Cannabinoids Improve Gastrointestinal Symptoms in a Parenteral Nutrition-Dependent Patient With Chronic Intestinal Pseudo-Obstruction.

Journal of Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition“Chronic intestinal pseudo-obstruction (CIPO) is a rare and challenging cause of pediatric intestinal failure, requiring long-term parenteral nutrition in most cases. Despite optimal management, some patients experience chronic abdominal pain and recurrent obstructive episodes with a major impact on their quality of life.

Cannabinoids have been successfully used in some conditions. However, their use in CIPO has never been reported in the literature.

We report a case of successful use of medicinal cannabinoids in a patient with CIPO, resulting in a significant reduction of abdominal pain, vomiting, and subocclusive episodes and increased appetite and weight, without major adverse events.

Although further observations are required to consolidate these findings, this case may be helpful for other patients suffering from the same condition.”

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/32181915

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/jpen.1821

Cannabis and the Cornea.

Publication Cover

“While cannabis has the potential to reduce corneal pain, cannabinoids might induce side effects. This review article examines the effects of cannabinoids on the cornea. As more states and countries consider the legalization of adult cannabis use, health-care providers will need to identify ocular effects of cannabis consumption.

Methods: Studies included in this review examined the connection between cannabis and the cornea, more specifically anti-nociceptive and anti-inflammatory actions of cannabinoids. NCBI Databases from 1781 up to December 2019 were consulted.

Conclusion: More than half of the studies examined the therapeutic effects of cannabinoids on the cornea. As the field is still young, more studies should be conducted to develop safe cannabinoid treatments for corneal diseases.

Influence of cannabinoids upon nerve-evoked skeletal muscle contraction.

Neuroscience Letters“Endocannabinoids play important roles in regulating CNS synaptic function and peripheral metabolism, but cannabinoids can also act acutely to modulate contraction strength in skeletal muscle.

Nerve terminals and the skeletal muscle sarcolemma express components of the cannabinoid signaling system.

Endocannabinoids, N-arachidonylethanolamine (anandamide, AEA) and 2-arachidonoyl-glycerol (2-AG), are produced by skeletal muscle. They may be involved in the acute regulation of neuromuscular transmission, by adjusting the parameters for quantal acetylcholine release from the motor nerve terminal. Downstream of neuromuscular transmission, cannabinoids may also act to limit the efficiency of excitation-contraction coupling.

Improved understanding of the distinct signaling actions of particular cannabinoid compounds and their receptor/transduction systems will help advance our understanding of the role of endocannabinoids in skeletal muscle physiology.

Cannabinoids might also offer the potential to develop new pharmacotherapeutics to treat neuromuscular disorders that affect muscle strength.”

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/32156612

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0304394020301701?via%3Dihub

Evaluation of pharmacokinetics and acute anti-inflammatory potential of two oral cannabidiol preparations in healthy adults.

Phytotherapy Research“Cannabidiol (CBD) is a dietary supplement with numerous purported health benefits and an expanding commercial market. Commercially available CBD preparations range from tinctures, oils, and powders, to foods and beverages.

Despite widespread use, information regarding bioavailability of these formulations is limited. The purpose of this study was to test the bioavailability of two oral formulations of CBD in humans and explore their potential acute anti-inflammatory activity.

This study provides pilot data for designing and powering future studies to establish the anti-inflammatory potential and bioavailability of a larger variety of commercial CBD products consumed by humans.”

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/32147925

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/ptr.6651

High expectations: The landscape of clinical trials of medical marijuana in oncology.

Complementary Therapies in Medicine“Given the infancy and evolving complexity of medicinal marijuana, an evolving political landscape, and the growing frequency of its use in cancer care, it is important for oncologists to be actively engaged in developing and successfully implementing clinical trials focusing on medical marijuana.

The purpose of this study was to analyze and evaluate trends in clinical trials focused on medical marijuana in oncology.

CONCLUSION:

Our results indicate that across oncology, there is growing interest in clinical research in the use of medical marijuana.”

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/32147080

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0965229919309306?via%3Dihub

What Do You Know About Maryjane? A Systematic Review of the Current Data on the THC:CBD Ratio.

Publication Cover“Ratios of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD) impact metabolism and therapeutic effects of cannabis.

The medical and scientific communities have not drawn substantive conclusions nor thoroughly explored THC:CBD ratios for “best practice” treatment of different disease processes and their sequelae.

While there is evidence that cannabis provides medical benefits, research is lacking on standardization of medical cannabis use in modern medical practices.”

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/32124675

Cannabidiol is an effective helper compound in combination with bacitracin to kill Gram-positive bacteria.

Scientific Reports “The cannabinoid cannabidiol (CBD) is characterised in this study as a helper compound against resistant bacteria. CBD potentiates the effect of bacitracin (BAC) against Gram-positive bacteria (Staphylococcus species, Listeria monocytogenes, and Enterococcus faecalis) but appears ineffective against Gram-negative bacteria. CBD reduced the MIC value of BAC by at least 64-fold and the combination yielded an FIC index of 0.5 or below in most Gram-positive bacteria tested. Morphological changes in S. aureus as a result of the combination of CBD and BAC included several septa formations during cell division along with membrane irregularities. Analysis of the muropeptide composition of treated S. aureus indicated no changes in the cell wall composition. However, CBD and BAC treated bacteria did show a decreased rate of autolysis. The bacteria further showed a decreased membrane potential upon treatment with CBD; yet, they did not show any further decrease upon combination treatment. Noticeably, expression of a major cell division regulator gene, ezrA, was reduced two-fold upon combination treatment emphasising the impact of the combination on cell division. Based on these observations, the combination of CBD and BAC is suggested to be a putative novel treatment in clinical settings for treatment of infections with antibiotic resistant Gram-positive bacteria.”

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/32139776

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-020-60952-0

Safety Assessment of a Hemp Extract using Genotoxicity and Oral Repeat-Dose Toxicity Studies in Sprague-Dawley Rats

Toxicology Reports“Cannabinoids are extracted from Cannabis sativa L. and are used for a variety of medicinal purposes.

Recently, there has been a focus on the cannabinoid Cannabidiol (CBD) and its potential benefits.

This study investigated the safety of a proprietary extract of C. sativa, consisting of 9% hemp extract (of which 6.27% is CBD) and 91% olive oil.

Given the potential of CBD for a variety of human uses and the limited data currently available, these results support that hemp extracts are likely safe human consumption and additional studies should be conducted to validate this conclusion.”

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214750019305207?via%3Dihub

Ensuring access to safe, effective, and affordable cannabis‐based medicines

British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology“Over the past decade, patients, families, and medical cannabis advocates have campaigned in many countries to allow patients to use cannabis preparations to treat the symptoms of serious illnesses that have not responded to conventional treatment.

Ideally, any medical use of a cannabinoid would involve practitioners prescribing an approved medicine produced to standards of Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP), the safety and effectiveness of which had been assessed in clinical trials. The prescriber would be fully acquainted with the patient’s medical history and well‐informed about the safety and efficacy of cannabinoid medicines and know the most appropriate formulations and dosages to use and how they should be used in combination with other medicines being used to treat the patient’s condition. Current medical use of cannabinoids falls short of these expectations and regulations.

There is reasonable evidence that some cannabinoids are superior to placebo in reducing symptoms of some medical conditions.

There are no short cuts in making quality‐controlled cannabis‐based medicines available to patients in ways that ensure that they are used safely and effectively. In the absence of industry interest in funding clinical trials, governments need to fund large, well‐designed clinical and clinical pharmacological studies that will enable cannabinoids to play a more evidence‐based role in modern clinical practice. In the meantime, the clinical pharmacology field needs to share high‐quality data on the safety, efficacy, and pharmacology of medical cannabinoids as it becomes available. This should be presented in ways that permit the information to be regularly updated and provide clinically useful guidance on how these medicines should be used.”

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/32128867

https://bpspubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/bcp.14242

The implications of late-life cannabis use on brain health: A mapping review and implications for future research.

Ageing Research Reviews“While medical and recreational cannabis use is becoming more frequent among older adults, the neurocognitive consequences of cannabis use in this age group are unclear. The aim of this literature review was to synthesize and evaluate the current knowledge on the association of cannabis use during older-adulthood with cognitive function and brain aging.

We reviewed the literature from old animal models and human studies while focusing on the link of middle- and old-age use of cannabis with cognition. The report highlights the gap in knowledge on cannabis use in late-life and cognitive health, and discusses the limited findings in the context of substantial changes in attitudes and policies. Furthermore, we outline possible theoretical mechanisms and propose recommendations for future research.

The limited evidence on this important topic suggests that use in older ages may not be linked with poorer cognitive performance, thus detrimental effects of early-life cannabis use may not translate to use in older ages. Rather, use in old ages may be associated with improved brain health, in accordance with the known neuroprotective properties of several cannabinoids.”

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/32109605

“Cannabis use in older ages may be associated with improved brain health.”

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1568163719303204?via%3Dihub