Author Archives: David Worrell

Inhaled cannabis for chronic neuropathic pain: an individual patient data meta-analysis.

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“Chronic neuropathic pain, the most frequent condition affecting the peripheral nervous system, remains under-diagnosed and difficult to treat.

Inhaled cannabis may alleviate chronic neuropathic pain.

Our objective was to synthesize the evidence on inhaled cannabis for chronic neuropathic pain.

This novel Bayesian individual patient data meta-analysis of five randomized trials suggests that inhaled cannabis may provide short term relief for one in five to six patients with neuropathic pain.

Pragmatic trials are need to evaluate the long-term benefits and risks of this treatment.”

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26362106

Past 15-year trends in adolescent marijuana use: Differences by race/ethnicity and sex.

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“The potential for increases in adolescent marijuana use is an important concern given recent changes in marijuana policy.

The purpose of this study was to estimate trends in marijuana use from 1999 to 2013 among a national sample of US high school students…

Despite considerable changes in state marijuana policies over the past 15 years, marijuana use among high school students has largely declined. ”

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26361714

Potential Therapeutic Value of a Novel FAAH Inhibitor for the Treatment of Anxiety.

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“Anxiety disorders are among the most prevalent psychiatric diseases with high personal costs and a remarkable socio-economic burden. However, current treatment of anxiety is far from satisfactory.

Novel pharmacological targets have emerged in the recent years, and attention has focused on the endocannabinoid (eCB) system, given the increasing evidence that supports its central role in emotion, coping with stress and anxiety.

In the management of anxiety disorders, drug development strategies have left apart the direct activation of type-1 cannabinoid receptors to indirectly enhance eCB signalling through the inhibition of eCB deactivation, that is, the inhibition of the fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH) enzyme.

In the present study, we provide evidence for the anxiolytic-like properties of a novel, potent and selective reversible inhibitor of FAAH, ST4070, orally administered to rodents.

Altogether, ST4070 offers a promising anxiolytic-like profile in preclinical studies, although further studies are warranted to clearly demonstrate its efficacy in the clinic management of anxiety disorders.”

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26360704

Anandamide mediates cognitive judgement bias in rats.

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“In the present study, we investigated the effects of acute pharmacological manipulation of the endocannabinoid (EC) system on the valence of cognitive judgement bias of rats in the ambiguous-cue interpretation (ACI) paradigm.

Our findings suggest involvement of the endocannabinoid system in the mediation of optimistic judgement bias.”

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26363193

Endocannabinoid regulation of amyloid-induced neuroinflammation.

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“The modulation of endocannabinoid (EC) levels and the activation of cannabinoid receptors are seen as promising therapeutic strategies in a variety of diseases, including Alzheimer’s disease (AD).

These data reinforce the notion of a role for the EC system in neuroinflammation and open new perspectives on the relevance of modulating EC levels in the inflammed brain.”

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26362942

Tetrahydrocannabivarin (THCv) reduces Default Mode Network and increases Executive Control Network Resting State Functional Connectivity in Healthy Volunteers.

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“The cannabinoid CB1 Neutral Antagonist Tetrahydrocannabivarin (THCv) has been suggested as a possible treatment for obesity but without the depressogenic side-effects of inverse antagonists such as Rimonabant.

Our findings are the first to show that treatment with the CB1 neutral antagonist THCv decreases resting state functional connectivity in the Default Mode network and increases connectivity in the Cognitive Control network and Dorsal Visual Stream network.

This effect profile suggests possible therapeutic activity of THCv for obesity where functional connectivity has been found to be altered in these regions.”

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26362774

Combination cannabinoid and opioid receptor antagonists improves metabolic outcomes in obese mice.

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“This study demonstrates that the combination of rimonabant, naloxone and norBNI is effective at producing weight loss over a sustained period of time without altering performance in standardised mouse behaviour tests. Fos expression patterns offer insight into the neuroanatomical substrates subserving these physiological and behavioural changes.

These results indicate that CB1-targeted drugs for weight loss may still be feasible.”

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26360587

Assessment of Israeli Physicians’ Knowledge, Experience and Attitudes towards Medical Cannabis: A Pilot Study.

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“Cannabis has been used throughout history for different purposes but was outlawed in the United States in 1937; many countries followed suit. Although recently reintroduced as a medical treatment in several countries, the use of cannabis in Israel is permitted for some medical purposes but is still controversial, eliciting heated public and professional debate. The few published studies on physicians’ attitudes to medical cannabis found them to be generally unsupportive.

OBJECTIVES:

To examine, for the first time, the experience, knowledge and attitudes of Israeli physicians towards medical cannabis (MC)…

Physicians generally agreed that MC treatment could be helpful for chronic and for terminally ill patients. Oncologists and pain specialists did not agree unanimously that MC can undermine mental health, whereas other physicians did. Physicians who recommended MC in the past (once or more) agreed, more than physicians who did not, with the statement “MC treatment in Israel is accessible to patients who need it”.

CONCLUSIONS:

In contrast to other studies we found partial acceptance of MC as a therapeutic agent. Further in-depth studies are needed to address regulatory and educational needs.”

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26357721

Cannabinoid Ligands and Alcohol Addiction: A Promising Therapeutic Tool or a Humbug?

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“The vast therapeutic potential of cannabinoids of both synthetic and plant-derived origins currently makes these compounds the focus of a growing interest. Although cannabinoids are still illicit drugs, their possible clinical usefulness, including treatment of acute or neuropathic pain, have been suggested by several studies.

In addition, some observations indicate that cannabinoid receptor antagonists may be useful for the treatment of alcohol dependence and addiction, which is a major health concern worldwide.

While the synergism between alcohol and cannabinoid agonists (in various forms) creates undesirable side effects when the two are consumed together, the administration of CB1 antagonists leads to a significant reduction in alcohol consumption.

Furthermore, cannabinoid antagonists also mitigate alcohol withdrawal symptoms.

Herein, we present an overview of studies focusing on the effects of cannabinoid ligands (agonists and antagonists) during acute or chronic consumption of ethanol.”

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26353844