptors and viral infection may one day allow targeting these receptors to be part of combination therapies that use exploit multiple weaknesses of the virus simultaneously.””

http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-synthetic-derivatives-thc-weaken-hiv-.html

Forbidden Medicine – WebMD

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“Laws and medicine clash over medicinal marijuana use. If it weren’t for his few daily tokes from marijuana cigarettes, Kiyoshi Kuromiya believes he would no longer be alive.The Philadelphia AIDS patient and activist had lost 40 pounds over a four-month period and spent most days nauseated before he began smoking pot in 1995 to boost an appetite suppressed by his disease.”Marijuana saved my life,” says Kuromiya, 57, who was diagnosed with AIDS in 1988. “It’s a great irony to me that I can buy cigarettes, which will kill me, anywhere. But marijuana, which has kept me breathing, is illegal.”Kuromiya and others with debilitating ailments have long argued that marijuana should be legally available when standard medical treatment can’t relieve a patient’s suffering and pain.”

More: http://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/features/forbidden-medicine

‘Milestone’ epilepsy drug based on cannabis

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A collaboration between a UK research team and international medicine manufacturers may lead to a ‘milestone’ treatment for epilepsy. This treatment appears more bearable than current epilepsy medicines – and is based on cannabis.

A research team at the University of Reading performed the research, which was recently published in The British Journal of Pharmacology. Their research explored the use of cannibidivarin – a natural chemical called a ‘cannabinoid’ from the cannabis plant.

Cannibidivarin does not have psychoactive properties (anyone taking a drug based on this chemical will not feel ‘high’ as a result). It appears to reduce seizure frequency in laboratory animals with epilepsy and has fewer side-effects than traditional epilepsy medicines. The new drug can also be safely combined with regular medications.

Lead study author, Dr Ben Whalley, said: “This is an enormously exciting milestone in our investigations into non-psychoactive elements of cannabis as treatments for epilepsy. Our work has highlighted the potential for a solution based on cannabinoid science. It has shown that cannabidivarin is the most effective and best tolerated anticonvulsant plant cannabinoid investigated to date.””

More: http://www.epilepsy.org.uk/news/news/%E2%80%98milestone%E2%80%99-epilepsy-drug-based-cannabis

Medical Marijuana Looked Like This In The 19th Century

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“Well before the start of Marijuana’s official prohibition (1937!), the bountiful health benefits of Cannabis were apparent to those with any sense. Especially Doctors and Indians and Indian Doctors. Doctors and Indians in the 19th century loved to use weed–and all drugs–as part of their magical cures.”

Weed - Medical Marijuana Looked Like This In The 19th Century

“Based on the images shared by io9, the buds powers has deep roots, it’s one of an assortment of hazardous drugs used as medicine in the pre-Dabistoric days. These ones of “weed” in medical, liquid form stood out as just more, ancient proof that Marijuana is simply Medicine.”

More: http://www.marijuana.com/news/2013/05/medical-marijuana-looked-like-this-in-the-19th-century/

Marijuana tied to better blood sugar control – NBC

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“People who had used marijuana in the past month had smaller waists and lower levels of insulin resistance – a diabetes precursor – than those who never tried the drug, in a new study.

The findings, based on surveys and blood tests of about 4,700 U.S. adults, aren’t enough to prove marijuana keeps users thin or wards off disease. And among current pot smokers, higher amounts of marijuana use weren’t linked to any added health benefits, researchers reported in The American Journal of Medicine.

“These are preliminary findings,” said Dr. Murray Mittleman, who worked on the study at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston.

“It looks like there may be some favorable effects on blood sugar control, however a lot more needs to be done to have definitive answers on the risks and potential benefits of marijuana usage.”

Although pot smoking is a well-known cause of “the munchies,” some previous studies have found marijuana users tend to weigh less than other people, and one suggested they have a lower rate of diabetes. Trials in mice and rats hint that cannabis and cannabinoid receptors may influence metabolism.”

More: http://www.nbcnews.com/id/51981899

New study suggests marijuana prevents diabetes

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“A provocative study comes right as Massachusetts begins a new medical marijuana law. The theory? Using pot could lower your risk of diabetes.

We’ve all heard about “the munchies,” that urge to eat more when under the influence of marijuana.

But a new study published by the American Journal of Medicine finds despite the habit among recreational pot users to take in more calories, it doesn’t lead to weight gain. And the benefits of marijuana don’t end there.

“What we saw was that people who were current users of marijuana had improved sensitivity to insulin compared to non-users, they had better good cholesterol, and reduced waist circumference,” said Dr. Murray Mittleman, lead author and researcher at Harvard Medical School.

The research included more than 4,600 men and women participating in a national nutrition survey in the last decade. Marijuana users maintained more normal blood sugar levels compared to non-users, which meant their bodies were regulating insulin well. That puts them at a lower diabetes risk.

“When somebody smokes marijuana there are a variety of compounds that are present in marijuana, some of which may partially block some of the receptors as well as stimulate others, which is why people use it presumably,” said Mittleman.

Blocking certain receptors could be what’s behind the health benefits found in the study. Researchers say the findings point to the importance of more marijuana research.

“We just had the medical marijuana passed here in Massachusetts. But two states now have recreational use approved and we really are opening up the doors to the use of this drug. Yet we don’t have the information that we need to make sensible recommendations,” said Mittleman.

As for the latest findings, could marijuana be the next diabetes drug?”

http://www.wcvb.com/news/investigative/new-study-suggests-marijuana-prevents-diabetes/-/12520878/20364894/-/bu6cmu/-/index.html

Marijuana Blood Sugar: Can Pot Help Curb Diabetes?

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“Can marijuana use lower one’s risk of developing diabetes through controlling blood sugar levels? The answer is yes, according to a recently released study published in the American Journal of Medicine.
 
The research, which was conducted between 2005 and 2010 and included more than 4,600 men and women in a National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, found that compounds in cannabis could help to control blood sugar levels.
 

Despite its reputation for increasing one’s appetite, three prior studies have also shown that pot use often leads to a reduced chance of becoming obese, resulting in a lower body-mass-index and less of a chance of developing diabetes, notes Time.”

 

Study: Smoking Marijuana Linked to Lower Diabetes Risk

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 “You may have heard that marijuana smokers get hungry after using the drug, and the authors of a new study point out that marijuana users tend to take in more calories than their counterparts.But, their study found that pot smokers aren’t any more likely to be obese than non-smokers. 

Equally surprising, the researchers found marijuana may actually be a tool in controlling blood sugar — and may be key in helping diabetics keep their condition in check.

The new study, which was published on May 15 in The American Journal of Medicine, showed that regular marijuana use was linked to significantly lower levels of fasting insulin.

 Smokers were also less likely to be insulin resistant, a condition where the body’s cells no longer respond to a hormone that controls carbohydrates and fat metabolism called insulin. High levels of fasting insulin and insulin resistance could lead to diabetes.”

More: http://www.wltx.com/news/health/article/236973/291/Study-Smoking-Marijuana-Linked-to-Lower-Diabetes-Risk-