Preliminary, Open-Label, Pilot Study of Add-On Oral Δ9-Tetrahydrocannabinol in Chronic Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.

Posted on June 24, 2014 by David

“Marijuana is often used as compassion add-on therapy for treatment-resistant PTSD.

This open-label study evaluates the tolerance and safety of orally absorbable Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) for chronic PTSD.

RESULTS:

There were mild adverse effects in three patients, none of which led to treatment discontinuation. The intervention caused a statistically significant improvement in global symptom severity, sleep quality, frequency of nightmares, and PTSD hyperarousal symptoms.

CONCLUSIONS:

Orally absorbable Δ9-THC was safe and well tolerated by patients with chronic PTSD.”

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24935052

http://www.thctotalhealthcare.com/category/post-traumatic-stress-disorder-ptsd/

Cannabinoids Prevent the Effects of a Footshock Followed by Situational Reminders on Emotional Processing.

Posted on June 6, 2014 by David

“Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) can develop following exposure to a traumatic event. Hence, what we do in the first few hours after trauma exposure may alter the trajectory of PTSD. We examined whether cannabinoids can prevent the effects of a single footshock followed by situational reminders (SRs) on emotional processing…

Cannabinoids Prevent the Effects of a Footshock Followed by Situational Reminders on Emotional Processing.”

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24897957

The endocannabinoid system as a possible target to treat both the cognitive and emotional features of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Posted on August 21, 2013 by David

“Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a psychiatric disorder of significant prevalence and morbidity, whose pathogenesis relies on paradoxical changes of emotional memory processing. An ideal treatment would be a drug able to block the pathological over-consolidation and continuous retrieval of the traumatic event, while enhancing its extinction and reducing the anxiety symptoms. While the latter benefit from antidepressant medications, no drug is available to control the cognitive symptomatology. Endocannabinoids regulate affective states and participate in memory consolidation, retrieval, and extinction. Clinical findings showing a relationship between Cannabis use and PTSD, as well as changes in endocannabinoid activity in PTSD patients, further suggest the existence of a link between endocannabinoids and maladaptive brain changes after trauma exposure. Along these lines, we suggest that endocannabinoid degradation inhibitors may be an ideal therapeutic approach to simultaneously treat the emotional and cognitive features of PTSD, avoiding the unwanted psychotropic effects of compounds directly binding cannabinoid receptors.”

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23950739

THC Can Prevent Brain Damage – Study

Posted on June 3, 2013 by David

“Marijuana became popular as a recreational drug and as its legalization movement became more popular, studies were conducted on its therapeutic properties. Medical cannabis is often used by sufferers of chronic ailments, including cancer and post-traumatic stress disorder, to combat pain, insomnia, lack of appetite, and other symptoms. But self-reported milder symptoms often claim that only marijuana helps…

Prof. Yosef Sarne in the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology at Tel Aviv University says that the drug can go beyond symptoms – it also has neuroprotective qualities. He has found that extremely low doses of THC — the psychoactive component of marijuana — protects the brain from long-term cognitive damage in the wake of injury from hypoxia (lack of oxygen), seizures, or toxic drugs…

The use of THC can prevent long-term cognitive damage that results from brain injury, the researchers conclude…

According to Sarne, there are several practical benefits to this treatment plan. Due to the long therapeutic time window, this treatment can be used not only to treat injury after the fact, but also to prevent injury that might occur in the future. For example, cardiopulmonary heart-lung machines used in open heart surgery carry the risk of interrupting the blood supply to the brain, and the drug can be delivered beforehand as a preventive measure. In addition, the low dosage makes it safe for regular use in patients at constant risk of brain injury, such as epileptics or people at a high risk of heart attack.

Sarne is now working with Prof. Edith Hochhauser of the Rabin Medical Center to test the ability of low doses of THC to prevent damage to the heart. Preliminary results indicate that they will find the same protective phenomenon in relation to cardiac ischemia, in which the heart muscle receives insufficient blood flow.”

More: http://www.science20.com/news_articles/thc_can_prevent_brain_damage_study-113512

Marijuana May Help Fight Brain Damage

Posted on June 3, 2013 by David

“Marijuana may actually help protect the brain against injury, a new study suggests.”

marijuana, cannabis, drug, addiction, weed

“While marijuana is most commonly known as a recreational drug, an increasingly number of studies show that the plant has many therapeutic qualities like relieving pain, insomnia, lack of appetite and other symptoms associated with conditions like cancer and PTSD.

Now a new study reveals that very low doses of Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana, may protect the brain from long-term cognitive damage in the wake of injury from hypoxia, seizures or toxic drugs.”

More: http://www.counselheal.com/articles/5586/20130530/marijuana-help-fight-brain-damage.htm

Medical Cannabis Treatment for Cancer and HIV/AIDS ?

Posted on May 29, 2013 by David

“Benefits of Medical Cannabis”

“Today, there are at least 17 states, including the District of Colombia, where cannabis is legal. Ohio, South Carolina, Colorado, New Jersey, California, and Michigan are just a few states that garnered strong support in the legalization of medical cannabis. In Illinois, a bill legalizing the use of cannabis needed the signature of Gov Pat Quinn. The legislation was approved by House and Senate, permitting doctors to prescribe cannabis for cancer and patients with HIV/AIDS and other diseases…

There is now quantifiable evidence that cannabis is beneficial in treating many disorders…

Moreover, the Medical Cannabis Research and the University of California found out that cannabis can treat HIV/AIDS and multiple sclerosis symptoms. It can even benefit cancer patients to mitigate the unpleasant side effects of chemotherapy or as an alternative treatment for cervical cancer, breast cancer, prostate cancer, lung cancer, colorectal cancer, brain cancer, and leukemia.”

More: http://guardianlv.com/2013/05/medical-cannabis-treatment-for-cancer-and-hivaids/

Marijuana May Cure PTSD – NBC

Posted on May 27, 2013 by David

“Veterans suffering from post traumatic stress disorder may find help through marijuana.”

“Could cannabis cure PTSD?

Post-traumatic stress disorder, which can also affect civilians who undergo a traumatic episode, may be cured by using marijuana, according to an East Bay Express report.

A researcher at Yale University is conducting a long-term study with 120 people — veterans with “intractable cases of PTSD” — who he thinks can be cured of their dehabilitating condition with marijuana.

Most people suffering from PTSD go through a regimen of drugs or more-invasive “exposure therapy,” in which they dig as deeply as possible into their trauma for 12 weeks. Most drop out in Week 3, according to the report.

The theory of R. Andrew Sewell is that tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, one of the active ingredients in cannabis, can help the brain learn new information. This in turn helps people suffering from PTSD forget the old — as in bad — information.

This is called “extinction learning,” Sewell says. And such learning is made easier when a “switch” in the brain called CB1 is activated. It turns out cannabis is very good at activating the CB1 receptor.

“We’re talking about a cure,” said Sewell, who noted that after treatment, no drugs — not cannabis and not antidepressants — would be required.”

http://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/Marijuana-May-Cure-PTSD-208900021.html

Marijuana May Help Cure PTSD

Posted on May 27, 2013 by David

“A Yale associate professor of psychiatry is giving American veterans with intractable post traumatic stress disorder the main active ingredient in marijuana as part of search for a better PTSD cure.”

“Former chief resident in neuropsychiatry at the University of Massachusetts School of Medicine R. Andrew Sewell said PTSD and other anxiety disorders might hinge on a defect in brain cells that the marijuana molecule, “THC”, can help alleviate.

In addition to being part of a potential cure, marijuana (aka cannabis) is already being used for PTSD symptom management by thousands of veterans, said MAPS scientist Dr. Sue Sisley.

“Veterans use cannabis for two reasons, one it makes them less irritable, which is really socially destructive and also it helps them sleep. Cannabis is excellent for sleep, it is much better than alcohol.”

Still, the U.S. government maintains a research blockade on the 10,000 year-old medicinal botanical. For example, the D.E.A. has blocked MAPS from carrying out an FDA-approved study of smoked cannabis on veterans with PTSD.”

More: http://blog.sfgate.com/smellthetruth/2013/05/23/marijuana-may-help-cure-ptsd/

Cannabidiol blocks long-lasting behavioral consequences of predator threat stress: possible involvement of 5HT1A receptors.

Posted on January 15, 2013 by David

“Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is an incapacitating syndrome that follows a traumatic experience. Predator exposure promotes long-lasting anxiogenic effect in rodents, an effect related to symptoms found in PTSD patients. Cannabidiol (CBD) is a non-psychotomimetic component of Cannabis sativa with anxiolytic effects. The present study investigated the anti-anxiety actions of CBD administration in a model of PTSD…

Repeated administration of CBD prevented long-lasting anxiogenic effects promoted by a single predator exposure…

In conclusion, predator exposure promotes long-lasting up-regulation of 5HT1A receptor gene expression in the hippocampus and frontal cortex. Repeated CBD administration prevents the long-lasting anxiogenic effects observed after predator exposure probably by facilitating 5HT1A receptors neurotransmission.

Our results suggest that CBD has beneficial potential for PTSD treatment and that 5HT1A receptors could be a therapeutic target in this disorder.”

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22979992

Predator threat stress promotes long lasting anxiety-like behaviors and modulates synaptophysin and CB1 receptors expression in brain areas associated with PTSD symptoms.

Posted on January 15, 2013 by David

“Several studies have suggested that changes in hippocampal, prefrontal cortex and amygdaloid complex function are associated with the main symptoms of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Predator exposure can mimic some aspects of PSTD such as hyperarousal and chronic anxiety…

The present work evaluated whether the long lasting behavioral effects evoked by predator exposure are associated to long-term changes in the expression of the Cannabinoid receptor 1 (CB1) and the synaptic protein SYP in brain areas…

Our results suggested that predator exposure causes long-lasting anxiogenic effects associated with hyperactivation of amygdaloid complex and modulation of CB1 receptor in brain areas related to PTSD symptoms.”

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23178193