“A new study has revealed that smoking cannabis may help protect against type 2 diabetes after researchers in the US found that regular users of the drug have better blood sugar control …
Tests showed that current users had 16% lower fasting insulin levels and reduced insulin resistance than those who had never used cannabis . Non-users also had larger waistlines and lower levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL or ‘good’) cholesterol – both of which are risk factors for type 2 diabetes.”
“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.”
“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/
“Individuals who either smoke or ingest marijuana on a fairly regular basis have a better blood sugar control than people who are non-users, a study recently published in The American Journal of Medicine suggests.
The findings of this study are based on data collected while looking into the medical records of 4,657 people who had completed a drug use questionnaire as part of a research carried out by the National Health and Nutrition Survey between 2005 and 2010…
“Previous epidemiologic studies have found lower prevalence rates of obesity and diabetes mellitus in marijuana users compared to people who have never used marijuana, suggesting a relationship between cannabinoids and peripheral metabolic processes, but ours is the first study to investigate the relationship between marijuana use and fasting insulin, glucose, and insulin resistance,” lead researcher Murray A. Mittleman commented on the findings of this investigation.”
“A new research has found that the people who smoke cannabis are having lower risk of suffering from diabetes. The researchers have said that the reason behind the same is that the people using marijuana have lower levels of insulin in blood.
This means that the blood sugar control is better in them. The link between cannabis and diabetes control is yet to be established. If it happens, a new development can be expected to treat the patients with the condition using the plant’s compound active ingredient, tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC.
The study was published in the American Journal of Medicine. It asserted that the people who consumed cannabis had 16% lower fasting of the insulin levels in comparison to those who had never smoked marijuana.
Also, the people using the drug were found to have lower waist circumference. Studies have found large waist circumference linked to diabetes risk.
Usually, marijuana is consumed by the cancer patients and others with conditions like multiple sclerosis. Medical form of the drug is legal for use in the 18 US states and most of the Americans want it to be legalized.
The findings were based on questionnaire answered by about 4,657 patients and the data derived from the National Health and Nutrition Survey between 2005 and 2010.”
http://frenchtribune.com/teneur/1318085-marijuana-smokers-found-have-lower-risk-diabetes-research
“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
“Regular users of the drug found to have lower levels of insulin after fasting, research shows. Smoking cannabis may prevent the development of diabetes, one of the most rapidly rising chronic disorders in the world.
If the link is proved, it could lead to the development of treatments based on the active ingredient of cannabis, tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), without its intoxicating effects.”
“The endogenous cannabinoid system participates in the regulation of energy homeostasis, and this fact led to the identification of a new group of therapeutic agents for complicated obesity and diabetes. Cannabinoid receptor antagonists are now realities in clinical practice. The use of such antagonists for reducing body weight gain, lowering cholesterol and improving glucose homeostasis is based on the ability of the endocannabinoids to coordinately regulate energy homeostasis by interacting with central and peripheral targets, including adipose tissue, muscle, liver and endocrine pancreas. In this review we will analyse the presence of this system in the main cell types of the islets of Langerhans, as well as the physiological relevance of the endocannabinoids and parent acylethanolamides in hormone secretion and glucose homeostasis. We will also analyse the impact that these findings may have in clinical practice and the potential outcome of new therapeutic strategies for modulating glucose homeostasis and insulin/glucagon secretion.”
“We examined the presence of functional cannabinoid receptors 1 and 2 (CB1, CB2) in isolated human islets, phenotyped the cells producing cannabinoid receptors and analysed the actions of selective cannabinoid receptor agonists on insulin, glucagon and somatostatin secretion in vitro. We also described the localisation on islet cells of: (1) the endocannabinoid-producing enzymes N-acyl-phosphatidyl ethanolamine-hydrolysing phospholipase D and diacylglycerol lipase; and (2) the endocannabinoid-degrading enzymes fatty acid amidohydrolase and monoacyl glycerol lipase.
Human islets of Langerhans expressed CB1 and CB2 (also known as CNR1 and CNR2) mRNA and CB1 and CB2 proteins, and also the machinery involved in synthesis and degradation of 2-AG (the most abundant endocannabinoid, levels of which were modulated by glucose). Immunofluorescence revealed that CB1 was densely located in glucagon-secreting alpha cells and less so in insulin-secreting beta cells. CB2 was densely present in somatostatin-secreting delta cells, but absent in alpha and beta cells. In vitro experiments revealed that CB1 stimulation enhanced insulin and glucagon secretion, while CB2 agonism lowered glucose-dependent insulin secretion, showing these cannabinoid receptors to be functional.
Together, these results suggest a role for endogenous endocannabinoid signalling in regulation of endocrine secretion in the human pancreas.”