“Recent research found that a liquid form of therapeutic marijuana can provide cure to children with treatment-resistant epilepsy.
The said study will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology’s 67th Annual Meeting in Washington, DC in late April.”
http://au.ibtimes.com/medicinal-marijuana-may-help-cure-children-severe-epilepsy-1440398
“Malignant migrating partial seizures in infancy is a devastating pharmacoresistent epileptic encephalopathy of unknown etiology characterized by onset in the first 6 months of life, continuous migrating focal seizures with corresponding multifocal electroencephalographic discharges, developmental deterioration, and early mortality.
Recent widespread interest in the nonpsychoactive component of the cannabis plant, cannabidiol, as a potential treatment for refractory devastating epilepsies has led to individual trials initiated by families or physicians in states that have legalized medical marijuana with anecdotal success.
This report supports a role for cannabidiol in the treatment of malignant migrating partial seizures in infancy.”
“Marijuana has been used for centuries, and interest in its medicinal properties has been increasing in recent years. Investigations into these medicinal properties has led to the development of cannabinoid pharmaceuticals such as dronabinol, nabilone, and nabiximols.
Dronabinol is best studied in the treatment of nausea secondary to cancer chemotherapy and anorexia associated with weight loss in patients with acquired immune deficiency syndrome, and is approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for those indications.
Nabilone has been best studied for the treatment of nausea secondary to cancer chemotherapy. There are also limited studies of these drugs for other conditions.
Nabiximols is only available in the United States through clinical trials, but is used in Canada and the United Kingdom for the treatment of spasticity secondary to multiple sclerosis and pain.
Studies of marijuana have concentrated on nausea, appetite, and pain.
This article will review the literature regarding the medical use of marijuana and these cannabinoid pharmaceuticals (with emphasis on indications relevant to oncology)”
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25503438
“Both cannabis and cannabinoid pharmaceuticals can be helpful for a number of problems, including many affecting patients with cancer… given the limitations inherent in using oral medications to treat nausea and vomiting, inhalation of marijuana or a cannabinoid may be better than oral ingestion in treating this condition.” http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.3322/caac.21260/full
“Glioblastoma (GBM) resistance to therapy is the most common cause of tumor recurrence, which is ultimately fatal in 90% of the patients 5 years after initial diagnosis. A sub-population of tumor cells with stem-like properties, glioma stem cells (GSCs), is specifically endowed to resist or adapt to the standard therapies, leading to therapeutic resistance.
Several anticancer agents, collectively termed redox therapeutics, act by increasing intracellular levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS).
In this study, we investigated mechanisms underlying GSC response and resistance to cannabidiol (CBD), a non-toxic, non-psychoactive cannabinoid and redox modulator.
…we demonstrated that combining CBD treatment with the inhibition of system Xc resulted in synergistic ROS increase leading to robust antitumor effects, that is, decreased GSC survival, self-renewal, and invasion.
Our investigation provides novel mechanistic insights into the antitumor activity of redox therapeutics and suggests that combinatorial approaches using small molecule modulators of ROS offer therapeutic benefits in GBM.”
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25590811
http://www.thctotalhealthcare.com/category/gllomas/
“Over the past few years, increasing public and political pressure has supported legalization of medical marijuana.
One of the main thrusts in this effort has related to the treatment of refractory epilepsy-especially in children with Dravet syndrome-using cannabidiol (CBD).
Despite initiatives in numerous states to at least legalize possession of CBD oil for treating epilepsy, little published evidence is available to prove or disprove the efficacy and safety of CBD in patients with epilepsy. This review highlights some of the basic science theory behind the use of CBD, summarizes published data on clinical use of CBD for epilepsy, and highlights issues related to the use of currently available CBD products.
Cannabidiol is the major nonpsychoactive component of Cannabis sativa.
Over the centuries, a number of medicinal preparations derived from C. sativa have been employed for a variety of disorders, including gout, rheumatism, malaria, pain, and fever.
These preparations were widely employed as analgesics by Western medical practitioners in the 19(th) century.
More recently, there is clinical evidence suggesting efficacy in HIV-associated neuropathic pain, as well as spasms associated with multiple sclerosis.”
“Although cannabis has been used for pain management for millennia, very few approved cannabinoids are indicated for the treatment of pain and other medical symptoms.
Cannabinoid therapy re-gained attention only after the discovery of endocannabinoids and fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH) and monoacylglycerol lipase (MAGL), the enzymes playing a role in endocannabinoid metabolism.
Nowadays, research has focused on the inhibition of these degradative enzymes and the elevation of endocannabinoid tonus locally; special emphasis is given on multi-target analgesia compounds, where one of the targets is the endocannabinoid degrading enzyme.
In this review, I provide an overview of the current understanding about the processes accounting for the biosynthesis, transport and metabolism of endocannabinoids, and pharmacological approaches and potential therapeutic applications in this area, regarding the use of drugs elevating endocannabinoid levels in pain conditions.”
“Smoking marijuana doesn’t have to be a bad thing – Especially if you have HD.
The idea that THC can be used to relieve disease symptoms isn’t a new thing – Glaucoma, HIV, and cancer patients have all benefited from the use of CB1 agonists whether in the form of marijuana leaves or a pharmacologically similar product (like dronabinol).
Nevertheless, the idea of using THC or other CB1 agonists for the treatment of HD is pretty new…
The results of this study suggest that THC and other CB1 compounds may not only be able to improve symptoms in already symptomatic HD patients, but also slow down the progression of such a devestating disease.
Good news all around and a great use of THC as far as I’m concerned (medical use and removal from schedule-1 anyone?!).”
“Advocates for medical marijuana can take heart over the findings of two Canadian research teams.
A synthetic cannabinoid — similar to the compounds found in marijuana, but substantially stronger — causes the growth of new neurons and reduces anxiety and depression, investigators at the University of Saskatchewan here reported.
And researchers at the University of Calgary said they’ve found evidence that the brain contains so-called CB2 cannabinoid receptors, previously seen in immune tissue but thought not to exist in brain tissue. The discovery, they added, could lead to new drugs to treat nausea associated with cancer or AIDS.
Most so-called drugs of abuse — such as alcohol or cocaine — inhibit the growth of new neurons, according to Xia Zhang, M.D., Ph.D., of the University of Saskatchewan.
“Only marijuana promotes neurogenesis,” Dr. Zhang said.”
http://www.medpagetoday.com/Psychiatry/AnxietyStress/1934
“The marijuana plant Cannabis sativa has been used for centuries as a treatment for a variety of ailments. It contains over 60 different cannabinoid compounds.
Studies have revealed that the endocannabinoid system is involved in almost all major immune events. Cannabinoids may, therefore, be beneficial in inflammatory disorders.In murine colitis, cannabinoids decrease histologic and microscopic inflammation.
In humans, cannabis has been used to treat a plethora of gastrointestinal problems, including anorexia, emesis, abdominal pain, diarrhea, and diabetic gastroparesis.
Despite anecdotal reports on medical cannabis in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), there are few controlled studies. In an observational study in 30 patients with Crohn’s disease (CD), we found that medical cannabis was associated with improvement in disease activity and reduction in the use of other medications.
In a more recent placebo-controlled study in 21 chronic CD patients, we showed a decrease in the CD activity index >100 in 10 of 11 subjects on cannabis compared to 4 of 10 on placebo. Complete remission was achieved in 5 of 11 subjects in the cannabis group and 1 of 10 in the placebo group. Yet, in an additional study, low-dose cannabidiol did not have an effect on CD activity.
In summary, evidence is gathering that manipulating the endocannabinoid system can have beneficial effects in IBD, but further research is required to declare cannabinoids a medicine. We need to establish the specific cannabinoids, as well as appropriate medical conditions, optimal dose, and mode of administration, to maximize the beneficial effects while avoiding any potential harmful effects of cannabinoid use”
“Marijuana’s active ingredient killed herpes viruses in test-tube experiments…
University of South Florida microbiologist Gerald Lancz said his study may help scientists discover new anti-herpes medicines.
Lancz said it might be possible to find substances related to THC that don’t affect the mind but do kill viruses.
Lancz and his colleagues incubated THC and various viruses in test tubes.
They found that, in doses somewhat higher than found in the blood of regular marijuana users, THC killed herpes simplex virus 1, which causes the cold sores that typify oral herpes.
The scientists didn’t test THC against herpes simplex 2, the genital herpes virus. But Lancz said the drug almost certainly will kill the genital herpes virus because it is so similar to the oral herpes virus.
The study found THC also killed cytomegalovirus, a herpes virus that causes flu-like symptoms in adults and is the most common infectious cause of birth defects in the United States.”