“Despite the widespread use of polypharmacy, the management of hepatitis C virus (HCV) treatment-related side-effects is often incomplete, and many patients turn to cannabis for symptom relief.
Our results suggest that modest cannabis use may offer symptomatic and virological benefit to some patients undergoing HCV treatment by helping them maintain adherence to the challenging medication regimen.”
“Diabetes and insulin resistance (IR) is common in human immunodeficiency virus-hepatitis C virus (HIV-HCV)-coinfected patients…
Cannabis has been associated with reduced IR risk in some population-based surveys.
We determined whether cannabis use was consistently associated with reduced IR risk in HEPAVIH, a French nationwide cohort of HIV-HCV-coinfected patients…
Cannabis use is associated with a lower IR risk in HIV-HCV-coinfected patients.
The benefits of cannabis-based pharmacotherapies for patients concerned with increased risk of IR and diabetes need to be evaluated in clinical research and practice.”
“Direct acting antivirals have significantly improved treatment outcomes in chronic hepatitis C (CHC), but side effects, drug resistance and cost mean that better treatments are still needed.
Lipid metabolism is closely linked with hepatitis C virus (HCV) replication and endocannabinoids are major regulators of lipid homeostasis.
The cannabinoid 1 (CB1) receptor mediates these effects in the liver.
Here we investigated whether CB1 blockade inhibits HCV replication.
The antiviral effect of a CB1 antagonist, AM251 was examined…
Treatment with AM251 strongly inhibited HCV RNA (~70%), viral protein (~80%), the production of new virus particles (~70%), and virus infectivity (~90%)…
We suggest that CB1 antagonists may represent an entirely new class of drugs with activity against HCV.
“Immune-mediated liver diseases including autoimmune and viral hepatitis are a major health problem worldwide. Natural cannabinoids such as Delta(9)-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) effectively modulate immune cell function, and they have shown therapeutic potential in treating inflammatory diseases.
We investigated the effects of THC in a murine model of concanavalin A (ConA)-induced hepatitis…
Our data demonstrate that targeting cannabinoid receptors using exogenous or endogenous cannabinoids and use of FAAH inhibitors may constitute novel therapeutic modalities to treat immune-mediated liver inflammation.
δ-9-Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the major psychoactive component of marijuana (Cannabis sativa), has wide-ranging pharmacological properties. The cannabinoid compounds possess significant immunosuppressive and anti-inflammatory properties. THC and cannabinoid receptor agonists have shown promise in several models of inflammation.”
“Myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) are getting increased attention as one of the main regulatory cells of the immune system. They are induced at sites of inflammation and can potently suppress T cell functions. In the current study, we demonstrate how activation of TRPV1 vanilloid receptors can trigger MDSCs, which in turn, can inhibit inflammation and hepatitis…
This study demonstrates for the first time that MDSCs play a critical role in attenuating acute inflammation in the liver, and that agents such as CBD, which trigger MDSCs through activation of TRPV1 vanilloid receptors may constitute a novel therapeutic modality to treat inflammatory diseases.
Cannabidiol (CBD) is a major non-psychoactive cannabinoid component of marijuana.
Together, these studies not only demonstrate that CBD can protect the host from acute liver injury but also provide evidence for the first time that MDSCs may play a critical role in protecting the liver from acute inflammation.
Non-psychoactive cannabinoids such as CBD possess great therapeutic potential in treating various inflammatory liver diseases, including autoimmune hepatitis.”
“Endogenous cannabinoids [endocannabinoids] are lipid signaling molecules that have been shown to modulate immune functions..
Cannabinoids are compounds derived from the Cannabis sativa plant and exert many effects on the immune system. Cannabinoids have potential as therapeutic agents in several different disease conditions, including experimental autoimmune hepatitis, Multiple Sclerosis, and Graft vs. Host Disease…
This report suggested a role of the endogenous cannabinoid system in regulation of allergic inflammation.
These studies also suggest that endogenous cannabinoid system is one of the homeostatic mechanisms that the body employs to down-regulate immune response to foreign antigens as well as combat autoimmunity.
Targeting of this system could yield valuable therapeutics in the future.”
http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0093954
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“Cannabis was extensively used as a medicine throughout the developed world in the nineteenth century but went into decline early in the twentieth century ahead of its emergence as the most widely used illicit recreational drug later that century. Recent advances in cannabinoid pharmacology alongside the discovery of the endocannabinoid system (ECS) have re-ignited interest in cannabis-based medicines.
The ECS has emerged as an important physiological system and plausible target for new medicines. Its receptors and endogenous ligands play a vital modulatory role in diverse functions including immune response, food intake, cognition, emotion, perception, behavioural reinforcement, motor co-ordination, body temperature, wake/sleep cycle, bone formation and resorption, and various aspects of hormonal control. In disease it may act as part of the physiological response or as a component of the underlying pathology.
In the forefront of clinical research are the cannabinoids delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol and cannabidiol, and their contrasting pharmacology will be briefly outlined. The therapeutic potential and possible risks of drugs that inhibit the ECS will also be considered. This paper will then go on to review clinical research exploring the potential of cannabinoid medicines in the following indications: symptomatic relief in multiple sclerosis, chronic neuropathic pain, intractable nausea and vomiting, loss of appetite and weight in the context of cancer or AIDS, psychosis, epilepsy, addiction, and metabolic disorders.”
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24006213
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/dta.1529/abstract
“The term ‘endocannabinoid’ – originally coined in the mid-1990s after the discovery of membrane receptors for the psychoactive principle in Cannabis, Delta9-tetrahydrocannabinol and their endogenous ligands – now indicates a whole signalling system that comprises cannabinoid receptors, endogenous ligands and enzymes for ligand biosynthesis and inactivation. This system seems to be involved in an ever-increasing number of pathological conditions. With novel products already being aimed at the pharmaceutical market little more than a decade since the discovery of cannabinoid receptors, the endocannabinoid system seems to hold even more promise for the future development of therapeutic drugs. We explore the conditions under which the potential of targeting the endocannabinoid system might be realized in the years to come.” http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15340387
“Cannabis sativa is one of the oldest herbal remedies known to man. Over the past four thousand years, it has been used for the treatment of numerous diseases but due to its psychoactive properties, its current medicinal usage is highly restricted. In this review, we seek to highlight advances made over the last forty years in the understanding of the mechanisms responsible for the effects of cannabis on the human body and how these can potentially be utilized in clinical practice. During this time, the primary active ingredients in cannabis have been isolated, specific cannabinoid receptors have been discovered and at least five endogenous cannabinoid neurotransmitters (endocannabinoids) have been identified. Together, these form the framework of a complex endocannabinoid signalling system that has widespread distribution in the body and plays a role in regulating numerous physiological processes within the body. Cannabinoid ligands are therefore thought to display considerable therapeutic potential and the drive to develop compounds that can be targeted to specific neuronal systems at low enough doses so as to eliminate cognitive side effects remains the ‘holy grail’ of endocannabinoid research.”
“Hepatic fibrosis, the common response associated with chronic liver diseases, ultimately leads to cirrhosis, a major public health problem worldwide. We recently showed that activation of hepatic cannabinoid CB2 receptors limits progression of experimental liver fibrosis… In conclusion, our study shows that CB1 receptor antagonists hold promise for the treatment of liver fibrosis.”