Tag Archives: treatments

Cannabinoid Receptor 2 Protects against Acute Experimental Sepsis in Mice.

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“The systemic inflammatory response syndrome can be self-limited or can progress to severe sepsis and septic shock. Despite significant advances in the understanding of the molecular and cellular mechanisms of septic shock, it is still one of the most frequent and serious problems confronting clinicians in the treatments. And the effects of cannabinoid receptor 2 (CB2R) on the sepsis still remain undefined.

 The present study was aimed to explore the role and mechanism of CB2R in acute sepsis model of mice. Here, we found that mice were more vulnerable for lipopolysaccharide- (LPS-) induced death and inflammation after CB2R deletion (CB2R(-/-)). CB2R agonist, GW405833, could significantly extend the survival rate and decrease serum proinflammatory cytokines in LPS-treated mice. GW405833 dose-dependently inhibits proinflammatory cytokines release in splenocytes and peritoneal macrophages as well as splenocytes proliferation, and these effects were partly abolished in CB2R(-/-) splenocytes but completely abolished in CB2R(-/-) peritoneal macrophages. Further studies showed that GW405833 inhibits LPS-induced phosphorylation of ERK1/2 and STAT3 and blocks I κ B α degradation and NF- κ B p65 nuclear translocation in macrophages.

 All data together showed that CB2R provides a protection and is a potential therapeutic target for the sepsis.”

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23781122

Drug War Blocking Potential Treatments for Cancer, Alzheimer’s, Journal Claims – TIME

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“Potential treatments for Alzheimer’s disease, cancer and many other illnesses are being blocked by anti-drug laws, according to a new editorial review published in Nature Reviews Neuroscience.”

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Medicinal Marijuana Effective For Neuropathic Pain In HIV – MedicalNewsToday

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“In a double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial to assess the impact of smoked medical cannabis, or marijuana, on the neuropathic pain associated with HIV, researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine found that reported pain relief was greater with cannabis than with a placebo. The study, sponsored by the University of California Center for Medical Cannabis Research (CMCR) based at UC San Diego, will be published on line, in the journal Neuropsychopharmacology.

Led by Ronald J. Ellis, M.D., Ph.D., associate professor of neurosciences at UCSD School of Medicine, the study looked at 28 HIV patients with neuropathic pain not adequately controlled by other pain-relievers, including opiates. They took part in the controlled study as outpatients at the UCSD Medical Center. The proportion of subjects achieving pain reduction of 30 percent or more was greater for those smoking cannabis than those smoking the placebo.

“Neuropathy is a chronic and significant problem in HIV patients as there are few existing treatments that offer adequate pain management to sufferers,” Ellis said. “We found that smoked cannabis was generally well-tolerated and effective when added to the patient’s existing pain medication, resulting in increased pain relief.””

More:  http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/117509.php

Drug laws ‘hit medical research’

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“International drug laws have set back key areas of scientific research including potential medical treatments, a controversial former government drugs adviser has warned.

In the journal Nature Reviews Neuroscience, Professor David Nutt, of Imperial College London, said UN conventions on drugs act as some of the most scandalous examples of scientific censorship in modern times.

Along with another former government adviser, Leslie King, and Professor David Nichols, of the University of North Carolina, Prof Nutt argues that psychoactive drugs used in research should be exempted from severe restrictions.

Prof Nutt resigned as the chairman of the Advisory Council on Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) in November 2009 over the decision to reclassify cannabis from a Class C to a Class B drug. The possession of cannabis, Ecstasy and psychedelics is regulated under national laws and international conventions dating back to the 1960s.

Prof Nutt said: “The decision to outlaw these drugs was based on their perceived dangers, but in many cases the harms have been overstated and are actually less than many legal drugs such as alcohol.”

More: http://uk.news.yahoo.com/drug-laws-hit-medical-research-040455765.html#NAVDFvc

Outlawing drugs like marijuana censors science, researchers say – FOX

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“The outlawing of drugs such as cannabis, magic mushrooms and other psychoactive substances amounts to scientific censorship and is hampering research into potentially important medicinal uses, leading scientists argued on Wednesday.”

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“Laws and international conventions dating back to the 1960s have set back research in key areas such as consciousness by decades, they argued in the journal Nature Reviews Neuroscience.

“The decision to outlaw these drugs was based on their perceived dangers, but in many cases the harms have been overstated,” said David Nutt, a professor of neuropsychopharmacology at Imperial College London.

In a statement accompanying the Nature Reviews paper, he said the laws amounted “to the worst case of scientific censorship since the Catholic Church banned the works of Copernicus and Galileo”.

“The laws have never been updated despite scientific advances and growing evidence that many of these drugs are relatively safe. And there appears to be no way for the international community to make such changes,” he said.

“This hindering of research and therapy is motivated by politics, not science.”

Nutt and Leslie King, both former British government drugs advisers, and co-author David Nichols of the University of North Carolina, called for the use of psychoactive drugs in research to be exempted from severe restrictions.

“If we adopted a more rational approach to drug regulation, it would empower researchers to make advances in the study of consciousness and brain mechanisms of psychosis, and could lead to major treatment innovations in areas such as depression and PTSD,” Nutt said.

Nutt was sacked as a government adviser in 2009 after publicly criticizing the government for ignoring scientific advice on cannabis and ecstasy. He has conducted a small human trial using psilocybin, the psychedelic ingredient in magic mushrooms.

His study, using volunteers, suggested the drug had the potential to alleviate severe forms of depression in people who did not respond to other treatments.

But in April, Nutt said his plans to conduct the first full clinical trial to explore psilocybin as a treatment had stalled because of stringent rules on the use of illegal drugs in research.

The scientists said their call for reform had been endorsed by the British Neuroscience Association and the British Association for Psychopharmacology.”

http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/06/12/outlawing-drugs-like-marijuana-censors-science-researchers-say/

Evidence: Cannabinoid Therapy Reduces Breast Cancer Tumors

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“Warning: Many alternative treatments are shams with zero proof. Most alternatives make claims that are not backed up by any evidence or hard empirical medical studies, are are not peer-reviewed. 
 
Peer review means your study and its claims will be vetted by a panel of the best doctors and other medical professionals in that field, for critical review. They will try to find fault in its methodology before publication and its recommendations for possible human treatment.
 
For any cannabis-based study strong enough to stand up to this critical review, and for it to be published in a major journal within such a field as cancer research, is incredible. That’s exactly how strong the evidence for cannabis medicine is starting to become.
 
Imagine that. This plant, this “great friend of humanity” which has helped us survive by giving early humans food, fuel, fiber and medicine, and who ancient healers wrote about in 6000 B.C., more than 8,000 years ago, is now coming back to prove itself and to help save us again.
 
And this time we are starting to find the evidence to back up the claims made for this plant over the centuries…”
 

Cannabis Science Extracts Kill Cancer Cells In Cancer Patients Being Treated

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“Cannabis Science Extracts Kill Cancer Cells In Cancer Patients Being Treated Through Its Licensed Distributor Rockbrook

 Cannabis Science, Inc. (OTCBB: CBIS) a pioneering U.S. biotech company developing pharmaceutical cannabis (marijuana derivative) products, is pleased to announce that numerous patients are reporting that Cannabis Science extract treatments are killing cancer cells.

Unlike most conventional cancer treatments, cannabis has an outstanding safety profile, and patients in states with medical marijuana laws are able to make an informed decision to legally try various cannabis preparations to determine what is most effective for their particular condition.

Some of these scientifically informed patients have chosen to self-administer Cannabis Science extracts supplied by Rockbrook to treat their own cancers.

 Cannabis Science is delighted that patients are reporting dramatic improvements in their conditions, including basal cell carcinoma, non-small cell lung cancer accompanied by COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease), ovarian cancer, and glioma.”

More: http://www.oncologyjournal.org/blogs/admin/2956-cannabis-science-extracts-kill-cancer-cells-cancer-patients-being-treated.html

http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20110222007195/en/Cannabis-Science-Extracts-Kill-Cancer-Cells-Cancer#.VNEXMNX3-iw

Smoking Marijuana Causes ‘Complete Remission’ of Crohn’s Disease, No Side Effects, New Study Shows

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“Marijuana – scientific name “cannabis” – performed like a champ in the first-ever placebo-controlled trial of the drug to treat Crohn’s Disease, also known as inflammatory bowel disease.”

 

“The disease of the digestive tract afflicts 400,000 – 600,000 people in North America alone causing abdominal pain, diarrhea (which can be bloody), severe vomiting, weight loss, as well as secondary skin rashes, arthritis, inflammation of the eye, tiredness, and lack of concentration.

Smoking pot caused a “complete remission” of Crohn’s disease compared to placebo in half the patients who lit up for eight weeks, according to clinical trial data to be published the journal Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology.

Researchers at Israel’s Meir Medical Center took 21 people with intractable, severe Crohn’s disease and gave 11 of them two joints a day for eight weeks. “The standardized cannabis cigarettes” contained 23 percent THC and 0.5 percent CBD (cannabidiol). (Such marijuana is available on dispensary shelves in San Francisco, Oakland, and other cities that have regulated access to the drug.) The other ten subjects smoked placebo cigarettes containing no active cannabinoids.

Investigators reported that smoking weed caused a “complete remission” of Crohn’s Disease in five of the 11 subjects. Another five of the eleven test subjects saw their Crohn’s Disease symptoms cut in half. Furthermore, “subjects receiving cannabis reported improved appetite and sleep, with no significant side effects.”

The study is the first placebo-controlled clinical trial to assess the consumption of cannabis for the treatment of Crohn’s, notes NORML. All of the patients had intractable forms of the disease and did not respond to conventional treatments. Still, the United States government claims that marijuana is as dangerous as heroin and has no medical use. U.S. Attorney Melinda Haag is waging a war on safe access to medical cannabis in the Bay Area.”

http://blog.sfgate.com/smellthetruth/2013/05/14/smoking-marijuana-cured-crohns-disease-with-no-side-effects-new-study-shows/

Cannabis smokers ‘are less likely to develop diabetes’

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“Smoking cannabis may prevent the development of diabetes, one of the most rapidly rising chronic disorders in the world.

 …it could lead to the development of treatments based on the active ingredient of cannabis, tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), without its intoxicating effects.

Researchers have found that regular users of the drug had lower levels of the hormone insulin after fasting – a signal that they are protected against diabetes. They also had reduced insulin resistance.”

Read more: http://www.independent.ie/world-news/cannabis-smokers-are-less-likely-to-develop-diabetes-29267576.html

Scientist: Marijuana May Treat Diabetes – Fox News

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“Cannabis plant extracts could potentially form the basic ingredients for a market-leading diabetes drug, the scientist who developed a former world-beating treatment for the condition believes…

“There really have been relatively few developments in finding new diabetes drug treatments… This new approach might be more productive in answering the unmet clinical need.””

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,526853,00.html