“Many in vitro and in vivo studies have reported on the antitumorigenic effects of plant-derived cannabinoids (CBDs) and their synthetic analogs, including effects in inducing apoptosis and inhibiting tumor cell growth and metastasis.
Over the years, many in vitro and in vivo studies have shown the antineoplastic effects of cannabinoids (CBDs), with reports advocating for investigations of combination therapy approaches that could better leverage these effects in clinical translation.
This study explores the potential of combination approaches employing CBDs with radiotherapy (RT) or smart biomaterials toward enhancing therapeutic efficacy during treatment of pancreatic and lung cancers. In in vitro studies, clonogenic assay results showed greater effective tumor cell killing, when combining CBDs and RT. Meanwhile, in vivo study results revealed major increase in survival when employing smart biomaterials for sustained delivery of CBDs to tumor cells. The significance of these findings, considerations for further research, and viable roadmap to clinical translation are discussed.
The advantage of combining CBDs with other therapies is that this may allow simultaneous targeting of tumor progression at different levels, while minimizing toxicities for these therapies relative to toxicities from higher doses when used as monotherapies.”
“Left ventricular dysfunction triggers the activation of the sympathetic nervous system, providing inotropic support to the failing heart and concomitantly increasing the risk of atrial fibrillation (AF). The cardiovascular effects of cannabis have been characterized as biphasic on the autonomic nervous system with an increased sympathetic effect at low doses and an inhibitory sympathetic activity at higher doses. It is unknown if the autonomic effect of cannabis impacts the occurrence of AF in patients with heart failure (HF).
We used data from the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project-National Inpatient Sample for patients admitted with a diagnosis of HF in 2014. The outcome variable was the diagnosis of AF, with the main exposure being cannabis use. We identified a cannabis user group and a 1:1 propensity-matched non-cannabis user group, each having 3,548 patients. We then estimated the odds of AF diagnosis in cannabis users. An estimated 3,950,392 patients were admitted with a diagnosis of HF in the United States in 2014. Among these, there were 17,755 (0.45%) cannabis users. In the matched cohort, cannabis users were less likely to have AF (19.08% vs 21.39%; AOR 0.87 [0.77 to 0.98]).
In conclusion, cannabis users have lower odds of AF when compared with nonusers, which was not explained by co-morbid conditions, age, insurance type, and socioeconomic status.”
“Cannabidiol (CBD), the major non-psychoactive constituent of Cannabis sativa, has received attention for therapeutic potential in treating neurologic and psychiatric disorders.
Recently, CBD has also been explored for potential in treating drug addiction. Substance use disorders are chronically relapsing conditions and relapse risk persists for multiple reasons including craving induced by drug contexts, susceptibility to stress, elevated anxiety, and impaired impulse control. Here, we evaluated the “anti-relapse” potential of a transdermal CBD preparation in animal models of drug seeking, anxiety and impulsivity.
Rats with alcohol or cocaine self-administration histories received transdermal CBD at 24 h intervals for 7 days and were tested for context and stress-induced reinstatement, as well as experimental anxiety on the elevated plus maze. Effects on impulsive behavior were established using a delay-discounting task following recovery from a 7-day dependence-inducing alcohol intoxication regimen.
CBD attenuated context-induced and stress-induced drug seeking without tolerance, sedative effects, or interference with normal motivated behavior. Following treatment termination, reinstatement remained attenuated up to ≈5 months although plasma and brain CBD levels remained detectable only for 3 days. CBD also reduced experimental anxiety and prevented the development of high impulsivity in rats with an alcohol dependence history.
The results provide proof of principle supporting potential of CBD in relapse prevention along two dimensions CBD: beneficial actions across several vulnerability states, and long-lasting effects with only brief treatment. The findings also inform the ongoing medical marijuana debate concerning medical benefits of non-psychoactive cannabinoids and their promise for development and use as therapeutics.”
“Cancer is a major public health problem as the leading cause of death. Palliative treatment aimed to alleviate pain and nausea in patients with advanced disease is a cornerstone of oncology.
In 2007, the Israeli Ministry of Health began providing approvals for medical cannabis for the palliation of cancer symptoms. The aim of this study is to characterize the epidemiology of cancer patients receiving medical cannabis treatment and describe the safety and efficacy of this therapy.