Tag Archives: marijuana

THC, found in cannabis, shown to be effective in the treatment of brain tumors

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“In 2000, scientists at the Complutense University of Madrid carried out an extensive experiment, testing the effects of THC on cancerous brain cells in laboratory rats. Their discoveries were nothing short of amazing, as THC had effectively managed to destroy all cancer cells, while leaving healthy cells unaffected.
 
 Research into the effects of THC on glioblastoma would have had the potential to revolutionize available cancer treatments, yet due to insufficient funding and poor public exposure, the science team was unable to further their research.Manuel Guzman explained that “cannabinoids are selective antitumor compounds, as they can kill tumor cells without affecting their non-transformed counterparts.” In contrast to this, chemotherapy, the prevalent anticancer treatment of today, consists of a combination of antineoplastic drugs that have devastating physical and psychological side-effects… 
 
THC works by triggering the build-up of a chemical messenger known as ceramide, which in turn induces apoptosis (or programmed cell death) in mutated tumor cells.
Subsequent research into the properties of THC has revealed that it is among the very few naturally occurring, harmless substances that are capable of inducing programmed cell death in cancerous cells. Other substances with this property include anandamide, other cannabinoids and tumor necrosis factors produced by the immune system in its attempt to fight cancer.
 
After months of effort to obtain funding for testing the medical effects of THC on human tissues, the Madrid science team was forced to abandon this project, although there is currently no effective treatment available for malignant brain tumors.” 
 
 

Marijuana Compounds Possess Synergistic Anti-Cancer Effects, Study Says

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“Marijuana’s active compounds act synergistically to inhibit the growth of cancer cells and induce malignant cell death, according to preclinical trial data published online by the journal Molecular Cancer Therapeutics.

Investigators at the University of California, Pacific Medical Center Research Institute assessed whether the administration of the non-psychoactive cannabidiol would enhance the anti-cancer effects of THC on glioblastoma (brain cancer) cells.

Researchers reported that a combination of cannabinoids showed greater anti-cancer activity than the administration of either compound individually. “We discovered that cannabidiol enhanced the ability of THC to inhibit cell proliferation and induce cell cycle arrest and apoptosis (programmed cell death),” authors reported.

Investigators concluded: “Individually, THC and cannabidiol can activate distinct pathways in glioblastoma cells that ultimately culminate in inhibition of cancer cell growth and invasion as well as induction of cell death. We hypothesized that, if the individual agents were combined, a convergence on shared pathways may ensue, leading to an enhanced ability of the combination treatment to inhibit certain cancer cell phenotypes. We found this to be true in this investigation.”

A 2008 scientific review published in the journal Cancer Research reported that the cannabinioids inhibit cell proliferation in a wide range of cancers, including brain cancer, prostate cancer, breast cancer, lung cancer, skin cancer, pancreatic cancer, and lymphoma.”

http://norml.org/news/2010/01/21/marijuana-compounds-possess-synergistic-anti-cancer-effects-study-says

Cannabinoid cell surface receptor plays a tumor-suppressing role in human colorectal cancer

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“New preclinical research shows that cannabinoid cell surface receptor CB1 plays a tumor-suppressing role in human colorectal cancer, scientists report in the Aug. 1 edition of the journal Cancer Research.

CB1 is well-established for relieving pain and nausea, elevating mood and stimulating appetite by serving as a docking station for the cannabinoid group of signaling molecules. It now may serve as a new path for cancer prevention or treatment.

“We’ve found that CB1 expression is lost in most colorectal cancers, and when that happens a cancer-promoting protein is free to inhibit cell death,” said senior author Raymond DuBois, M.D., Ph.D., provost and executive vice president of The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center.

DuBois and collaborators from Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center also show that CB1 expression can be restored with an existing drug, decitabine. They found that mice prone to developing intestinal tumors that also have functioning CB1 receptors develop fewer and smaller tumors when treated with a drug that mimics a cannabinoid receptor ligand. Ligands are molecules that function by binding to specific receptors. Agonists are synthetic molecules that mimic the action of a natural molecule.

“Potential application of cannabinoids as anti-tumor drugs is an exciting prospect, because cannabinoid agonists are being evaluated now to treat the side-effects of chemotherapy and radiation therapy,” DuBois said. “Turning CB1 back on and then treating with a cannabinoid agonist could provide a new approach to colorectal cancer treatment or prevention.”

Cannabinoids are a group of ligands that serve a variety of cell-signaling roles. Some are produced by the body internally (endocannabinoids). External cannabinoids include manmade versions and those present in plants, most famously the active ingredient in marijuana (THC).”

More: http://www.news-medical.net/news/2008/08/03/40485.aspx

Cannabinoids can inhibit tumor cell growth in highly invasive cancers

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“A new study has found that Cannabinoids, the active components in marijuana, may aid in inhibiting tumor cell growth in highly invasive cancers.”

Fig. 4

“Although, Cannabinoids are used in reducing the side effects of cancer treatment, such as pain, weight loss, and vomiting, evidences indicate that they might even help in suppressing tumor invasion.

Robert Ramer, Ph.D., and Burkhard Hinz, Ph.D., of the University of Rostock in Germany investigated whether and by what mechanism cannabinoids hold back tumor cell invasion.

It was found that Cannabinoids did suppress tumor cell invasion and stimulated TIMP-1 expression.

TIMP-1 is an inhibitor of a group of enzymes involved in tumor cell invasion.

“To our knowledge, this is the first report of TIMP-1-dependent anti-invasive effects of cannabinoids,” the authors said.

They added: “This signaling pathway may play an important role in the antimetastatic action of cannabinoids, whose potential therapeutic benefit in the treatment of highly invasive cancers should be addressed in clinical trials.”

The study was published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute (ANI)”

“Inhibition of Cancer Cell Invasion by Cannabinoids via Increased Expression of Tissue Inhibitor of Matrix Metalloproteinases-1” http://jnci.oxfordjournals.org/content/100/1/59.long

http://www.topnews.in/health/cannabinoids-can-inhibit-tumor-cell-growth-highly-invasive-cancers-2380 

Marijuana Ingredient Inhibits VEGF Pathway Required For Brain Tumor Blood Vessels

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“Cannabinoids, the active ingredients in marijuana, restrict the sprouting of blood vessels to brain tumors by inhibiting the expression of genes needed for the production of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF).

“Blockade of the VEGF pathway constitutes one of the most promising antitumoral approaches currently available,” said Manuel Guzmán, professor of biochemistry and molecular biology, with the Complutense University in Madrid, Spain, and the study’s principal investigator.

“The present findings provide a novel pharmacological target for cannabinoid-based therapies.””

More: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2004/08/040816085401.htm

“Cannabinoids inhibit the vascular endothelial growth factor pathway in gliomas.” http://cancerres.aacrjournals.org/content/64/16/5617.long

Anti-inflammatory activity of topical THC in DNFB-mediated mouse allergic contact dermatitis independent of CB1 and CB2 receptors.

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“∆9 -Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the active constituent of Cannabis sativa, exerts its biological effects in part through the G-protein-coupled CB1 and CB2 receptors, which were initially discovered in brain and spleen tissue, respectively. However, THC also has CB1/2 receptor-independent effects. Because of its immune-inhibitory potential, THC and related cannabinoids are being considered for the treatment of inflammatory skin diseases.

Here we investigated the mechanism of the anti-inflammatory activity of THC and the role of CB1 and CB2 receptors…

CONCLUSIONS:

Topically applied THC can effectively attenuate contact allergic inflammation by decreasing keratinocyte-derived pro-inflammatory mediators that orchestrate myeloid immune cell infiltration independent of CB1/2 receptors.

This has important implications for the future development of strategies to harness cannabinoids for the treatment of inflammatory skin diseases.”

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23889474

Marijuana cannabinoids found to help combat autism

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cannabinoids

“(NaturalNews) The cannabinoid compounds naturally found in many varieties of cannabis, also known more commonly as marijuana, may help children with autism spectrum disorders experience dramatic behavioral improvements, and potentially even full recovery from their symptoms. These are the findings of a new study published in the journal Nature Communications that help reinforce the growing body of evidence which shows that medicinal cannabinoids hold incredible potential in both treating and potentially curing chronic illness…
 

Can non-psychoactive cannabinoid compounds actually cure chronic illness?

Though the researchers were quick to deny that cannabinoids hold any potential at actually curing autism, which more than likely was a politically-motivated denial rather than a factual admission, other research and actual case studies suggest that cannabinoid compounds are, indeed, powerful enough to mitigate many or all of the symptoms associated with autism, as well as many other diseases.”

 

Stanford University Study Finds That Marijuana Could Help With Autism

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“A study conducted by Stanford University has found that there might be compounds in marijuana which have some very specific health benefits. The study’s results reveal that cannabinoids – which are found in cannabis – might help to treat autism.”

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“A new study shows that mutations associated with autism block the action of brain molecules that act on the same receptors that marijuana’s active chemical acts on,” according to the Autism Daily Newscast. “Thomas Sudhof, a cellular physiologist at Stanford University, tested mutations associated with autism in mice. Two mutations associated with autism in a synapse-adhesion protein led to deficits in prolonged endocannabinoid signaling in mice. This suggests that autism could caused by a disruption of the brain’s ability to send clear signals.
 
ADN references another study that supports the theory that cannabinoids could be used as a treatment to autism…”
 

More: http://www.opposingviews.com/i/health/stanford-university-study-finds-marijuana-could-help-autism#

Study Finds Cannabis May Provide Treatment For Autism

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“A new study out of Standford University has found promising signs to suggest that cannabinoids – compounds found in cannabis, as well as naturally produced in our body – may help to treat autism.

According to Autism Daily Newscast (ADN); ”A new study shows that mutations associated with autism block the action of brain molecules that act on the same receptors that marijuana’s active chemical acts on”.

They continue: “Thomas Sudhof, a cellular physiologist at Stanford University, tested mutations associated with autism in mice. Two mutations associated with autism in a synapse-adhesion protein led to deficits in prolonged endocannabinoid signaling in mice. This suggests that autism could caused by a disruption of the brain’s ability to send clear signals”.

These findings suggest that cannabinoids could be used as a treatment to autism as they can unblock a disruption in the body’s cannabinoid receptors…”

More: http://www.theweedblog.com/study-finds-cannabis-may-provide-treatment-for-autism/

Hope for autistic children might lie in medical marijuana, study says – msn

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Marijuana in a prescription bottle (© Gary Morrison/Getty Images)

“Stanford University released a study that will most likely add more fuel to the already contentious debate over medical marijuana, especially regarding its possible use by kids. The study, released in April, shows that cannabinoids, which are found in cannabis, might help treat autism. In the human brain, endocannabinoid signaling affects memory formation, learning, and other processes, but forms of autism can block these signals. When cannabinoids were present in the brains of mice being studied, these signals were able to get through. While more research is needed, autism groups are hopefull about the possibilties of medical marijuana. As the Autism Daily Newscast put it, “Many children with autism are already given cocktails of drugs that may be even stronger than marijuana, with serious side effects and limited results.”

http://now.msn.com/marijuana-affects-autism-by-helping-brain-signals-get-through-says-stanford-study