Category Archives: Endocannabinoid System

A systematic review of the antipsychotic properties of cannabidiol in humans.

Posted on by

“Despite extensive study over the past decades, available treatments for schizophrenia are only modestly effective and cause serious metabolic and neurological side effects. Therefore, there is an urgent need for novel therapeutic targets for the treatment of schizophrenia.

A highly promising new pharmacological target in the context of schizophrenia is the endocannabinoid system…

the non-psychotropic, plant-derived cannabinoid agent cannabidiol (CBD) may have antipsychotic properties, and thus may be a promising new agent in the treatment of schizophrenia.

Here we review studies that investigated the antipsychotic properties of CBD in human subjects.

Results show the ability of CBD to counteract psychotic symptoms and cognitive impairment associated with cannabis use as well as with acute THC administration.

In addition, CBD may lower the risk for developing psychosis that is related to cannabis use.

These effects are possibly mediated by opposite effects of CBD and THC on brain activity patterns in key regions implicated in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia, such as the striatum, hippocampus and prefrontal cortex.

The first small-scale clinical studies with CBD treatment of patients with psychotic symptoms further confirm the potential of CBD as an effective, safe and well-tolerated antipsychotic compound, although large randomised clinical trials will be needed before this novel therapy can be introduced into clinical practice.”

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25667194

http://www.thctotalhealthcare.com/category/schizophrenia/

Antidepressant-like effects of the cannabinoid receptor ligands in the forced swimming test in mice: Mechanism of action and possible interactions with cholinergic system.

Posted on by

“The purpose of the experiments was to explore the role of the endocannabinoid system, through cannabinoid (CB) receptor ligands, nicotine and scopolamine, in the depression-related responses using the forced swimming test (FST) in mice…

Our results provide clear evidence that the endocannabinoid system participates in the depression-related behavior and through interactions with cholinergic system modulate these kind of responses.”

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25660201

http://www.thctotalhealthcare.com/category/depression-2/

Cannabinoid CB2 receptor stimulation attenuates brain edema and neurological deficits in a germinal matrix hemorrhage rat model.

Posted on by

“Germinal matrix hemorrhage (GMH) is one of the most common and devastating cerebrovascular events that affect premature infants, resulting in a significant socioeconomic burden. However, GMH has been largely unpreventable, and clinical treatments are mostly inadequate.

In the present study, we tested the hypothesis that a selective CB2 receptor agonist, could attenuate brain injury and neurological deficits…

This current study suggests a potential clinical utility for CB2R agonists as a potential therapy to reduce neurological injury and improve patient outcomes after GMH.”

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25625355

Activation of cannabinoid receptor 2 attenuates synovitis and joint distruction in collagen-induced arthritis.

Posted on by

“Recent studies have suggested immunomodulatory and anti-inflammatory effects of cannabinoid receptor 2 (CB2R) activation, which is devoid of psychoactivity. We have demonstrated the expression of CB2R in synovial tissue from patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), and its specific activation shows inhibitory effects on fibroblast-like synoviocytes. However, it is still unclear whether selective activation of CB2R inhibits joint inflammation or protects joint damage in RA.

CONCLUSIONS:

Activation of CB2R by HU-308 has therapeutic potential for RA to suppress synovitis and alleviate joint destruction by inhibiting the production of autoantibodies and proinflammatory cytokines.”

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25601571

http://www.thctotalhealthcare.com/category/arthritis/

Endocannabinoids and acute pain after total knee arthroplasty.

Posted on by

“Osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee is a progressive disease that is associated with inflammation of the joints and lower extremity pain. Total knee arthroplasty (TKA) is a surgical procedure that aims to reduce pain and restore motor function in patients suffering from OA. The immediate postoperative period can be intensely painful leading to extended recovery times including persistent pain.

The endocannabinoid system regulates nociception, and the activation of cannabinoid receptors produces antinociceptive effects in preclinical models of OA…

Taken together, our results are the first to reveal associations between central and peripheral endocannabinoid levels and postoperative pain. This suggests that endocannabinoid metabolism may serve as a target for the development of novel analgesics both for systemic or local delivery into the joint.”

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25599456

Proapoptotic effect of endocannabinoids in prostate cancer cells.

Posted on by

“Recent evidence shows that derivatives of Cannabis sativa and its analogs may exert a protective effect against different types of oncologic pathologies.

The purpose of the present study was to detect the presence of cannabinoid receptors (CB1 and CB2) on cancer cells with a prostatic origin and to evaluate the effect of the in vitro use of synthetic analogs…

Based on these results, we suggest that endocannabinoids may be a beneficial option for the treatment of prostate cancer that has become nonresponsive to common therapies.”

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25606819

http://www.thctotalhealthcare.com/category/prostate-cancer/

Role of endocannabinoid signalling in the dorsolateral periaqueductal grey in the modulation of distinct panic-like responses.

Posted on by

“Since the cannabinoid CB1 receptor modulates various types of aversive responses, this study tested the hypothesis that enhancement of endocannabinoid signalling in the dorsolateral periaqueductal grey inhibits panic-like reactions in rats…

The present results confirm the anti-aversive property of direct CB1 receptor activation in the dorsolateral periaqueductal grey…

Altogether, these results suggest that anandamide signalling is recruited only under certain types of aversive stimuli.”

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25601395

http://www.thctotalhealthcare.com/category/panic-attack/

Perturbations of the endocannabinoid system in mantle cell lymphoma: correlations to clinical and pathological features.

Posted on by

“The cannabinoid receptors are upregulated in many types of cancers, including mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) and have been suggested to constitute novel therapeutic targets.

…  the relative expression of the anandamide synthesizing and metabolizing enzymes in MCL is heavily perturbed.

This finding, together with high expression of cannabinoid receptors, could favor enhanced anandamide signaling and suggest that targeting the endocannabinoid system might be considered as part of lymphoma therapy.”

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25594062

“We have previously shown that exposure of MCL cells to cannabinoids induces cell death in vitro and reduces tumor growth in xenograft mouse models… cancer tissues express higher levels of cannabinoid receptors than the non-malignant counterparts and the endocannabinoid system is therefore considered as a potential novel therapeutic target in cancer therapy.”  http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4278325/

http://www.thctotalhealthcare.com/category/lymphoma/

Regulation of circulating endocannabinoids associated with cancer and metastases in mice and humans.

Posted on by

“Endocannabinoids may modify cancer development, progression and associated pain.

We determined whether cancer-evoked dysregulations in this system become manifest in altered tissue and plasma endocannabinoids…

 The endocannabinoid system was subject to cancer-associated regulations to an extent that led to measurable changes in circulating endocannabinoid levels, emphasizing the importance of the endocannabinoid system in the pathophysiology of cancer.”

Neuroprotection in Experimental Autoimmune Encephalomyelitis and Progressive Multiple Sclerosis by Cannabis-Based Cannabinoids.

Posted on by

“Multiple sclerosis (MS) is the major immune-mediated, demyelinating, neurodegenerative disease of the central nervous system.

Compounds within cannabis, notably Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ9-THC) can limit the inappropriate neurotransmissions that cause MS-related problems and medicinal cannabis is now licenced for the treatment of MS symptoms.

However, the biology indicates that the endocannabinoid system may offer the potential to control other aspects of disease.

… we and others can experimentally demonstrate that they may limit neurodegeneration that drives progressive disability.

Here we show that synthetic cannabidiol can slow down the accumulation of disability from the inflammatory penumbra during relapsing experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) in ABH mice, possibly via blockade of voltage-gated sodium channels.

In addition, whilst non-sedating doses of Δ9-THC do not inhibit relapsing autoimmunity, they dose-dependently inhibit the accumulation of disability during EAE. They also appear to slow down clinical progression during MS in humans…

… demonstrated a significant slowing of progression by oral Δ9-THC compared to placebo.

Whilst this may support the experimental and biological evidence for a neuroprotective effect by the endocannabinoid system in MS, it remains to be established whether this will be formally demonstrated in further trials of Δ9-THC/cannabis in progressive MS.”

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25537576

http://www.thctotalhealthcare.com/category/experimental-autoimmune-encephalomyelitis/

http://www.thctotalhealthcare.com/category/multiple-sclerosis-ms/