Tag Archives: treatment

Cannabis Essential Oil: A Preliminary Study for the Evaluation of the Brain Effects.

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“We examined the effects of essential oil from legal (THC <0.2% w/v) hemp variety on the nervous system in 5 healthy volunteers. GC/EIMS and GC/FID analysis of the EO showed that the main components were myrcene and β-caryophyllene.

The experiment consisted of measuring autonomic nervous system (ANS) parameters; evaluations of the mood state; and electroencephalography (EEG) recording before treatment, during treatment, and after hemp inhalation periods as compared with control conditions. The results revealed decreased diastolic blood pressure, increased heart rate, and significant increased skin temperature.

The subjects described themselves as more energetic, relaxed, and calm.

The analysis EEG showed a significant increase in the mean frequency of alpha (8-13 Hz) and significant decreased mean frequency and relative power of beta 2 (18,5-30 Hz) waves. Moreover, an increased power, relative power, and amplitude of theta (4-8 Hz) and alpha brain waves activities and an increment in the delta wave (0,5-4 Hz) power and relative power was recorded in the posterior region of the brain.

These results suggest that the brain wave activity and ANS are affected by the inhalation of the EO of Cannabis sativa suggesting a neuromodular activity in cases of stress, depression, and anxiety.”

 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29576792
https://www.hindawi.com/journals/ecam/2018/1709182/

Joint problems arising from lack of repair mechanisms: can cannabinoids help?

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British Journal of Pharmacology banner

“Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common disease of joints, which are complex organs where cartilage, bone and synovium cooperate to allow the range of movements. During the disease progression, the function of all three main components is jeopardized. Nevertheless, the involvement of each tissue in OA development is still not established and is the topic of the present review. The available OA therapies are symptomatic, largely targeting pain management rather than disease progression. The strong need to develop a treatment for cartilage degeneration, bone deformation and synovial inflammation has led to research on the involvement of the endocannabinoid system in the development of OA. The current review discusses the research on this topic to date and notes the advantages of exploiting endocannabinoid system modulation for cartilage, bone and synovium homeostasis, which could prevent the further progression of OA.”

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29574720

https://bpspubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/bph.14204

“We provide experimental evidence to show that activation of the cannabinoid system enhances the survival, migration and chondrogenic differentiation of MSCs, which are three major tenets behind the success of a cell-based tissue-engineered cartilage repair strategy. These findings highlight the potential for cannabinoids to provide a dual function by acting as anti-inflammatory agents as well as regulators of MSC biology in order to enhance tissue engineering strategies aimed at cartilage repair.”

 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27713386

Cannabidiol exerts antiepileptic effects by restoring hippocampal interneuron functions in a temporal lobe epilepsy model.

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British Journal of Pharmacology banner

“A non-psychoactive phytocannabinoid, cannabidiol (CBD), shows promising results as an effective potential antiepileptic drug in some forms of refractory epilepsy.

In an attempt to understand the mechanisms by which CBD exerts its anti-seizure effects, we investigated the effects of CBD at synaptic connections, and the intrinsic membrane properties of hippocampal CA1 pyramidal cells and two major inhibitory interneurons: fast spiking, parvalbumin -expressing (PV) and adapting, cholecystokinin-expressing (CCK) interneurons.

CONCLUSIONS & IMPLICATIONS:

In conclusion, our data suggest CBD restores excitability and morphological impairment in epileptic models to pre-epilepsy control levels through multiple mechanisms to restore normal network function.”

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29574880

https://bpspubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/bph.14202

Cannabidiol Reverses Deficits in Hippocampal LTP in a Model of Alzheimer’s Disease.

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Neurochemical Research

“Here we demonstrate for the first time that cannabidiol (CBD) acts to protect synaptic plasticity in an in vitro model of Alzheimer’s disease (AD).

The non-psycho active component of Cannabis sativa, CBD has previously been shown to protect against the neurotoxic effects of beta amyloid peptide (Aβ) in cell culture and cognitive behavioural models of neurodegeneration. Hippocampal long-term potentiation (LTP) is an activity dependent increase in synaptic efficacy often used to study cellular mechanisms related to memory.

Here we show that acute application of soluble oligomeric beta amyloid peptide (Aβ1-42) associated with AD, attenuates LTP in the CA1 region of hippocampal slices from C57Bl/6 mice. Application of CBD alone did not alter LTP, however pre-treatment of slices with CBD rescued the Aβ1-42 mediated deficit in LTP.

We found that the neuroprotective effects of CBD were not reversed by WAY100635, ZM241385 or AM251, demonstrating a lack of involvement of 5HT1A, adenosine (A2A) or Cannabinoid type 1 (CB1) receptors respectively. However in the presence of the PPARγ antagonist GW9662 the neuroprotective effect of CBD was prevented.

Our data suggests that this major component of Cannabis sativa, which lacks psychoactivity may have therapeutic potential for the treatment of AD”

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29574668

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs11064-018-2513-z

Unique treatment potential of cannabidiol for the prevention of relapse to drug use: preclinical proof of principle

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“Cannabidiol (CBD), the major non-psychoactive constituent of Cannabis sativa, has received attention for therapeutic potential in treating neurologic and psychiatric disorders.

Recently, CBD has also been explored for potential in treating drug addiction. Substance use disorders are chronically relapsing conditions and relapse risk persists for multiple reasons including craving induced by drug contexts, susceptibility to stress, elevated anxiety, and impaired impulse control. Here, we evaluated the “anti-relapse” potential of a transdermal CBD preparation in animal models of drug seeking, anxiety and impulsivity.

Rats with alcohol or cocaine self-administration histories received transdermal CBD at 24 h intervals for 7 days and were tested for context and stress-induced reinstatement, as well as experimental anxiety on the elevated plus maze. Effects on impulsive behavior were established using a delay-discounting task following recovery from a 7-day dependence-inducing alcohol intoxication regimen.

CBD attenuated context-induced and stress-induced drug seeking without tolerance, sedative effects, or interference with normal motivated behavior. Following treatment termination, reinstatement remained attenuated up to ≈5 months although plasma and brain CBD levels remained detectable only for 3 days. CBD also reduced experimental anxiety and prevented the development of high impulsivity in rats with an alcohol dependence history.

The results provide proof of principle supporting potential of CBD in relapse prevention along two dimensions CBD: beneficial actions across several vulnerability states, and long-lasting effects with only brief treatment. The findings also inform the ongoing medical marijuana debate concerning medical benefits of non-psychoactive cannabinoids and their promise for development and use as therapeutics.”

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41386-018-0050-8

“Non-psychoactive cannabis ingredient could help addicts stay clean. Preclinical study using rats shows that Cannabidiol can reduce the risk of relapse”  https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/03/180323104821.htm

“Non-psychoactive cannabis ingredient could reduce risk of relapse among recovering addicts. A preclinical study in rats has shown that there might be value in using a non-psychoactive and non-addictive ingredient of the Cannabis sativa plant to reduce the risk of relapse among recovering drug and alcohol addicts.”  https://www.news-medical.net/news/20180323/Non-psychoactive-cannabis-ingredient-could-reduce-risk-of-relapse-among-recovering-addicts.aspx

“Non-psychoactive cannabis ingredient could help addicts stay clean”  https://www.springer.com/gp/about-springer/media/research-news/all-english-research-news/non-psychoactive-cannabis-ingredient-could-help-addicts-stay-clean/15548156

“Non-psychoactive cannabinoid may enable drug addiction recovery”  https://www.drugabuse.gov/news-events/news-releases/2018/03/non-psychoactive-cannabinoid-may-enable-drug-addiction-recovery

Cannabinoids for Treatment of Dystonia in Huntington’s Disease.

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“Motor symptoms in Huntington’s disease (HD) are heterogeneous with dystonia being described as a symptom with a very high prevalence not only in juvenile cases.

OBJECTIVE:

Treatment options for dystonia are limited. Cannabinoids have been described as a potential treatment for patients with dystonia of a different origin. Here, we present early onset HD patients with a marked improvement of motor symptoms mainly due to alleviation of dystonia due to treatment with cannabinoids. In addition we review the current literature concerning the use of cannabinoids in HD.

CONCLUSION:

Improvement of motor symptoms, mainly dystonia, led to several relevant improvements from a global clinical perspective such as improvement of care, gait and fine motor skills and weight gain. Moreover, we observed changes in behavior with less irritability and apathy, as well as less hypersalivation in some cases.”

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29562549

https://content.iospress.com/articles/journal-of-huntingtons-disease/jhd170283

Medical cannabis in the treatment of cancer pain and spastic conditions and options of drug delivery in clinical practice.

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“The use of cannabis for medical purposes has been recently legalised in many countries including the Czech Republic. As a result, there is increased interest on the part of physicians and patients in many aspects of its application. This mini review briefly covers the main active substances of the cannabis plant and mechanisms of action. It focuses on two conditions, cancer pain and spasticity in multiple sclerosis, where its effects are well-documented. A comprehensive overview of a few cannabis-based products and the basic pharmacokinetics of marijuana’s constituents follows. The review concludes with an outline for preparing cannabis (dried inflorescence) containing drug dosage forms that can be produced in a hospital pharmacy.”

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29560966
http://biomed.papers.upol.cz/corproof.php?tartkey=bio-000000-1718

Anti-invasion Effects of Cannabinoids Agonist and Antagonist on Human Breast Cancer Stem Cells.

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“Studies show that cancer cell invasion or metastasis is the primary cause of death in malignancies including breast cancer.

The existence of cancer stem cells (CSCs) in breast cancer may account for tumor initiation, progression, and metastasis.

Recent studies have reported different effects of cannabinoids on cancer cells via CB1 and CB2 cannabinoid receptors.

In the present study, the effects of ACEA (a selective CB1 receptor agonist) and AM251 (a selective CB1 antagonist) on CSCs and their parental cells were investigated.

It was observed that ACEA decreased CD44+/CD24-/low/ESA+ cancer stem cell invasiveness.

Since one of the main cancer recurrence factors is anti-cancer drugs fail to inhibit CSC population, this observation would be useful for cancer treatment.”

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29552056

“Our results indicate that cannabinoids may interfere with invasive cancer stem cells in benefit of cancer eradication. In summary, our results clarified that cannabinoid receptor agonist possesses anti-invasion potential in both main population and breast cancer stem cells. Considering that most anti-cancer drugs do not eradicate stem cells and only target main population cells, the results disclosed here can be used for prevention of cancer recurrence.” https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5843309/

Pharmacological characterization of the cannabinoid receptor 2 agonist, β-caryophyllene on seizure models in mice.

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Seizure - European Journal of Epilepsy Home

“Activation of CB1 receptors, produces anticonvulsant effect accompanied by memory disturbance both in animal seizure tests and in patients with epilepsy.

Few reports considered the role of CB2 receptor on seizure susceptibility and cognitive functions. The aim of the present study was to explore the effect of a selective CB2 receptor agonist β-caryophyllene (BCP) in models of seizures and cognition in mice.

CONCLUSION:

Our results suggest that the CB2 receptor agonists might be clinically useful as an adjunct treatment against seizure spread and status epilepticus and concomitant oxidative stress, neurotoxicity and cognitive impairments.”

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29547827

http://www.seizure-journal.com/article/S1059-1311(17)30611-8/fulltext

“β-caryophyllene (BCP) is a common constitute of the essential oils of numerous spice, food plants and major component in Cannabis.”  http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23138934

Cannabinoid Receptors, Mental Pain and Suicidal Behavior: a Systematic Review.

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Current Psychiatry Reports

“The current serotonin-based biological model of suicidal behavior (SB) may be too simplistic. There is emerging evidence that other biomarkers and biological systems may be involved in SB pathophysiology. The literature on the endocannabinoid (EC) systems and SB is limited. The objective of the present article is to review all available information on the relationship between cannabinoid receptors (CB1 and CB2 receptors), and SB and/or psychological pain.

RECENT FINDINGS:

Our review is limited by the small number and heterogeneity of studies identified: (1) an autopsy study describing elevated levels of CB1 receptor activity in the prefrontal cortex and suicide in both depression and alcoholism and (2) studies supporting the involvement of both CB1 and CB2 receptors in the regulation of neuropathic pain and stress-induced analgesia. We conclude that cannabinoid receptors, particularly CB1 receptors, may become promising targets for the development of novel therapeutic tools for the treatment of SB.”

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29546501

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs11920-018-0880-4