“To systematically review all available evidence on efficacy and safety of cannabinoids for treating neurogenic lower urinary tract dysfunction (NLUTD) in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS).
“Cannabinoids are widely used to alleviate intractable symptoms such as pain, nausea, and muscle spasticity. The purpose of this review was to ascertain the current state of the science regarding use of cannabinoids for cancer pain.
Eight randomized control trials met the inclusion criteria for review. Most trials found analgesic effects from cannabinoids when compared to placebo, although not all associations reached statistical significance. The analgesic effects of cannabinoids were also limited by dose-dependent side effects. Side effects most commonly reported were changes in cognition, sedation, and dizziness.
There is evidence that cannabinoids are effective adjuvants for cancer pain not completely relieved by opioid therapy, but there is a dearth of high-quality studies to support a stronger conclusion. Cannabinoids appear to be safe in low and medium doses. Methodological limitations of the trials limited the ability to make sound conclusions. Further research is warranted before efficacy, safety, and utility of cannabinoids for cancer pain can be determined.”
“Anxiety and sleep disorders are often the result of posttraumatic stress disorder and can contribute to an impaired ability to focus and to demonstration of oppositional behaviors.
These symptoms were present in our patient, a ten-year-old girl who was sexually abused and had minimal parental supervision as a young child under the age of five. Pharmaceutical medications provided partial relief, but results were not long-lasting, and there were major side effects. A trial of cannabidiol oil resulted in a maintained decrease in anxiety and a steady improvement in the quality and quantity of the patient’s sleep.
Cannabidiol oil, an increasingly popular treatment of anxiety and sleep issues, has been documented as being an effective alternative to pharmaceutical medications. This case study provides clinical data that support the use of cannabidiol oil as a safe treatment for reducing anxiety and improving sleep in a young girl with posttraumatic stress disorder.”
“Phytocannabinoids present in Cannabis plants are well known to exert potent anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory effects.
Previously, we have demonstrated that the psychoactive D9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and the non-psychotropic cannabidiol (CBD) modulate mitogen-induced Th1-type immune responses in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC).
The suppressive effect of both cannabinoids on mitogen-induced tryptophan degradation mediated by indoleamine-2,3-dioxygenase (IDO), suggests an additional mechanism by which antidepressive effects of cannabinoids might be linked to the serotonergic system.
Here, we will review the role of tryptophan metabolism in the course of cell mediated immune responses and the relevance of cannabinoids in serotonergic signaling.
We conclude that in particular the non-psychotropic CBD might be useful for the treatment of mood disorders in patients with inflammatory diseases, since this cannabinoid seems to be safe and its effects on activation-induced tryptophan degradation by CBD were more potent as compared to THC.”
“A single case report on cannabinoid treatment for treatment-resistant Tourette syndrome (TS).
Our subject received 10.8 mg Tetrahydocannabinol and 10 mg cannabidiol daily, in the form of two oro-mucosal sprays of ‘Sativex®‘, twice daily. Assessment was pre-treatment and at week one, two, and four during treatment. He completed the Yale Global Tic Severity Scale as a subjective measure, and was videoed at each stage. The videos were objectively rated by two assessors, blind to the stage of treatment, using the Original Rush Videotape Rating Scale.
Both subjective and objective measures demonstrated marked improvement in the frequency and severity of motor and vocal tics post-treatment. There was good interrater reliability of results.
Our results support previous research suggesting that cannabinoids are a safe and effective treatment for TS and should be considered in treatment-resistant cases.
Further studies are needed to substantiate our findings.”
“Cyanobacteria find several applications in pharmacology as potential candidates for drug design. The need for new compounds that can be used as drugs has always been on the rise in therapeutics. Cyanobacteria have been identified as promising targets of research in the quest for new pharmaceutical compounds as they can produce secondary metabolites with novel chemical structures. Cyanobacteria is now recognized as a vital source of bioactive molecules like Curacin A, Largazole and Apratoxin which have succeeded in reaching Phase II and Phase III into clinical trials.
The discovery of several new clinical cannabinoid drugs in the past decade from diverse marine life should translate into a number of new drugs for cannabinoid in the years to come. Conventional cannabinoid drugs have high toxicity and as a result, they affect the efficacy of chemotherapy and patients’ life very much. The present review focuses on how potential, safe and affordable drugs used for cannabinoid treatment could be developed from cyanobacteria.”
“A Double Blind, Randomized, Cross Over, Placebo Controlled Phase 2 Clinical Trial to Asses Neuroprotection by Cannabinoids in Huntington’s Disease.”
“Huntington’s disease (HD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder, related to an abnormal expansion of CAG triplets in the huntingtin gene, characterized by motor, cognitive and behavioral abnormalities, without known effective symptomatic treatment and without known disease slowing strategy. The most severe neuropathological lesions observed in HD take place in the striatum, one brain area important in motor control and rich in cannabinoid receptors (CBR). CBR are subdivided in two classes: CB1R are located in neurons and play a role in neuronal function; CB2R in brain are located mostly in microglia and modulate neuroinflammation.
CBR disappear early in the course of HD, before there is a massive drop out of cells in the striatum. Cannabinoid transmission is also an early event in brains of animal models of HD. In R6/2 mice, which carry large CAG expansions and develop an early and severe HD phenotype the suppression of the CB1R gene further accelerate the development of a severe clinical syndrome and the characteristic brain inclusions and abnormalities of synaptic density. R6/2 treated mice treated with cannabinoids improve their clinical phenotype, their brain lesions, the synaptic density and the levels of BNDF, a neurotrophic factor which enhances survival and resistance of striatal neurons.
Preliminary studies of cannabinoids in patients with HD have shown that these compounds are safe in these patients.”
“The approval of 9-δ-tetrahydocannabinol and cannabidiol (THC:CBD) oromucosal spray (Sativex) for the management of treatment-resistant multiple sclerosis (MS) spasticity opened a new opportunity for many patients.
The aim of our study was to describe Sativex effectiveness and adverse events profile in a large population of Italian patients with MS in the daily practice setting.
Sativex can be a useful and safe option for patients with MS with moderate to severe spasticity resistant to common antispastic drugs.”
“Panic disorder (PD) is a disabling psychiatry condition that affects approximately 5% of the worldwide population. Currently, long-term selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are the first-line treatment for PD; however, the common side-effect profiles and drug interactions may provoke patients to abandon the treatment, leading to PD symptoms relapse.
Cannabidiol (CBD) is the major non-psychotomimetic constituent of the Cannabis sativa plant with anti-anxiety properties that has been suggested as an alternative for treating anxiety disorders.
In the present chapter, we included both experimental laboratory animal and human studies that have investigated the putative anti-panic properties of CBD.
Taken together, the studies assessed in the present chapter clearly suggest an anxiolytic-like effect of CBD in both animal models and healthy volunteers.
Novel clinical trials involving patients with the PD diagnosis, however, are clearly needed to clarify the specific mechanism of action of CBD and the safe and ideal therapeutic doses of this compound.”
“Acne is a common skin disease characterized by elevated sebum production and inflammation of the sebaceous glands.
We have previously shown that a non-psychotropic phytocannabinoid ((-)-cannabidiol [CBD]) exerted complex anti-acne effects by normalizing “pro-acne agents”-induced excessive sebaceous lipid production, reducing proliferation and alleviating inflammation in human SZ95 sebocytes.
Therefore, in the current study we aimed to explore the putative anti-acne effects of further non-psychotropic phytocannabinoids ((-)-cannabichromene [CBC], (-)-cannabidivarin [CBDV], (-)-cannabigerol [CBG], (-)-cannabigerovarin [CBGV] and (-)-Δ9 -tetrahydrocannabivarin [THCV]).
Viability and proliferation of human SZ95 sebocytes were investigated by MTT- and CyQUANT-assays; cell death and lipid synthesis were monitored by DilC1 (5)-SYTOX Green labelling and Nile Red staining, respectively. Inflammatory responses were investigated by monitoring expressions of selected cytokines upon lipopolysaccharide treatment (RT-qPCR, ELISA). Up to 10 μM, the phytocannabinoids only negligibly altered viability of the sebocytes, whereas high doses (≥50 μM) induced apoptosis.
Interestingly, basal sebaceous lipid synthesis was differentially modulated by the substances: CBC and THCV suppressed it, CBDV had only minor effects, whereas CBG and CBGV increased it.
Importantly, CBC, CBDV and THCV significantly reduced arachidonic acid (AA)-induced “acne-like” lipogenesis.
Moreover, THCV suppressed proliferation, and all phytocannabinoids exerted remarkable anti-inflammatory actions.
Our data suggest that CBG and CBGV may have potential in the treatment of dry-skin syndrome, whereas CBC, CBDV and especially THCV show promise to become highly efficient, novel anti-acne agents.
Moreover, based on their remarkable anti-inflammatory actions, phytocannabinoids could be efficient, yet safe novel tools in the management of cutaneous inflammations.”