“The therapeutic effects of cannabinoid compounds have been the center of many investigations.
This study provides a synthesis on all Cochrane systematic reviews (SRs) that assessed the use of cannabinoids as a therapeutic approach.
“The therapeutic effects of cannabinoid compounds have been the center of many investigations.
This study provides a synthesis on all Cochrane systematic reviews (SRs) that assessed the use of cannabinoids as a therapeutic approach.
“The acute effects of marijuana consumption on brain physiology and behaviour are well documented, but the long-term effects of its chronic use are less well known. Chronic marijuana use during adolescence is of increased interest, given that the majority of individuals first use marijuana during this developmental stage , and adolescent marijuana use is thought to increase the susceptibility to abusing other drugs when exposed later in life. It is possible that marijuana use during critical periods in adolescence could lead to increased sensitivity to other drugs of abuse later on. To test this, we chronically administered ∆ 9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) to male and female Long-Evans (LER) and Wistar (WR) rats directly after puberty onset. Rats matured to postnatal day 90 before being exposed to a conditioned place preference task (CPP). A subthreshold dose of d-amphetamine, found not to induce place preference in drug naïve rats, was used as the unconditioned stimulus. The effect of d-amphetamine on neural activity was inferred by quantifying cfos expression in the nucleus accumbens and dorsal hippocampus following CPP training. Chronic exposure to THC post-puberty had no potentiating effect on a subthreshold dose of d-amphetamine to induce CPP. No differences in cfosexpression were observed. These results show that chronic exposure to THC during puberty did not increase sensitivity to a sub-threshold dose of d-amphetamine in adult LER and WR rats. This supports the concept that THC may not sensitize the response to all drugs of abuse.”
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29770212.2
https://f1000research.com/articles/7-342/v2
“Epidermolysis bullosa (EB) is a genetic blistering disorder characterized by intense pain related to disease pathology and care-based interventions. Opioid-based therapies underpin pain-care in EB however are unable to provide adequate analgesia in a significant proportion of patients. Cannabinoid-based medicines (CBMs) have been increasingly studied for pain conditions of various etiologies and pose as a novel dimension for pain-care in EB. We present three cases of EB who were prescribed pharmaceutical-grade sublingually administered CBMs comprising tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD). All three patients reported improved pain scores, reduced pruritus and reduction in overall analgesic drug intake. ” https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30347109 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/bjd.17341]]>
“The current study aimed to determine the impact of marijuana on mood in bipolar patients and to examine whether marijuana confers an additional negative impact on cognitive function. Findings suggest that for some bipolar patients, marijuana may result in partial alleviation of clinical symptoms. Moreover, this improvement is not at the expense of additional cognitive impairment. The current study highlights preliminary evidence that patients with BPD who regularly smoked MJ reported at least short-term clinical symptom alleviation following MJ use, indicating potential mood-stabilizing properties of MJ in at least a subset of patients with BPD.” https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27275781 https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0157060]]>
“Cannabis sativa L. is a dioecious plant belonging to the Cannabaceae family. The main phytochemicals that are found in this plant are represented by cannabinoids, flavones, and terpenes. Some biological activities of cannabinoids are known to be enhanced by the presence of terpenes and flavonoids in the extracts, due to a synergistic action.
In the light of all the above, the present study was aimed at the multi-component analysis of the bioactive compounds present in fibre-type C. sativa (hemp) inflorescences of different varieties by means of innovative HPLC and GC methods. In particular, the profiling of non-psychoactive cannabinoids was carried out by means of HPLC-UV/DAD, ESI-MS, and MS². The content of prenylated flavones in hemp extracts, including cannflavins A and B, was also evaluated by HPLC.
The study on Cannabis volatile compounds was performed by developing a new method based on headspace solid-phase microextraction (HS-SPME) coupled with GC-MS and GC-FID. Cannabidiolic acid (CBDA) and cannabidiol(CBD) were found to be the most abundant cannabinoids in the hemp samples analysed, while β-myrcene and β-caryophyllene were the major terpenes. As regards flavonoids, cannflavin A was observed to be the main compound in almost all the samples.
The methods developed in this work are suitable for the comprehensive chemical analysis of both hemp plant material and related pharmaceutical or nutraceutical products in order to ensure their quality, efficacy, and safety.”
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30322208
https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/23/10/2639
“Recreational use of marijuana is associated with few adverse effects, but abuse of synthetic cannabinoids (SCBs) can result in anxiety, psychosis, chest pain, seizures and death. To potentially explain higher toxicity associated with SCB use, we hypothesized that AB-PINACA, a common second generation SCB, exhibits atypical pharmacodynamic properties at CB1 cannabinoid receptors (CB1Rs) and/or a distinct metabolic profile when compared to Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ9-THC), the principal psychoactive cannabinoid present in marijuana. Taken collectively, the atypical pharmacodynamic properties of AB-PINACA at CB1Rs relative to Δ9-THC (e.g., higher potency/efficacy and greater production of desensitization), coupled with an unusual metabolic profile (e.g., production of metabolically stable active phase I metabolites) may contribute to the pronounced adverse effects observed with abuse of this SCB compared to marijuana. ““K2” or “Spice” is a popular drug of abuse that is heavily marketed to young teens and first-time drug users as “safe” and/or “legal” marijuana”. Most K2 preparations consist of plant materials laced with a mixture of one or more SCB compounds possessing psychoactive properties similar to those produced by Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ9-THC), the principal psychoactive compound found in marijuana. However, in contrast to the low incidence of adverse effects reported following use of marijuana, recreational abuse of SCBs can additionally result in anxiety, psychosis, chest pain, seizures and death. In marked contrast to K2/Spice products, marijuana contains only a single psychoactive compound Δ9-THC and a second natural constituent known as cannabidiol, that appears to blunt adverse effects produced by Δ9-THC. In fact, the beneficial combination of cannabidiol with Δ9-THC led to development of Sativex, a drug currently in clinical trials to treat a variety of indications including spasticity associated with multiple sclerosis. In addition to Δ9-THC and cannabidiol, the cannabis plant contains hundreds of other phytocannabinoids and constituents not present in K2/Spice products that may help mitigate harmful and/or adverse effects ” https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30319418 https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fphar.2018.01084/full]]>
“Clinical studies have shown that the major psychoactive ingredient of Cannabis sativa Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) has some analgesic efficacy in neuropathic pain states.
However, THC has a significant side effect profile. We examined whether the profile of THC could be improved by co-administering it with the first-line neuropathic pain medication gabapentin.
These findings indicate that gabapentin synergistically enhances the anti-allodynic actions of THC and improves its therapeutic window.
Thus, THC may represent a potential adjuvant for neuropathic pain medications such as gabapentin.”
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30312630
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0028390818307779?via%3Dihub
“Cannabis is often used by consumers for sleep disorders. Our study suggests that circadian rhythm in microglial cells is deregulated by CBD but not by THC. It is consistent with clinical observations of the use of therapeutic cannabis to treat insomnia.” https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30307084 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/adb.12660]]>
“Patients with Gilles de la Tourette syndrome (GTS) experience reduced function and impaired quality of life. The current medical treatments for this syndrome can cause significant side effects and offer partial symptomatic relief. In a few small trials medical cannabis (MC) has been suggested to offer symptomatic relief with a relatively benign side effect profile. We conducted a real-life assessment of clinical benefit and adverse effects of chronic MC treatment among patients with GTS.