“There’s been some interesting research on using THC (tetrahydrocannabinol), the principal psychoactive drug in marijuana, to help fight HIV, and damage cancer cells in some leukemias and possibly malignant tumors.
…the possibility exists that information from both of these research studies may produce beneficial results in the treatment of HIV and cancer.”
More: http://americablog.com/2014/02/marijuana-treatment-hiv-cancer.html
“Indevus Pharmaceuticals Inc is developing ajulemic acid, a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug derived from tetrahydrocannabinol, for the potential treatment of pain, inflammation and cystitis.”
“In this article, real-life data from clinical practice showing specific aspects relating to use of 9-delta-tetrahydocannabinol and cannabidiol (THC:CBD) oromucosal spray (Sativex®) in patients with moderate to severe spasticity resistant to usual therapy will be presented…
These case reports highlight the diverse nature of the MS spasticity population and they show the possible usefulness of THC:CBD oromucosal spray in individual patients with moderate to severe spasticity resistant to existing therapies…
Perhaps the most important finding is the possibility of obtaining relevant improvements in QoL/ADL (quality of life/activities of daily living) in some patients with resistant MS spasticity, allowing them to engage back in physical and social activities.”
“The cannabis extract nabiximols (Sativex), developed as a multiple sclerosis treatment, offers a potential agonist medication for cannabis withdrawal…
Nabiximols treatment significantly reduced the overall severity of cannabis withdrawal…
The data support further evaluation of nabiximols for management of cannabis dependence and withdrawal in treatment-seeking populations.”
“This detailed medical charts’ data collection study conducted at an MS clinic in Germany evaluated the effectiveness of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) / cannabidiol (CBD) oromucosal spray in patients with resistant multiple sclerosis (MS) spasticity…
In this routine clinical practice setting at an MS clinic in Germany, THC:CBD spray was effective and well tolerated as add-on therapy or as monotherapy in a relevant proportion of patients with resistant MS spasticity.”
“Researchers from the University of South Carolina say that tetrahydrocannabinol, the principal constituent of marijuana, may have another medical use – treating those with autoimmune disorders.
Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is known to have analgesic effects so can be used to treat pain. It also aids relaxation and can reduce feelings of nausea and stimulate appetite…
Now, a new study, published in the Journal of Biological Chemistry, explores how analgesicmicroRNAs are influenced by THC.
MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small, single-stranded, non-coding RNAs that play a vital role in regulating gene expression. And the authors claim that the ability to alter miRNA expression may be the key to successful treatment for many autoimmune diseases, including multiple sclerosis, arthritis and type 1 diabetes.”
“Herbal (smoked) cannabis has long been recognized as a possible option for relief of spasticity and neuropathic pain… An innovative method of benefiting from the mode of action of cannabinoids while limiting their drawbacks is to reduce peak plasma levels of 9-delta-tetrahydrocannabinol and counteract psychoactivity with higher than naturally occurring proportions of a second cannabinoid, cannabidiol.
Sativex® oromucosal spray (1:1 ratio of 9-delta-tetrahydrocannabinol/cannabidiol) has recently been approved in a number of EU countries and elsewhere for use in patients with MS-related spasticity who are resistant to treatment with other antispasticity medications.
In clinical trials, Sativex provided initial relief of spasticity symptoms within the first 4 weeks of treatment (trial period) in up to about half of patients resistant to other available oral antispasticity medications and demonstrated clinically significant improvement in spasticity (30% or higher reduction from baseline) in three-quarters of the initial responders. Adverse events were limited mainly to mild or moderate cases of somnolence and dizziness.
Under everyday clinical practice conditions, Sativex at a mean daily dose of <7 sprays/day, was shown to relieve spasticity in about 70% of patients previously resistant to treatment.
Clear improvements were also noted in associated symptoms such as sleep disturbances, bladder problems, loss of mobility and cramps…
Follow-up studies in Sativex responders support continued benefit without the need to increase doses for at least 1 year.
Sativex appears to be a promising solution for a meaningful proportion of patients with MS-related spasticity who have inadequate response to current antispasticity medications.”
The anti-cancer properties of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the primary hallucinogenic component of cannabis, has been recognised for many years, but research into similar cannabis-derived compounds, known as cannabinoids, has been limited.
The study was carried out by a team at St George’s, University of London. It has been published in the journal Anticancer Research.
The team, led by Dr Wai Liu and colleagues carried out laboratory investigations using a number of cannabinoids, either alone or in combination with each other, to measure their anti-cancer actions in relation to leukemia.
Of six cannabinoids studied, each demonstrated anti-cancer properties as effective as those seen in THC. Importantly, they had an increased effect on cancer cells when combined with each other.”
More: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/10/131014094105.htm
“Ruth Djaldetti, M.D., of Tel Aviv University in Israel, presented the findings of her research at a recent International Congress on Parkinson’s Disease and Movement Disorders. She reported improvement in tremor, pain, rigidity and bradykinesia (slowness of movement). Twenty subjects, all in their mid-sixties, and were rated using the Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS) both before and after smoking. Their overall “before” scores were over 30 and within 30 minutes of smoking, their scores dropped to 24.. Their tremor scores averaged 7.5 on the UPDRS before and dropped to a score of 3.5 after smoking cannabis. Bradykinesia scores dropped from 13.2 to 8.6 and rigidity went from 7.4 to 6.4. Dr. Djaldetti also saw a marked relief in the pain her subjects were experiencing and this relief of pain led to better sleep and feeling more rested.
This bears out the results of other studies. A study done in Great Britain that was published in 2011 found the principal ingredient in cannabis provided neuroprotection for people with Parkinson’s disease. Its neuroprotective properties included reduction of inflammation and control of spasms, making it an ideal drug for treating Parkinson’s. However, its confusing legal status make it very difficult for people to obtain or consider using and for doctors to even recommend to patients.
Another interesting study done in 2010 found that cannabinoid receptors are located in many parts of the brain and that cannabinoids are produced naturally in the brain. People with Parkinson’s have even higher levels of endocannabinoids (cannabinoids produced within the brain). The main ingredient in cannabis, Tetrahydrcannibol (THC) actually increases dopamine production temporarily. Cannabidiol (CBD) another component of cannabis, also provides neuroprotective properties and has been shown to reduce dystonias . CDB could be a very vital improvement for treating Parkinson’s, and a recent study has shown it useful in treating certain cancers as well.
While there have been many, many people reporting the anecdotal benefits of smoking cannabis, clinical trials are lagging behind. Laboratory and animal studies have shown many benefits, but perplexing issues around the legality of cannabis are slowing the efforts and impeding progress.”
“Delta 9-tetrahydrocannabinol has been shown to induce incomplete maturation in ML2 human leukemia cell lines.
We extend the observation of its induction of morphologic maturation to HL60 cells and of its induction of growth restriction to HL60 and K562 cells.
We show that tetrahydrocannabinol reduces the cyclic AMP content of ML2 cells.
Finally we demonstrate that this agent inhibits adenyl cyclase activity in ML2 cell membrane-enriched fractions.
This finding in myeloid cells is compatible with one hypothesis of cannabinoid action in neuronal cells.”