Tag Archives: cannabis

Study Finds No Link Between Marijuana Use And Lung Cancer – ScienceDaily

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“People who smoke marijuana–even heavy, long-term marijuana users–do not appear to be at increased risk of developing lung cancer…

Marijuana smoking also did not appear to increase the risk of head and neck cancers, such as cancer of the tongue, mouth, throat, or esophagus, the study found.

The findings were a surprise to the researchers. “We expected that we would find that a history of heavy marijuana use–more than 500-1,000 uses–would increase the risk of cancer from several years to decades after exposure to marijuana,” said the senior researcher, Donald Tashkin, M.D., Professor of Medicine at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA in Los Angeles.”

More: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/05/060526083353.htm

Marijuana Compound Shows Promise In Fighting Breast Cancer

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“A compound found in cannabis may prove to be effective at helping stop the spread of breast cancer cells throughout the body.”

 

 
“The study, by scientists at the California Pacific Medical Center Research Institute, is raising hope that CBD, a compound found in Cannabis sativa, could be the first non-toxic agent to show promise in treating metastatic forms of breast cancer.”
 
 

“Cannabidiol as a novel inhibitor of Id-1 gene expression in aggressive breast cancer cells”  http://mct.aacrjournals.org/content/6/11/2921.full

Marijuana for migraines – USAToday

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“Does marijuana have medicinal value for migraine headaches and other maladies?

“There is no question that cannabis is beneficial medicinally,” Bearman says. With migraines, “some people say it makes the pain go completely away or can prevent migraines from coming on. Others say it lessens the pain and allows them to focus on other things to get their work done.”

What cannabis does to alleviate migraines is complicated and not completely understood. “But it works on serotonin and dopamine receptors, and has anti-inflammatory activity,” says Russo, who is just finishing a paper for the Journal of Cannabis Therapeutics.

“Basically, it is a multi-modality agent that works on various aspects of migraine in a way that’s really unique. And it’s not just the THC — tetrahydrocannabinol, the psychoactive chemical — that does it. It appears now that it’s the result of the interaction of a combination of other cannabinoids and also the essential oils in the plant.”

Unlike most headache medications, cannabis is unique in that it works as both a preventive agent and an analgesic. “At any point in the migraine, they could use cannabis by smoking, vaporizer, etc., and about 80% of these people get significant or total relief,” he says. “And, if someone has a chronic migraine, daily use in whatever form will often lead to a complete remission.””

http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/life/health/doctor/lhdoc227.htm

The Use of Marijuana or Synthetic Cannabinoids for the Treatment of Headache – MedScape

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“Pharmacological preparations of cannabinoid compounds have a variety of therapeutic uses in medicine, including different pain syndromes, but have not been previously reported as beneficial for cluster headache.We present a patient with cluster headache who was refractory to multiple acute and preventive medications but successfully aborted his attacks with recreational marijuana use; subsequent use of dronabinol provided equally effective pain relief. The beneficial effect may be related to the high concentration of cannabinoid receptors in the hypothalamus, which has been implicated as a site of dysfunction in neuroimaging studies of patients with cluster headache.

The plant Cannabis sativa has a long history of medical use in the treatment of pain and spasms, the promotion of sleep, and the suppression of nausea and vomiting. However, in the early 1970s cannabis was classified in the Narcotic Acts in countries all over the world as having no therapeutic benefit; therefore, it cannot be prescribed by physicians or dispensed by pharmacists. In the light of this contradictory situation, an increasing number of patients practice a self-prescription with cannabis products for relieving a variety of symptoms.

  The majority of patients used natural cannabis products such as marihuana, hashish, and an alcoholic tincture; in just 5 cases dronabinol (Marinol) was taken by prescription…

 …this survey demonstrates a successful use of cannabis products for the treatment of a multitude of various illnesses and symptoms. This use was usually accompanied only by slight and in general acceptable side effects…”

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/738529

Cannabis Use, Effect And Potential Therapy For Alzheimer’s, MS and Parkinson’s

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“The illegal status and wide-spread use of cannabis made basic and clinical cannabis research difficult in the past decades; on the other hand, it has stimulated efforts to identify the psychoactive constituents of cannabis. As a consequence, the endocannabinoid system was discovered, which was shown to be involved in most physiological systems — the nervous, the cardiovascular, the reproductive, the immune system, to mention a few.

One of the main roles of endocannabinoids is neuroprotection, but over the last decade they have been found to affect a long list of processes, from anxiety, depression, cancer development, vasodilatation to bone formation and even pregnancy.

Cannabinoids and endocannabinoids are supposed to represent a medicinal treasure trove which waits to be discovered…

The endocannabinoid system acts as a guardian against various attacks on the mammalian body.

Conclusion

The above described research concerning the endocannabinoid-system is of importance in both basic science and in therapeutics:

  • The discovery of the cannabis plant active constituent has helped advance our understanding of cannabis use and its effects.
  • The discovery of the endocannabinoids has been of central importance in establishing the existence of a new biochemical system and its physiological roles — in particular in neuroprotection.
  • These discoveries have opened the door for the development of novel types of drugs, such as THC for the treatment of nausea and for enhancing appetite in cachectic patients.
  • The endocannabinoid system is involved in the protective reaction of the mammalian body to a long list of neurological diseases such as multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease which raises hope for novel therapeutic opportunities for these diseases.”

More: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/10/071014163644.htm

Marijuana may block Alzheimer’s

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“The active ingredient in marijuana may stall decline from Alzheimer’s disease, research suggests.” 

Brain

 

“Scientists showed a synthetic version of the compound may reduce inflammation associated with Alzheimer’s and thus help to prevent mental decline.

They hope the cannabinoid may be used to develop new drug therapies.”

More: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/4286435.stm

Medical Marijuana Achieves ‘Complete Remission’ Of Crohn’s Disease; Drug Improves Appetite And Sleep Function, With No Side Effects

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“Smoking medical marijuana achieved remission in five of 11 subjects with Crohn’s disease who smoked twice a day for eight weeks, as part of a study.”

Crohn’s disease, one of several inflammatory bowel diseases, achieved “complete remission” in nearly half the subjects of one study that were exposed to smoking medical marijuana on a regular basis.

Published in the journal Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology, the study examined the effects of consistent marijuana use on Crohn’s patients who suffered from severe cases of the disease. The results of the 21-subject study point toward the drug’s anti-inflammatory properties as being responsible for quieting symptoms in many patients, and even reaching total remission in others.”

More: http://www.medicaldaily.com/articles/17529/20130718/medical-marijuana-crohns-disease-remission-anti-inflammatory-drug-inflammatory-bowel-disease.htm

“Study: Marijuana May Achieve Complete Remission of Crohn’s Disease”  http://blog.mpp.org/research/study-marijuana-may-achieve-complete-remission-of-crohns-disease/07192013/

 

“Cannabis Induces a Clinical Response in Patients with Crohn’s Disease: a Prospective Placebo-Controlled Study... The marijuana plant Cannabis sativa has been reported to produce beneficial effects for patients with inflammatory bowel diseases… We performed a prospective trial to determine whether cannabis can induce remission in patients with Crohn’s disease…Complete remission was achieved by 5/11 subjects in the cannabis group…Three patients in the cannabis group were weaned from steroid dependency . Subjects receiving cannabis reported improved appetite and sleep, with no significant side effects.” http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23648372

Cannabis based spray approved for MS

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“Sativex licensed for spasticity in multiple sclerosis. MS charity calls it a ‘milestone’
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sad woman
 
“The cannabis-based mouth spray, Sativex, has been approved by the UK medicines regulator, MHRA, as a prescription only treatment for MS related spasticity.

Sativex is designed as an add-on treatment for moderate to severe MS spasms and cramping in people who receive inadequate relief from the standard oral anti-spasticity medicines or have experienced unbearable side effects whilst taking these medicines.

Sativex contains two cannabinoids or active ingredients – THC (delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol) and CBD (cannabidiol).  It is the first cannabinoid medicine derived from whole plant extracts from the cannabis sativa plant…”

More: http://www.webmd.boots.com/news/20100621/cannabis-based-spray-approved-for-ms

Pot smoking may help relieve symptoms of MS – NBC News

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“Smoking marijuana may improve some symptoms of multiple sclerosis, a new study suggests.

Patients with multiple sclerosis in the study had less muscle tightness, also called spasticity, and less pain after they smoked marijuana, compared with after they took a placebo…

More research is needed to confirm the findings and to investigate whether lower doses of marijuana may have similar benefits with fewer adverse effects, said study researcher Dr. Jody Corey-Bloom, professor of neurosciences and director of the Multiple Sclerosis Center at the University of California, San Diego.

The study is published today (May 14) in the Canadian Medical Association Journal.

Improved symptoms

Previous studies have suggested marijuana use may have benefits for MS patients, but most have investigated oral forms of the drug, including mouth sprays and capsules. In addition, most studies have asked patients to report changes in their symptoms, rather than having a researcher objectively assess them…

Participants were randomly assigned to receive treatment with a marijuana cigarette or a placebo cigarette, which did not contain delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the active ingredient of marijuana. Participants smoked a marijuana cigarette once a day for three consecutive days under the supervision of a researcher. Eleven days later, participants repeated the procedure, but this time, they switched treatment groups so that everyone received the marijuana cigarette and placebo at some point in the study. On average, participants smoked four puffs of their cigarettes at each session.

Shortly after each treatment session, the researchers assessed participants with a test specifically designed to measure spasticity.

After smoking marijuana, participants experienced a 30 percent reduction in spasticity, compared with when they smoked the placebo cigarette, Corey-Bloom said.”

More: http://www.nbcnews.com/health/pot-smoking-may-help-relieve-symptoms-ms-771076

Cannabis eases multiple sclerosis (MS) stiffness per study published in neurology journal

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“The trial, led by John Peter Zajicek of Britain’s Clinical Neurology Research Group, says standardized doses of cannabis extract can be useful in easing pain and spasms in this disease.”

Use of cannabis extract helps ease painful muscle stiffness among patients with multiple sclerosis (MS), according to a large new trial.

“Use of cannabis extract helps ease painful muscle stiffness among patients with multiple sclerosis (MS), according to a large trial published on Tuesday in the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry…”

http://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/health/cannabis-eases-multiple-sclerosis-ms-stiffness-study-article-1.1179450