The Grass Might Be Greener: Medical Marijuana Patients Exhibit Altered Brain Activity and Improved Executive Function after 3 Months of Treatment.

Image result for frontiers in pharmacology

“The vast majority of states have enacted full or partial medical marijuana (MMJ) programs, causing the number of patients seeking certification for MMJ use to increase dramatically in recent years.

In the present study, MMJ patients seeking treatment for a variety of documented medical conditions were assessed prior to initiating MMJ treatment and after 3 months of treatment as part of a larger longitudinal study.

Following 3 months of treatment, MMJ patients demonstrated improved task performance accompanied by changes in brain activation patterns within the cingulate cortex and frontal regions.

Interestingly, after MMJ treatment, brain activation patterns appeared more similar to those exhibited by healthy controls from previous studies than at pre-treatment, suggestive of a potential normalization of brain function relative to baseline.

Moreover, patients in the current study also reported improvements in clinical state and health-related measures as well as notable decreases in prescription medication use, particularly opioids and benzodiapezines after 3 months of treatment.

Further research is needed to clarify the specific neurobiologic impact, clinical efficacy, and unique effects of MMJ for a range of indications and how it compares to recreational MJ use.”

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29387010

https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fphar.2017.00983/full

Adolescent cannabis use and brain systems supporting adult working memory encoding, maintenance, and retrieval

NeuroImage

“Given prior reports of adverse effects of cannabis use on working memory, an executive function with a protracted developmental course during adolescence, we examined associations between developmental patterns of cannabis use and adult working memory (WM) processes.

Within repeated cannabis users, greater levels of total cannabis use were associated with performance-related increases in dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) activation during maintenance.

Surprisingly, however, at the group level, cannabis users generally performed better than participants who reported never using cannabis (faster RT, higher accuracy).”

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29253654

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1053811917310637

“Why Pot Smokers Scored Higher Than Nonsmokers on This Memory Test. Among a sample of 28-year-olds who took a working-memory test while undergoing an MRI brain scan, individuals who started smoking marijuana in adolescence performed just as well or even better than individuals who never smoked cannabis, the study found.” https://www.livescience.com/61574-adolescent-cannabis-use-memory-study.html

Cholesterol-induced stimulation of platelet aggregation is prevented by a hempseed-enriched diet.

Canadian Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology

“Hypercholesterolemia indirectly increases the risk for myocardial infarction by enhancing the ability of platelets to aggregate.

Diets enriched with polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) have been shown to reduce the detrimental effects of cholesterol on platelet aggregation.

This study investigated whether dietary hempseed, a rich source of PUFAs, inhibits platelet aggregation under normal and hypercholesterolemic conditions.

The results of this study demonstrate that when hempseed is added to a cholesterol-enriched diet, cholesterol-induced platelet aggregation returns to control levels.”

Detection and Quantification of Cannabinoids in Extracts of Cannabis sativa Roots Using LC-MS/MS.

 

“A liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry single-laboratory validation was performed for the detection and quantification of the 10 major cannabinoids of cannabis, namely, (-)-trans9-tetrahydrocannabinol, cannabidiol, cannabigerol, cannabichromene, tetrahydrocannabivarian, cannabinol, (-)-trans8-tetrahydrocannabinol, cannabidiolic acid, cannabigerolic acid, and Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinolic acid-A, in the root extract of Cannabis sativa. Acetonitrile : methanol (80 : 20, v/v) was used for extraction; d3-cannabidiol and d3– tetrahydrocannabinol were used as the internal standards. All 10 cannabinoids showed a good regression relationship with r2 > 0.99. The validated method is simple, sensitive, and reproducible and is therefore suitable for the detection and quantification of these cannabinoids in extracts of cannabis roots. To our knowledge, this is the first report for the quantification of cannabinoids in cannabis roots.”

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29359294

https://www.thieme-connect.de/DOI/DOI?10.1055/s-0044-100798

(±)-Sativamides A and B, Two Pairs of Racemic Nor-lignanamide Enantiomers from the Fruits of Cannabis sativa (Hemp Seed).

The Journal of Organic Chemistry

“(±)-Sativamides A (1) and B (2), two pairs of nor-lignanamide enantiomers featuring a unique benzo-angular triquinane skeleton, were isolated from the fruits of Cannabis sativa (hemp seed). Their structures were elucidated by detailed spectroscopic analysis and ECD calculations. The resolution of (+)- and (-)-sativamides A and B were achieved by chiral HPLC. Pretreatment of neuroblastoma cells with 1 and 2 significantly reduced the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress-induced cytotoxicity.”

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29345463

http://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.joc.7b02765

Cannabidiol Limits T Cell–Mediated Chronic Autoimmune Myocarditis: Implications to Autoimmune Disorders and Organ Transplantation

Logo of molmed

“Cannabidiol (CBD) is a nonpsychoactive ingredient of marijuana (Cannabis sativa).

Collectively, our study demonstrates that CBD treatment markedly attenuates autoimmune myocarditis and improves myocardial dysfunction and heart failure primarily by its antiinflammatory and antifibrotic effects.

These results, coupled with the proven safety of CBD in human clinical trials and its current orphan drug approval by the FDA for different neurological disorders, suggest that it has tremendous therapeutic potential in the therapy of myocarditis with different etiologies and various autoimmune disorders. The latter is also supported by beneficial effects of CBD in preventing graft versus host disease after allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation in a recent phase II human study, as well as in mice with arthritis. Attenuation of the T cell–mediated injury by CBD also suggests that it may have therapeutic utility in management of organ transplantation/rejection.

In conclusion, CBD may represent a promising novel treatment for managing autoimmune myocarditis and possibly other autoimmune disorders and organ transplantation.”

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26772776

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5004721/

http://static.smallworldlabs.com/molmedcommunity/content/pdfstore/16_007_Lee.pdf

History of marijuana use does not affect outcomes on the liver transplant waitlist.

Image result for transplantation journal

“Data are limited on marijuana use and its impact on liver transplant (LT) waitlist outcomes.

We aimed to assess the risk of waitlist mortality/delisting and likelihood of LT among prior marijuana users, and to determine the prevalence and factors associated with marijuana use.

Unlike illicit drug use, marijuana use was not associated with worse outcomes on the LT waitlist.”

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29319619

https://insights.ovid.com/crossref?an=00007890-900000000-96711

https://journals.lww.com/transplantjournal/Abstract/onlinefirst/History_of_marijuana_use_does_not_affect_outcomes.96711.aspx

“Do Cannabinoids have a therapeutic role in transplantation? Transplantation is one critical area of medicine that requires the use of immunosuppressants. Cannabinoids have emerged as powerful drug candidates for the treatment of inflammatory and autoimmune diseases due to their immunosuppressive properties.” https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2923447/
“The history of donor cannabis smoking does not appear to affect early and mid-term outcomes after lung transplantation (LTx) and potentially improve the donor pool. As it does not seem to negatively affect the outcomes after LTx, it should not be per se considered a contraindication for lung donation.” https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28077504
THC In Marijuana Delays Organ Transplant Rejection In Mice. A new study suggests the active ingredient in marijuana delays the rejection of incompatible organs in mice.” http://www.iflscience.com/health-and-medicine/thc-marijuana-may-delay-organ-transplant-rejection/
“Δ9-Tetrahydrocannabinol attenuates allogeneic host-versus-graft response and delays skin graft rejection through activation of cannabinoid receptor 1 and induction of myeloid-derived suppressor cells” https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4541500/
Cannabidiol Limits T Cell-Mediated Chronic Autoimmune Myocarditis: Implications to Autoimmune Disorders and Organ Transplantation. CBD may represent a promising novel treatment for management of autoimmune myocarditis and possibly other autoimmune disorders, and organ transplantation.” http://pubmedcentralcanada.ca/pmcc/articles/PMC5004721/
“Could CANNABIS help transplant patients? Drug ‘delays rejection of organs by slowing the immune system’s attack'” http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-3279752/Could-CANNABIS-help-transplant-patients-Drug-delays-rejection-organs-slowing-immune-s-attack.html

Cannabis, cannabinoids, and health.

Logo of diaclinneuro

“Cannabis does have therapeutic properties for certain indications.”   https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29302228

“The legislative policies that have been established to reduce the risks in relation to cannabis have long represented an obstacle to research concerning medical cannabis use. Improved knowledge of the endocannabinoid system and of exocannabinoids has proven that cannabis may have significant therapeutic effects.”  https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5741114/

Anti-Inflammatory Drugs and Herbs with Special Emphasis on Herbal Medicines for Countering Inflammatory Diseases and Disorders – A Review.

“Diseases with inflammatory etiopathology have increased in incidence in recent times. Drugs used for therapeutic management of such inflammatory diseases are relieving the ailment but at the same time also countering serious life-threatening consequences. Moreover, they are costly and rarely available at all places. In this context, research and development on medicinal herbs have opened a new era in the prophylactic and therapeutic management of inflammatory diseases.

OBJECTIVE:

To highlight the importance of anti-inflammatory medicine-synthetic drugs and natural herbs, their constituents, mechanism of action, benefits, side effects and future prospects. The overall aim is to provide better health services to patiens regardless of their background on equality basis.

RESULTS:

Anti-inflammatory herbs have proven beneficial by combating inflammatory responses that lead to severe abnormality in body systems. Inflammation though a protective response to infection or injury and may result in pathological outcome when aggravated or of severe degree thus needs an early intervention for proper resolution. Medicinal plants or their constituents are considered beneficial due to the properties i.e., satisfactory potency, ease of availability, cheapness, less or no side effects, safer and efficient as compared to the synthetic counterparts. These medicinal herbs contain phytoconstituents that can prevent undesirable inflammatory processes and also posses anti-inflammatory activity. Steroids, glycosides, phenolics, flavonoids, alkaloids, polysaccharides, terpenoids, cannabinoids, fatty acids are common phytoconstituents present in these plants. Different mechanisms have been explored for the anti-inflammatory action of these active ingredients. They may synergize the anti-inflammatory pathway enzymes, factors, proteins or interfere with these in the inflammatory pathway like lipooxygenases, cyclooxygenases, tumor necrosis factors, interleukins, prostaglandin, nitric oxide, mitogen-activated protein, nuclear factor, etc. Considering all the above-mentioned factors, further research from molecular to cellular level will enable a better understanding of the mechanisms. Common anti-inflammatory herbal plants are Curcuma longa, Zingiber officinale, Rosmarinus officinalis, Borago officinalis, Urtica dioica, Uncaria tomentosa, Vaccinium myrtillus, Olea europaea and much more. They are believed to be without side effects unlike the chemical counterparts or synthetic anti-inflammatory agents e.g. steroids, nonsteroid anti-inflammatory drugs, and immunosuppressant used for controlling and suppressing inflammatory crisis. A proper phytochemical, pharmacological and physiological evaluation will enable their safe and effective use in inflammatory conditions. Many of these anti-inflammatory drugs and herbal preparations have been patented with some under consideration.

CONCLUSION:

Natural herbs are safe, effective and better options as anti-inflammatory agents than synthetic ones. The phytoconstituents are as effective with the comparable mechanism of action as synthetic molecules. Future research should focus on molecular mechanisms of different beneficial applications of these herbal plants in various diseases. Recent patents on anti-inflammatory drugs and herbal plants have been covered which provide insight into the current status and future prospects in this field.”

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29336271  http://www.eurekaselect.com/159064/article

“Cannabinoids as novel anti-inflammatory drugs”  https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2828614/

“Cannabinoids for the treatment of inflammation.” http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17520866

“Cannabis-based drugs have been shown to be effective in inflammatory diseases.” https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29110674

http://www.thctotalhealthcare.com/tag/anti-inflammatory/

Is Legal Pot Crippling Mexican Drug Trafficking Organisations?

The Economic Journal

“We show that the introduction of medical marijuana laws (MMLs) leads to a decrease in violent crime in states that border Mexico. The reduction in crime is strongest for counties close to the border (less than 350 kilometres) and for crimes that relate to drug trafficking. In addition, we find that MMLs in inland states lead to a reduction in crime in the nearest border state. Our results are consistent with the theory that decriminalisation of the production and distribution of marijuana leads to a reduction in violent crime in markets that are traditionally controlled by Mexican drug trafficking organisations.”   http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ecoj.12521/full

“Legal marijuana cuts violence says US study, as medical-use laws see crime fall. Murder and violent crime found to have decreased most in states bordering Mexico as drug cartels lose business to regulation.” https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/jan/14/legal-marijuana-medical-use-crime-rate-plummets-us-study

“Marijuana legalisation causing violent crime to fall in US states, study finds”  http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/medical-marijuana-legalisation-cannabis-us-states-violent-crime-drop-numbers-study-california-new-a8160311.html