“It has been proposed that medicinal strains of cannabis and therapeutic preparations would be safer with a more balanced concentration ratio of Δ(9) -tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) to cannabidiol (CBD), as CBD reduces the adverse psychotropic effects of THC. The aim of this study was to investigate whether CBD modulated the functional effects and c-Fos expression induced by THC, using a 1:1 dose ratio that approximates therapeutic strains of cannabis and nabiximols.
These data confirm that CBD modulated the pharmacological actions of THC and provide new information regarding brain regions involved in the interaction between CBD and THC.” https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26377899 “A number of studies now support the view that cannabidiol (CBD) may reduce the negative psychotropic effects of THC while enhancing its positive therapeutic actions. Our results are consistent with the notion that cannabis plant strains that contain THC and CBD at 1:1 ratios may be preferable to street cannabis for medicinal applications because they maximize therapeutic efficacy while minimizing the adverse effects of THC.” https://bpspubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/bph.13333]]>Monthly Archives: June 2018
Reinforcing effects of opioid/cannabinoid mixtures in rhesus monkeys responding under a food/drug choice procedure.
“Cannabinoid receptor agonists such as delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ9-THC) enhance the antinociceptive potency of mu opioid receptor agonists such as morphine, indicating that opioid/cannabinoid mixtures might be effective for treating pain. However, such enhancement will be beneficial only if cannabinoids do not also enhance adverse effects of opioids, including those related to abuse.
In rhesus monkeys, cannabinoids fail to enhance and often decrease self-administration of the mu opioid receptor agonist heroin, suggesting that opioid/cannabinoid mixtures do not have greater reinforcing effects (abuse potential) compared with opioids alone. Previous studies on the self-administration of opioid/cannabinoid mixtures used single-response procedures, which do not easily differentiate changes in reinforcing effects from other effects (e.g., rate decreasing).
CONCLUSION:
Overall, these results extend previous studies to include choice behavior and show that cannabinoids do not substantially enhance the reinforcing effects of mu opioid receptor agonists.”Effects of cannabidiol plus naltrexone on motivation and ethanol consumption.
“The aim of this study was to explore if the administration of naltrexone (NTX) together with cannabidiol (CBD) may improve the efficacy in reducing alcohol consumption and motivation rather than any of the drugs given separately.
The administration of CBD + NTX significantly reduced motivation and ethanol intake in the oral self-administration procedure in a greater proportion than the drugs given alone. Only the combination of both drugs significantly reduced Oprm1, TH and 5-HT1A gene expressions in the NAc, VTA and DR, respectively. Interestingly, the administration of WAY100635 significantly blocked the actions of CBD + NTX but had no effects by itself.CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONS:
The combination of low doses of CBD plus NTX resulted more effective to reduce ethanol consumption and motivation to drink. These effects, appears to be mediated, at least in part, by 5-HT1A receptors.” https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29859012 https://bpspubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/bph.14380 “Naltrexone belongs to a class of drugs known as opiate antagonists. It works in the brain to prevent opiate effects (e.g., feelings of well-being, pain relief). It also decreases the desire to take opiates. This medication is also used to treat alcohol abuse. It can help people drink less alcohol or stop drinking altogether. It also decreases the desire to drink alcohol when used with a treatment program that includes counseling, support, and lifestyle changes.” https://www.webmd.com/drugs/2/drug-7399/naltrexone-oral/details “Cannabidiol reduces ethanol consumption, motivation and relapse in mice. Taken together, these results reveal that the administration of CBD reduced the reinforcing properties, motivation and relapse for ethanol. These findings strongly suggest that CBD may result useful for the treatment of alcohol use disorders.” https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28194850]]>Anti-Tumorigenic Properties of Omega-3 Endocannabinoid Epoxides.
“Accumulating studies have linked inflammation to tumor progression.
Dietary omega-3 fatty acids including docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) have been shown to suppress tumor growth through their conversion to epoxide metabolites. Alternatively, DHA is converted enzymatically into docosahexaenoylethanolamide (DHEA), an endocannabinoid with anti-proliferative activity.
Recently, we reported a novel class of anti-inflammatory DHEA-epoxides (EDP-EAs) that contain both ethanolamide and epoxide moieties. Herein we evaluate the anti-tumorigenic properties of EDP-EAs in an osteosarcoma model.
First, we show ~80% increase in EDP-EAs in metastatic lungs versus normal mouse lungs. We found significant differences in the apoptotic and anti-migratory potency of the different EDP-EA regioisomers, which are partly mediated through cannabinoid receptor 1 (CB1).
Furthermore, we synthesized derivatives of the most pro-apoptotic regioisomer. These derivatives had reduced hydrolytic susceptibility to fatty acid-amide hydrolase and increased CB1 binding.
Collectively, we report a novel class of EDP-EAs that exhibit anti-angiogenic, anti-tumorigenic and anti-migratory properties in osteosarcoma.”
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29856219
https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.jmedchem.8b00243
“Omega-3 Fatty Byproducts May Have Anticancer Effects.” https://scienceblog.com/502227/omega-3-fatty-byproducts-may-have-anticancer-effects/
“Omega 3 fatty acids hold the key to stop cancer” http://www.thehansindia.com/posts/index/Health/2018-07-14/Omega-3-fatty-acids-hold-the-key-stop-cancer/398130
“Products of omega-3 fatty acid metabolism may have anticancer effects, study shows” https://medicalxpress.com/news/2018-07-products-omega-fatty-acid-metabolism.html
“Omega-3-derived cannabinoid may stop cancer. New research suggests that the body’s natural pain-killer, the “endocannabinoid system,” may also have cancer-fighting properties when “activated” by omega-3 fatty acids.” https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/322482.php
“Omega-3 diet can do more than protecting your heart, it may keep cancer away” https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/magazines/panache/omega-3-diet-can-do-more-than-protecting-your-heart-it-may-keep-cancer-away/articleshow/64988681.cms
“Products of omega-3 fatty acid metabolism may have anticancer effects” https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/07/180713220137.htm
“G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) interact with multiple intracellular effector proteins such that different ligands may preferentially activate one signal pathway over others, a phenomenon known as signaling bias. Signaling bias can be quantified to optimize drug selection for preclinical research.
Here, we describe moderate-throughput methods to quantify signaling bias of known and novel compounds. In the example provided, we describe a method to define 
“Maintenance of body weight is fundamental to maintain one’s health and to promote longevity. Nevertheless, it appears that the global obesity epidemic is still constantly increasing.
Endocannabinoids (eCBs) are lipid messengers that are involved in overall body weight control by interfering with manifold central and peripheral regulatory circuits that orchestrate energy homeostasis.
Initially, blocking of eCB signaling by first generation