“The cannabis plant (Cannabis sativa L.) and products there of (such as marijuana, hashish and hash oil) have a long history of use both as a medicinal agent and intoxicant.
Over the last few years there have been an active debate regarding the medicinal aspects of cannabis.
This manuscript discusses the chemical constituents of the plant with particular emphasis on the cannabinoids…”
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16199061
“…the Cannabis sativa herb has been known for its therapeutic benefit for centuries… interest in the clinical potential of cannabinoid-based drugs escalated after the discovery of the endocannabinoid system… therapeutic applications of cannabinoids (plant-derived or synthetic)… may constitute a useful addition to the pharmacotherapeutic armamentarium in chronic conditions insufficiently alleviated by existing drugs.” http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22646020
“The endocannabinoid system and its therapeutic exploitation.” http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15340387
“Cannabinoid receptors as therapeutic targets.” http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16402900
“Cannabinoids.” http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16266285
“Plant, synthetic, and endogenous cannabinoids in medicine.” http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16409166
“The central nervous system (CNS) innate immune response includes an arsenal of molecules and receptors expressed by professional phagocytes, glial cells and neurons that is involved in host defence and clearance of toxic and dangerous cell debris. However, any uncontrolled innate immune responses within the CNS are widely recognized as playing a major role in the development of autoimmune disorders and neurodegeneration, with multiple sclerosis (MS) and Alzheimer’s disease (AD) being primary examples. Hence, it is important to identify the key regulatory mechanisms involved in the control of CNS innate immunity and which could be harnessed to explore novel therapeutic avenues. Neuroimmune regulatory proteins (NIReg) such as CD95L, CD200, CD47, sialic acid, complement regulatory proteins (CD55, CD46, fH, C3a), HMGB1, may control the adverse immune responses in health and diseases. In the absence of these regulators, when neurons die by apoptosis, become infected or damaged, microglia and infiltrating immune cells are free to cause injury as well as an adverse inflammatory response in acute and chronic settings. We will herein provide new emphasis on the role of the pair CD200-CD200R in MS and its experimental models: experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) and Theiler’s virus induced demyelinating disease (TMEV-IDD). The interest of the cannabinoid system as inhibitor of inflammation prompt us to introduce our findings about the role of endocannabinoids (eCBs) in promoting CD200-CD200 receptor (CD200R) interaction and the benefits caused in TMEV-IDD. Finally, we also review the current data on CD200-CD200R interaction in AD, as well as, in the aging brain.”
“… the endocannabinoid system has been recognized as a major neuromodulatory system whose main functions are to exert and maintain the body homeostasis.
The coordinated neural, immune, behavioral and endocrine responses to inflammation are orchestrated to provide an important defense against infections and help homeostasis restoration in the body. These responses are executed and controlled mainly by the hypothalamic-pituitary adrenal axis. Also, the hypothalamic-neurohypophyseal system is essential for survival and plays a role recovering the homeostasis under a variety of stress conditions, including inflammation and infection.
Since the endocannabinoid system components are present at sites involved in the hypothalamic-pituitary axis regulation, several studies were performed in order to investigate the endocannabinoid-mediated neurotransmitters and hormones secretion under physiological and pathological conditions.
In the present review we focused on the endocannabinoids actions on the neuroendocrine response to inflammation and infection. We provide a detailed overview of the current understanding of the role of the endocannabinoid system in the recovering of homeostasis as well as potential pharmacological therapies based on the manipulation of endocannabinoid system components that could provide novel treatments for a wide range of disorders.”
“More than 60% of advanced cancer patients suffer from anorexia and cachexia.
This review focuses on the possible mechanisms by which the endocannabinoid system antagonizes cachexia-anorexia processes in cancer patients and how it can be tapped for therapeutic applications.
Cannabinoids stimulate appetite and food intake…
Cannabinoid type 1 receptor activation stimulates appetite and promotes lipogenesis and energy storage.
Further study of cancer-cachexia pathophysiology and the role of endocannabinoids will help us to develop cannabinoids without psychotropic properties, which will help cancer patients suffering from cachexia and improve outcomes of clinical antitumor therapy.”
“The endocannabinoid system, comprising lipid-derived endocannabinoids, their G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), and the enzymes for their metabolism, is emerging as a promising therapeutic target in cancer.
This report highlights the main signaling pathways for the antitumor effects of the endocannabinoid system in cancer and its basic role in cancerpathogenesis, and discusses the alternative view of cannabinoid receptors as tumor promoters.
We focus on new players in the antitumor action of the endocannabinoid system and on emerging crosstalk among cannabinoid receptors and other membrane or nuclear receptors involved in cancer.”
“Several studies in cell cultures and in animal models have demonstrated that cannabinoids have important antitumoral properties… many of these effects are mediated through cannabinoid (CB) receptors CB1 and CB2…
The obtained data suggest a possible implication of the endocannabinoid system in renal carcinogenesis.”
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2989249/
“It is even more evidence of our need for the government to stop punishing patients for using this relatively safe and non-toxic treatment method … ”
“For years, many Americans with HIV/AIDS have used medical marijuana to relieve some common symptoms associated with the illness such as nausea, vomiting and appetite loss.
Now, a new study published last week in the journal AIDS Researcher and Human Retroviruses found that a daily dosage of marijuana’s psychoactive ingredient tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, may actually fight the HIV/AIDS virus itself.”
More: http://www.mintpressnews.com/hivaids-cure-may-be-found-in-marijuana-study/179398/
“But the U.S. government won’t let scientists try out this promising treatment on humans… proving that an illegal drug can stop a deadly disease in humans—without testing it on them—is impossible…
THC is one of 500 active ingredients in marijuana. And marijuana, despite many studies proving its medical value, is sill classified by the government as a Schedule 1 Substance.
In the face of mounting evidence that it is beneficial in treating diseases… it remains a controlled substance.
During HIV infection, one of the earliest effects is that the virus spreads rapidly throughout the body and kills a significant part of cells in the gut and intestine. This activity damages the gut in a way that allows the HIV to leak through the cell wall of the intestines and into the bloodstream.
When THC is introduced into this environment, it activates the CB2 receptors in the intestines to build new, healthy bacterial cells that block the virus from leaking through the cell walls. In other words, the body works hard to keep bad stuff in the intestines and the good stuff out.
Put another way: HIV kills the cells that protect the walls— THC brings them back. Reducing the amount of the virus in the lower intestines could then help keep uninfected people uninfected.”
More: http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/02/15/weed-can-block-h-i-v-s-spread-no-seriously.html
“Two cannabinoid receptors, designated neuronal (or CB1) and peripheral (or CB2), have recently been cloned. Activation of CB1 receptors leads to inhibition of adenylate cyclase and N-type voltage-dependent Ca2+ channels.
Here we show, using a CB2 transfected Chinese hamster ovary cell line, that this receptor binds a variety of tricyclic cannabinoid ligands as well as the endogenous ligand anandamide.
Activation of the CB2 receptor by various tricyclic cannabinoids inhibits adenylate cyclase activity and this inhibition is pertussis toxin sensitive indicating that this receptor is coupled to the Gi/G(o) GTP-binding proteins…
These results characterize the CB2 receptor as a functional and distinctive member of the cannabinoid receptor family.”
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7498464