“Cannabinoids are a collective group of compounds that act on cannabinoid receptors. They include plant-derived phytocannabinoids, synthetic cannabinoids, and endogenously-derived endocannabinoids. The primary source of cannabinoid toxicity is from plant-derived cannabinoids and synthetic cannabinoids. These agents act as cannabinoid receptor agonists. More than 60 naturally occurring cannabinoids are found in the Sativa and Indica species of Cannabis, with delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) being the main psychoactive compound. Other naturally occurring cannabinoids include cannabidiol and cannabinol. Marijuana is the most common colloquial name for crushed, dried leaves and flowers of the Cannabis plant. In recent years, there have been many reports of marijuana toxicity, primarily in the pediatric population, as medical and recreational marijuana has been legalized. The terms phytocannabinoids, marijuana and cannabis are used interchangeably. Synthetic cannabinoids were created for therapeutic and research purposes; however, despite legal efforts to limit their availability, synthetic cannabinoids have become an increasingly common drug of abuse, sold under various street names such as K2, Spice, and Black Mamba. Synthetic cannabinoids are associated with much more morbidity and mortality than the phytocannabinoids. Prescription preparations for medical usage include dronabinol, or pure THC, nabilone, a synthetic cannabinoid, and cannabidiol (CBD). Pharmaceutical use of cannabinoids is an ongoing field of research.” https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29489164 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK482175/]]>
Category Archives: THC (Delta-9-Tetrahydrocannabinol)
Effect of marijuana on Essential Tremor: A case report
“Objective: Examine the effectiveness of THC marijuana versus non-THC marijuana on handwriting in Essential Tremor. Background: Essential tremor (ET) is a chronic movement disorder which can be quite debilitating. ET is often progressive, beginning as a mild visible tremor with little or no impact on activities of daily living (ADLs) but tends to increase in severity over the course of years, often to the extent that people with ET may have extreme difficulty with task such as writing, drinking, eating, shaving, or putting on make-up. Unfortunately, a certain portion of people with ET are either intolerant or unresponsive to the currently recommended treatments. Patients occasionally report improvement in ET after marijuana use. While reports exist of THC effect on tremor in patients with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) and Parkinson’s disease (PD), the same is not true for ET. Methods: Case Report. Results: Patient JB, a retired psychologist, had long-standing severe familial tremor significantly interfering with ADLs. Standard treatments were tried. Primidone was partially effective, but resulted in erectile dysfunction and anorgasmia. Propranolol was mildly effective, but was switched to metoprolol by his cardiologist. Gabapentin was ineffective and caused GI distress. Topiramate was ineffective. Diazepam and alcohol were effective but used only occasionally due to sedating effects. While on a family vacation in a state with legalized marijuana, JB recorded his handwriting at baseline, after using an oral non-THC marijuana derivative, after using standard marijuana (oral), and after using alcohol. Handwriting was moderately improved after taking the THC preparation, as well as after taking alcohol; the improvement was roughly equivalent with these two treatments. It did not improve with the non-THC preparation. Conclusions: This case report suggests 1) handwriting in ET may be improved with the use of THC, 2) handwriting in ET may not be improved with non-THC derivatives of marijuana, and 3) the effect of THC in this case was similar to that of alcohol. While there have been several small studies and case reports addressing the efficacy of marijuana in controlling tremor in PD and MS, no such studies have been conducted regarding ET and the use of marijuana and its derivatives for control of ET is currently considered category U due to insufficient evidence. Further investigation of the potential efficacy of marijuana for ET is clearly warranted.” http://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/effect-of-marijuana-on-essential-tremor-a-case-report/ http://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/effect-of-marijuana-on-essential-tremor-a-case-report/
“Marijuana May Improve Essential Tremor and Parkinson’s” http://parkinsonsclinic.com/1/post/2016/05/marijuana-may-improve-essential-tremor-and-parkinsons.html
]]>Time-dependent effect of phytocannabinoid treatments in fat cells.
“The objectives of this paper is to investigate, demonstrate, and compare the mechanism of action of phytocannabinoids as antidiabetic and anti-obesity agents in preadipocytes and adipocytes, relative to rosiglitazone and metformin. Briefly, cannabis extract, Δ9 -tetrahydrocannabinol and cannabidiol (in very low dosages) were shown to promote glucose uptake higher or to equivalent levels, reduce fat accumulation, and reverse the insulin-resistant state of 3T3-L1 cells more effectively, relative to rosiglitazone and metformin. The phytocannabinoids had a more pronounced effect in preadipocytes undifferentiated model rather than the differentiated model. They induced a protective effect at the mitochondrial level by preventing overactivity of the succinate dehydrogenase pathway (p < .01), unlike rosiglitazone, through activation of the glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase shuttling system. An increase in oxygen consumption and an increased expression of beta to alpha adrenoceptors (p < .05) in treated cells were noted. These findings contribute toward understanding the mechanism of action of phytocannabinoids in fat cells and highlight the antidiabetic and anti-obesity properties of various phytocannabinoids that could potentially support the treatment of obesity-related insulin resistance.” https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29464872]]>
Impact of co-administration of oxycodone and smoked cannabis on analgesia and abuse liability.
“Cannabinoids combined with opioids produce synergistic antinociceptive effects, decreasing the lowest effective antinociceptive opioid dose (i.e., opioid-sparing effects) in laboratory animals.
Although pain patients report greater analgesia when cannabis is used with opioids, no placebo-controlled studies have assessed the direct effects of opioids combined with cannabis in humans or the impact of the combination on abuse liability.
This double-blind, placebo-controlled, within-subject study determined if cannabis enhances the analgesic effects of low dose oxycodone using a validated experimental model of pain and its effects on abuse liability.
Cannabis enhances the analgesic effects of sub-threshold oxycodone, suggesting synergy, without increases in cannabis’s abuse liability. These findings support future research into the therapeutic use of opioid-cannabinoid combinations for pain.”
The Role of Cannabinoid Receptor 1 in the Immunopathology of Respiratory Syncytial Virus.
“Endocannabinoid system plays an important role in pathophysiologic processes such as immune functions and impacts on disease severity.
Our previous study showed that cannabinoid receptor 2 (CB2) affects clinical course of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection. In this study, we investigated the role of cannabinoid receptor 1 (CB1) in RSV immunopathology and its therapeutic potential in mice model.
This study and our previous finding indicated that endocannabinoid signaling regulates the inflammatory response to RSV infection, and is a potential therapeutic candidate for alleviation of RSV-associated immunopathology.”
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29461930
http://online.liebertpub.com/doi/10.1089/vim.2017.0098
“Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a debilitating condition highly comorbid with depression. The endocannabinoid (eCB) system and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) are suggestively involved in both disorders.
We examined whether