Tag Archives: medicine

Smoking cannabis ‘could help prevent diabetes’

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“Smoking cannabis may help prevent diabetes, a new study has suggested.

Researchers found that regular users of the Class B drug had significantly lower levels of insulin after fasting – a sign of increased protected against diabetes. They also had reduced insulin resistance.

The results, reported in the American Journal of Medicine, showed current users had 16 per cent lower fasting insulin levels than participants who reported never having used marijuana.

The findings raise the possibility treatments for diabetes could be developed based on the active ingredient of cannabis, commonly known as THC.

Large waist measurements are also linked to diabetes risk and the study revealed significant associations between marijuana use and smaller waists.

Lead researcher Murray A. Mittleman, of the Cardiovascular Epidemiology Research Unit at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, said it was the first study ‘to investigate the relationship between marijuana use and fasting insulin, glucose, and insulin resistance’, The Albany Tribune reported.

But Joseph Alpert, professor of medicine at the University of Arizona College of Medicine, Tucson, and editor in chief of the American Journal of Medicine, said: ‘We desperately need a great deal more basic and clinical research into the short and long term effects of marijuana in a variety of clinical settings such as cancer diabetes and frailty of the elderly.’

Researchers studied data from 4,657 patients who completed a drug use questionnaire.

The use of so-called ‘medical marijuana’ is growing in the US where several states allow it.”

http://metro.co.uk/2013/05/15/cannabis-could-combat-diabetes-study-shows-3759797/

Marijuana Users Have Better Blood Sugar Control: Study

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“Regular marijuana use has a positive effect on diabetic control, say researchers. They found that current marijuana users had significantly lower fasting insulin and were less likely to be insulin resistant, even after excluding patients with a diagnosis of diabetes mellitus. Their findings are reported in the current issue of The American Journal of Medicine.
 
Marijuana (Cannabis sativa) has been used for centuries to relieve pain, improve mood, and increase appetite. Outlawed in the United States in 1937, its social use continues to increase and public opinion is swinging in favor of the medicinal use of marijuana…”
 

The endocannabinoid system in the physiology and pathophysiology of the gastrointestinal tract.

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“Numerous investigations have recently demonstrated the important roles of the endocannabinoid system in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract under physiological and pathophysiological conditions.

 In the GI tract, cannabinoid type 1 (CB1) receptors are present in neurons of the enteric nervous system and in sensory terminals of vagal and spinal neurons, while cannabinoid type 2 receptors are located in immune cells. Activation of CB1 receptors was shown to modulate several functions in the GI tract, including gastric secretion, gastric emptying and intestinal motility.

Under pathophysiological conditions induced experimentally in rodents, the endocannabinoid system conveys protection to the GI tract (e.g. from inflammation and abnormally high gastric and enteric secretions).

Such protective activities are largely in agreement with anecdotal reports from folk medicine on the use of Cannabis sativa extracts by subjects suffering from various GI disorders.

 Thus, the endocannabinoid system may serve as a potentially promising therapeutic target against different GI disorders, including frankly inflammatory bowel diseases (e.g. Crohn’s disease), functional bowel diseases (e.g. irritable bowel syndrome) and secretion- and motility-related disorders.

As stimulation of this modulatory system by CB1 receptor agonists can lead to unwanted psychotropic side effects, an alternative and promising avenue for therapeutic applications resides in the treatment with CB1 receptor agonists that are unable to cross the blood-brain barrier, or with compounds that inhibit the degradation of endogenous ligands (endocannabinoids) of CB1 receptors, hence prolonging the activity of the endocannabinoid system.”

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16133420

Medical cannabis: the opportunity versus the temptation.

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“The cannabis plant has been known to humanity for centuries as a remedy for pain, diarrhea, and inflammation. Current research has shown cannabis to be a useful remedy for many diseases, including multiple sclerosis, dystonia, and chronic pain.

 Cannabinoids are used to improve food intake in anorexia of AIDS patients and to prevent vomiting due to cancer chemotherapy. In inflammatory conditions cannabinoids improve pain in rheumatoid arthritis and pain and diarrhea in Crohn’s disease. Cannabinoids reduce the size of brain infarct and cardiac reperfusion injury. However, cannabinoid treatment is not free of side effects including euphoria, psychosis, anxiety, paranoia, dependence and abuse.

Since the cannabinoid system is involved in many physiological and pathological processes, the therapeutic potential is great. We must not be blind to the opportunity offered to us by medical cannabis just because it is an illicit drug, nor should we be temped by the quick response of patients to the central effect of cannabis. More research is warranted to explore the full potential of cannabis as medicine.”

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22352284

Cannabis for better sleep

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“The use of both natural cannabinoids and cannabis extracts are associated with improved sleep in patients with various debilitating illnesses, according to a review of clinical trial data published in the journal Chemistry & Biodiversity.

“Cannabis … has been utilized for [the] treatment of pain and sleep disorders since ancient times,” authors wrote. “Modern clinical trials indicate that patients administered cannabis extracts report experiencing “more restful sleep, [an] increase [in] their daytime level of function, and [a] markedly improve[d] … quality of life.”

According to available data, of the 2,000 subjects that have been administered cannabis extracts in clinical trials, most “demonstrate marked improvement in subjective sleep parameters.”

Trial volunteers have not reported developing tolerance to the drug, even after using it for several years.

Full text of the study, “Cannabis, pain, and sleep: Lessons from therapeutic clinical trials of Sativex, a cannabis-based medicine,” appears in the journal Chemistry & Biodiversity.”

http://azarius.net/news/193/Cannabis_for_better_sleep/

Cost effectiveness of oromucosal cannabis-based medicine (sativex®) for spasticity in multiple sclerosis.

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“Spasticity is common in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) and is a major contributor to disability. Sativex®, an oromucosal spray containing cannabis-based medicinal products, has been found to be effective in reducing spasticity symptoms.

Our objective was to estimate the cost effectiveness of Sativex® plus oral anti-spasticity medicines compared with the current standard treatment for moderate or severe spasticity in MS in the UK.

CONCLUSIONS:

Using a willingness-to-pay threshold of £30 000 per QALY, Sativex® appears unlikely to be considered cost effective by UK funders of healthcare for spasticity in MS. This is unfortunate, since it appears that Sativex® use is likely to benefit some patients in the management of this common consequence of MS.”

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23072659

Endocannabinoid system modulator use in everyday clinical practice in the UK and Spain.

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“Spasticity is a disabling complication of multiple sclerosis. Some commonly used oral medications include baclofen, tizanidine, anticonvulsants and benzodiazepines, but their benefits are modest.

Sativex(®) (GW Pharmaceuticals PLC, Porton Down, UK; Laboratorios Almirall, SA, Barcelona, Spain) is a unique cannabinoid-based medicine with two main active ingredients; 9-δ-tetrahydrocannabinol, which acts mainly on cannabinoid 1 receptors in the CNS and plays a key role in the modulation of spasticity and spasms, and cannabidiol, which has different properties, including minimization of the psychoactivity associated with 9-δ-tetrahydrocannabinol. Sativex is indicated for symptomatic improvement in adult patients with moderate-to-severe multiple sclerosis-related spasticity who have not responded adequately to other first- or second-line antispasticity medications, and who demonstrate clinically significant improvement in spasticity-related symptoms during an initial trial of therapy.

Over the past couple of years, Sativex has been approved for use in a number of European countries and ongoing postmarketing studies are evaluating the possible risks associated with Sativex treatment by systematically collecting all suspected adverse reactions that occur in patients from the start of treatment. Interim data from the UK as well as Spanish Sativex safety registries confirm that clinical benefit is maintained over the longer term despite the expected trend for deterioration owing to disease progression.

 Even after more than 2 years of use, no new safety/tolerability signals have emerged with Sativex, including no evidence of driving impairment and no relevant incidence of falls or other adverse events of concern, such as psychiatric or nervous system events.

Sativex appears to be a well-tolerated and useful add-on therapy in patients who have not achieved an adequate response with traditional antispastic agents.”

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23369054

Ole Miss cooks up marijuana pain patch

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“(WMC-TV) – Ole Miss is home to the only legally grown marijuana crop in the nation and a new development there is creating quite a buzz. Faculty and student researchers say they created a new pain reliever in the form of a patch.

Dr. Mahmoud Elsohly is a faculty member at the School of Pharmacy at Ole Miss. He and his team have been working inside their marijuana research lab for nearly seven years to find alternative uses for THC, which is the main psychoactive ingredient in marijuana.

“The plant itself has a great potential for good medicine coming out of the Cannabis plant…”

More: http://www.14news.com/story/21217891/a-look-ahead-ole-miss-cooks-up-marijuana-pain-patch

Cannabis compound can help cells

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“Cannabis has been used recreationally and for medicinal purposes for centuries, yet its 60 plus active components are only partly understood. Now scientists have discovered how a compound in cannabis can help cells to function in our bodies, and aid recovery after a damaging event.

In a paper published in the Journal of Neuroscience, the researchers report on their studies into cannabidiol – a naturally occurring molecule found in cannabis.

Also known as CBD, it is not the constituent that gives the high – that compound is called tetrahydrocannabinol or THC – and so may be more acceptable as a drug treatment.

Both compounds are currently used in a pharmaceutical medicine to help patients relieve pain and other symptoms of Multiple Sclerosis.

Now researchers have discovered how CBD actually works within brain cells.

By interacting with mitochondria – which are the power generators of all cells – it can help maintain normal levels of calcium allowing cells to function properly and providing a greater resistance to damage.

Disturbance of calcium levels has long been associated with a number of brain disorders. So the finding could have implications for the development of new treatments for disorders related to malfunctioning mitochondria.

Dr Bettina Platt, from the University’s School of Medical Sciences, said: “Scientists have known for a long time that cannabidiol can help with pain relief but we never really knew how it worked.

“However we have discovered what it actually does at the cellular level.

“We are hoping that our findings can instruct the development of cannabidiol based treatments for disorders related to mitochondrial dysfunction such as Parkinson’s disease or Huntington’s disease.”

More: http://phys.org/news154280470.html

Inhibition of skin tumor growth and angiogenesis in vivo by activation of cannabinoid receptors

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“Cannabinoids inhibit skin tumor growth in vivo. Here we show that the CB1 and the CB2 receptor are expressed in normal skin and skin tumors of mice and humans. In cell culture experiments pharmacological activation of cannabinoid receptors induced the apoptotic death of tumorigenic epidermal cells, whereas the viability of nontransformed epidermal cells remained unaffected. Local administration of the mixed CB1/CB2 agonist WIN-55,212-2 or the selective CB2 agonist JWH-133 induced a considerable growth inhibition of malignant tumors generated by inoculation of epidermal tumor cells into nude mice. Cannabinoid-treated tumors showed an increased number of apoptotic cells.

 

Cannabinoids, the active components of Cannabis sativa linnaeus (marijuana)…

Marijuana and its derivatives have been used in medicine for many centuries, and currently there is a renaissance in the study of the therapeutic effects of cannabinoids… cannabinoids may be potential antitumoral agents owing to their ability to induce the regression of various types of tumors, including lung adenocarcinoma, glioma, and thyroid epithelioma in animal models.

This background prompted us to explore whether (a) the skin and skin tumors express cannabinoid receptors; (b) cannabinoid receptor activation exerts a growth-inhibiting action on skin tumors in vivo; and (c) inhibition of angiogenesis is implicated in the anti-tumoral effect of cannabinoids.

Our data show that (a) CB1 and CB2 receptors are present in the skin and skin tumors; (b) local cannabinoid receptor activation induces the regression of skin tumors in vivo; and (c) at least two mechanisms may be involved in this action: direct apoptosis of tumor cells and inhibition of tumor angiogenesis.

These results support a new therapeutic approach for the treatment of skin tumors.”

Full text: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC151833/