“Endocannabinoids (eCBS) are involved in the stress response and alterations in eCB signaling may contribute to the etiology of mood disorders.
Exposure to chronic mild stress (CMS), a model of depression, produces downregulation of the CB1 receptor (CB1) in the hippocampus of male rats.
These results effectively demonstrate that CMS significantly alters hippocampal eCB-mediated neurotransmission and synaptic plasticity.”
“The nucleus accumbens (NAc) is a critical component of the reward circuitry, and dysfunction of the NAc may account for anhedonia and other symptoms of depression.
The endocannabinoid (eCB) system regulates mood, emotion, motivation, appetite, body weight, and cognition.
Here, we investigated whether alterations in endocannabinoid (eCB) signaling in the NAc contribute to depression-like behaviors induced by chronic unpredictable stress (CUS) in mice.
These results suggest that downregulation of eCB signaling in the NAc occurs after CUS and contributes to the pathophysiology of depression.”
“Complaints about Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC):cannabidiol (CBD) oromucosal spray (Sativex®; GW Pharma Ltd, Sailsbury, UK) in the management of multiple sclerosis spasticity include unpleasant taste and oral mucosal anomalies.
This pilot study assessed the use of sugar-free chewing gum and/or a refrigerated bottle of THC:CBD oromucosal spray to mitigate these effects.
Taste perception in patients receiving chewing gum ± cold bottle intervention (Groups A and C combined) was significantly (p = 0.0001) improved from baseline to week 4 while maintaining spasticity control.
Patient comfort, satisfaction and treatment adherence may benefit from these interventions.”
Results from some of the first studies to examine hemp’s ability to fight cancer show that it might one day be useful as plant-based treatment for ovarian cancer. Hemp is part of the same cannabis family as marijuana but doesn’t have any psychoactive properties or cause addiction.
“Hemp, like marijuana, contains therapeutically valuable components such as cannabidiol, cannabinol, and tetrahydrocannabinol,”
“Our findings from this research as well as prior research show that KY hemp slows ovarian cancer comparable to or even better than the current ovarian cancer drug Cisplatin,” said Turner. “Since Cisplatin exhibits high toxicity, we anticipate that hemp would carry less side effects.”
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/04/180423155046.htm
“Objective: This retrospective study assessed safety, tolerability and efficacy of cannabidiol (CBD) based medical cannabis, as an adjuvant therapy, for refractory behavioral problems in children with ASD.
Background: Anecdotal evidence of successful cannabis treatment in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are accumulating but formal studies are lacking.
Design/Methods: Sixty children with ASD (age = 11.8± 3.5, range 5.0–17.5; 77% low functioning; 83% boys) were treated with oral CBD and tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) at a ratio of 20:1. The dose was up-titrated to effect (maximal CBD dose − 10mg/kg/d). Tolerability and efficacy were assessed using a modified Liverpool Adverse Events Profile, the Caregiver Global Impression of Change (CGIC) scale, the Home Situations Questionnaire–Autism Spectrum Disorder (HSQ-ASD) and the Autism Parenting Stress Index (APSI).
Results: Following the cannabis treatment, behavioral outbreaks were much improved or very much improved (on the CGIC scale) in 61% of patients. The anxiety and communication problems were much or very much improved in 39% and 47% respectively. Disruptive behaviors, were improved by 29% from 4.74±1.82 as recorded at baseline on the HSQ-ASD to 3.36±1.56 following the treatment. Parents reported less stress as reflected in the APSI scores, changing by 33% from 2.04±0.77 to 1.37±0.59. The effect on all outcome measures was more apparent in boys with non-syndromic ASD. Adverse events included sleep disturbances (14%) irritability (9%) and loss of appetite (9%).
Conclusions: This preliminary study support the feasibility of CBD based medical cannabis as a promising treatment option for refractory behavioral problems in children with ASD. Based on these promising results, we have launched a large, double blind, placebo controlled cross-over trial with 120 participants (NCT02956226).”
“Marijuana use by adolescents and young adults with IBD is common and perceived as beneficial.”
“Question Is frequent or heavy cannabis use associated with cognitive dysfunction in adolescents and young adults?
Findings This systematic review and meta-analysis of 69 cross-sectional studies of 2152 cannabis users and 6575 comparison participants showed a small but significant overall effect size for reduced cognitive functioning in adolescents and young adults who reported frequent cannabis use. However, studies requiring abstinence from cannabis for longer than 72 hours had a very small, nonsignificant effect size.
Meaning Although continued cannabis use may be associated with small reductions in cognitive functioning, results suggest that cognitive deficits are substantially diminished with abstinence.
Conclusions and Relevance Associations between cannabis use and cognitive functioning in cross-sectional studies of adolescents and young adults are small and may be of questionable clinical importance for most individuals. Furthermore, abstinence of longer than 72 hours diminishes cognitive deficits associated with cannabis use. Although other outcomes (eg, psychosis) were not examined in the included studies, results indicate that previous studies of cannabis in youth may have overstated the magnitude and persistence of cognitive deficits associated with use.”
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29710074
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapsychiatry/article-abstract/2678214?redirect=true
“Symptom management in older adults, including pain and distressing non-pain symptoms, can be challenging. Medications can cause side effects that worsen quality of life or create other symptoms, and polypharmacy itself can be detrimental in older adults.
Cannabinoids may offer a way of managing selected symptoms with fewer side effects.
Medical marijuana is an important area of study for older adults because of the side effects of other medications. It is also important for Baby Boomers, who are likely to have more experience with marijuana than older adults of previous generations. Therefore, geriatricians should understand medical marijuana’s clinical indications, adverse effects, and legal context.
This article reviews the evidence regarding indications for and risks of medical marijuana use in older adults.”
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29668039
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/jgs.15346
“Our study finds that the therapeutic use of cannabis is safe and efficacious in the elderly population.” https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29398248
“In the last decades, the endocannabinoid system has attracted a great interest in medicine and cancer disease is probably one of its most promising therapeutic areas.
On the one hand, endocannabinoid system expression has been found altered in numerous types of tumours compared to healthy tissue, and this aberrant expression has been related to cancer prognosis and disease outcome, suggesting a role of this system in tumour growth and progression that depends on cancer type.
On the other hand, it has been reported that cannabinoids exert an anticancer activity by inhibiting the proliferation, migration and/or invasion of cancer cells; and also tumour angiogenesis.
The endocannabinoid system may be considered as a new therapeutic target, although further studies to fully establish the effect of cannabinoids on tumour progression remain necessary.”
“Cannabis is a plant that has been used for centuries to relieve a wide range of symptoms. Since the 1960s, interest in medical research into this plant has grown steadily. Already very popular for recreational use, a growing number of consumers not accustomed to using cannabis for psychoactive purposes, have begun to use it as an alternative or complement to mainstream pharmaceutical medicines. The principal unsubstantiated or “social” uses of cannabis are based mainly on data that is at best controversial, but usually not scientifically proven. The aim of this review is to identify the scientific basis and reasons that lead patients with cancer to consume cannabis, and also to identify whether there is a risk of interaction between cannabis and anti-cancer medicines through drug transporters (P-glycoprotein and other ABC-superfamily members) Cytochromes P450 (3A, 1A, 2B, 2C 2D families…) and glucuronyl-transferases.”
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29660159
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/fcp.12373
“Targeting the endocannabinoid system as a potential anticancer approach.” https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29390896
“Anticancer mechanisms of cannabinoids” https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4791144/