Category Archives: News Stories

Brain’s own cannabis compound protects against inflammation

Posted on by

“Some clinical studies have indicated that marijuana or its active cannabinoid ingredient alleviates symptoms of the inflammatory disease multiple sclerosis (MS). Also, researchers have found that the brain’s natural “endocannabinoids” are released after brain injury and are believed to alleviate neuronal damage. However, scientists have not understood how such substances act within the brain’s own immune system.

 Now, experiments by Oliver Ullrich and colleagues have pinpointed how one of the brain’s endocannabinoids protects neurons from inflammation after such damage. They say their studies could lead to new drugs to treat the inflammation and brain degeneration from MS or other such disorders.

In an article in the January 5, 2006, issue of Neuron, the researchers reported experiments showing how the endocannabinoid anandamide (AEA) protects brain cells from inflammation. Such a role in the brain’s immune system is distinct from cannabinoids’ effects on neuronal signaling that produce the behavioral effects of marijuana.”

http://www.bio-medicine.org/biology-news/Brains-own-cannabis-compound-protects-against-inflammation-2810-1/

Pot Chemical May Curb Inflammation – WebMD

Posted on by

“Marijuana’s active ingredient may curb inflammation and help treat skin allergies.

That news comes from researchers including Meliha Karsak, PhD, and Thomas Tuting, MD, of Germany’s University of Bonn.

Marijuana’s key compound, THC, is a type of chemical called a cannabinoid. The brain contains two types of cannabinoid receptors.

Karsak and colleagues studied mice born with or without cannabinoid receptors. The mice wore ear tags to identify them; those ear tags contained nickel.

The mice without cannabinoid receptors were particularly likely to have allergic skin reactions to the nickel in the ear tags.

The scientists reasoned that the mice’s allergies may have been linked to their lack of cannabinoid receptors.

Karsak’s team tested that theory in several experiments.

First, they turned off cannabinoid receptors in healthy mice. Those mice then became more likely to develop skin inflammation near their nickel ear tags.

Next, the researchers exposed other mice with cannabinoid receptors to a skin irritant. Some of the mice got THC shots after being exposed to the irritant. Others got a THC skin lotion before and after exposure to the irritant.

The THC shot and lotion both helped soothe the mice’s inflamed skin.

“If we dabbed THC solution onto the animals’ skin shortly before and after applying the allergen, a lot less swelling occurred than normal,” Tuting says in a University of Bonn news release.

In the journal Science, the researchers write that their study “strongly suggests” that the body’s cannabinoid system can help tame inflammation and that THC skin lotions have “promising potential” for treating skin allergies caused by contact with irritating chemicals.

However, the researchers didn’t test the THC lotion on skin allergies in people.”

http://www.webmd.com/allergies/news/20070607/pot-chemical-may-curb-inflammation

“Attenuation of allergic contact dermatitis through the endocannabinoid system…These results demonstrate a protective role of the endocannabinoid system in contact allergy in the skin and suggest a target for therapeutic intervention.”  http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17556587

Why Cannabis Stems Inflammation

Posted on by

“Cannabis has long been accredited with anti-inflammatory properties. ETH Zurich researchers, however, have now discovered that it is not only the familiar psychoactive substances that are responsible for this; a compound we take in every day in vegetable nutriment also plays a significant role.

People not only rate cannabis sativa L. highly because of its intoxicating effects; it has also long been used as a medicinal plant. Although the plant has been scrutinized for years, surprising new aspects keep cropping up. For example, researchers from ETH Zurich and Bonn University examined a component in the plant’s essential oil that until then had largely been ignored and found it to have remarkable phar- macological effects. The findings open up interesting perspectives, especially for the prevention and treatment of inflammations.

The hemp plant contains over 450 different substances, only three of which are responsible for its intoxicating effect. They activate the two receptors in the body CB1 and CB2. Whilst the CB1 receptor in the central nervous system influences perception, the CB2 receptor in the tissue plays a crucial role in inhibiting inflammation. If the receptor is activated, the cell releases fewer pro-inflammatory signal substances, or cytokines. The scientists have now discovered that the substance beta-carophyllene, which composes between 12 and 35 percent of the cannabis plant’s essential oil, activates the CB2 receptor selectively.”

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/07/080720222549.htm

Marijuana Has Anti-Inflammatory That Won’t Get You High

Posted on by

“Marijuana supporters have long argued that the plant’s active ingredients, known as cannabinoids, are safe and effective treatments for pain, nausea, and other ailments.

The most active cannabinoid—delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC—is known to have anti-inflammatory properties. But it is also responsible for the plant’s psychotropic effects.

Now researchers say that another cannabinoid, called beta-caryophyllene, or (E)-BCP, helps combat inflammation without affecting the brain.

(E)-BCP is already part of many people’s daily diets, the researchers note. Foods that are particularly high in the compound include black pepper, oregano, basil, lime, cinnamon, carrots, and celery.

Essential oils from cannabis plants—whose leaves and flowers are used to make the marijuana drug—contain up to 35 percent (E)-BCP.”

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/06/080624-marijuana.html

Marijuana smokers are thinner, less likely to be obese than non-smokers, according to new study

Posted on by

“Stoners may spend a lot of time on the couch and craving White Castle, but they apparently don’t let their bodies go to pot.

People who smoke marijuana regularly are less likely to be obese than non-pot smokers, according to a new study by French researches.

“We found that cannabis users are less likely to be obese than non-users,” Dr. Yann Le Strat, French psychiatrist and co-author of a new study in the American Journal of Epidemiology told MSNBC. “We were so surprised, we thought we had [made] a mistake.”

Using data from two epidemiologic studies of U.S. adults, researchers found that between 22% to 25% of participants who didn’t smoke pot were obese.

But only between 14% and 17% of those people who admitted to taking a toke at least three times a week were overweight.

Le Strat said other factors, such as the stoners’ level of physical activity or diets, could have contributed to the results, but his team tried to rule out those factors.

The researches were also quick to point out that sucking on a bong isn’t the key to a tight tummy.

“The take-home message is certainly not ‘smoke cannabis, it will help you lose weight,'” Le Strat said. “The possibility that cannabis is associated with a lower risk of obesity remains an interesting hypothesis, but certainly does not counterbalance its negative effects on health and mental health.””

http://articles.nydailynews.com/2011-09-04/entertainment/30136983_1_cannabis-marijuana-smokers-smoke-pot

The Marijuana Diet: Study Says Pot Smokers Tend to be Skinnier (Really)

Posted on by

“You know the stereotype: Marijuana user = Jonah Hill-looking dude who lives on his friend’s couch.

But if you look at the daily smokers around you, and we know you have daily smokers around you, this being the pot shop capital of the nation and all, what are you looking at?

You see skinny people.

For the first time, a study seems to back up the observation that stoners are actually lithe
Research published last week in the American Journal of Epidemiology (via our friends at SF Weekly) finds that weed smokers on average are more likely to have normal weight.

Parsing data, researchers found that 22 percent of nonsmokers were overweight while only 14 percent of bud aficionados were. Those ID’d as potheads had to smoke at least three times a week under the study.

What munchies? This might explain why pot-smoking women are often, well, smoking hot.

Interesting, because one of the arguments for legalizing medical marijuana is that it can be used to boost the appetites of AIDS sufferers and cancer patients who have trouble keeping weight on.

Still a valid use? Whatever works.

But we do know that the Marijuana Diet sounds way cooler than any eating plan South Beach Miami has ever produced.”

[@dennisjromero/djromero@laweekly.com]

http://blogs.laweekly.com/informer/2011/09/marijuana_skinny_fat_study.php

The future of weight loss: A ‘marijuana’ diet pill?

Posted on by

“Limiting a brain compound that regulates metabolism allows genetically altered mice to stay skinny without exercising. Is a dream pill far behind?

If you find the prospect of staying thin while eating as much as you want appealing, scientists have news for you. New research from the University of California, Irvine — detailed in the March issue of Cell Metabolism — found that certain brain chemicals with characteristics similar to marijuana might help the body shed pounds without any exercise. A dream come true? Here’s a brief look at the promising discovery:

What chemical could have such power?
It’s an endocannabinoid compound called 2-AG. Endocannabinoids, as the name might suggest, share a similar molecular structure to the active ingredients in cannabis. Typically, high levels of 2-AG are found in the brains of mammals, and previous studies suggested that these compounds may make the body crave fat. Scientists think endocannabinoids play a key role in regulating the body’s metabolism, or the energy it makes from food.

How did scientists put the compound to the test?
Researchers genetically engineered brain cells in mice to exhibit low levels of 2-AG, on the theory that this would allow the rodents’ metabolic rates to “go crazy,” says Kristen Philipkoski at Gizmodo. And the hunch was right. These mice lived in a “hypermetabolic state,” burning fat calories far more efficiently than normal mice, study researcher Daniele Piomeli said in a statement. They were “resistant to obesity,” staying thin despite a high-fat diet without exercise. They even had normal blood pressure, and showed no increased risk of heart disease or diabetes. 

How could this discovery help humans?
“To produce the desired effects, we would need to create a drug that blocks 2-AG production in the brain,” says Piomeli, “something we’re not yet able to do.” 

So can we expect a miracle pill in the foreseeable future?
“Tweaking” human brain chemistry is no easy task, says Philipkoski. And preliminary estimates say it would take a decade and cost up to $2 billion to make the drug safe and effective enough for the FDA to to approve it. “So don’t cancel that gym membership just yet,” says Piomeli.”

http://news.yahoo.com/future-weight-loss-marijuana-diet-pill-071500947.html

Study links pot smoking and weight loss – ABC News

Posted on by

“Researchers have found a surprising link between smoking marijuana and a lower risk of obesity.”

 

“Although a common side effect of cannabis is the “munchies,” the results of a French study showed about a 10 percent lower rate of obesity in people who frequently smoke marijuana compared with those who never have.

Researchers believe some components of marijuana may help people lose weight, however they emphasized that people should not smoke marijuana to lose weight.”

http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/story?section=news/health&id=8345422

Anti-Obesity diet drug from cannabis works!

Posted on by

“For those whose New Year’s resolution was to yet again try to lose those extra kilos help may be at hand in the form of a new wonder drug derived from cannabis.

At first glance cannabis appears an unlikely candidate in the search for a weight-loss miracle drug, but the very same compound which switches off the same brain circuits that make people hungry when they smoke cannabis, could may well be the first blockbuster anti-obesity drug ever.”

http://www.news-medical.net/news/2006/01/17/15421.aspx