“A hypothetical link between marijuana smoking and cancer has been established based on a number of misleading assumptions. However, recent studies tend to suggest, if anything, an inverse association between marijuana use and cancers. To test the hypothesis that marijuana smoking significantly lowers the risk of developing cancer in humans, we analyzed published data from a prospective cohort study on cancer incidence among nonsmokers (NS), marijuana-only smokers (MS), tobacco-only smokers (TS), and marijuana and tobacco smokers (MTS). Using the log linear model to calculate the probability of developing each cancer form as a function of the interaction between marijuana and tobacco smoking, as well as functions of marijuana and tobacco smoking main effects whereby chi square statistics were calculated for the interaction and main effect estimates, we found that in all cases tested there was a significantly lower risk for MS compared to TS. Male and female TS had a greater probability of developing lung cancer than did MS. Males and females TS had a greater probability of developing lung cancer compared with NS. Males and female MTS had a slightly higher probability of developing lung cancer than did MS. This difference was statistically significant: chi2 = 30.51, p < .00001, with a correlation coefficient of -0.75, Z = -7.84, p < .05. Male and female MTS had a lower probability of developing lung cancer than did TS. This difference was statistically significant: chi2 = 71.61, p = .00003, with a correlation coefficient of 0.61, Z = 5.06, p < .05.” https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19004418 http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02791072.2008.10400641 ]]>
Cannabidiol reduced frequency of convulsive seizures in drug resistant Dravet syndrome.
“Study design
Design: Multinational double-blinded placebo-controlled trial. Patients randomised in 1:1 ratio to receive cannabidiol or placebo, in addition to stable antiepileptic treatment regime.
Study question
Setting: Twenty-three centres in Europe and USA.
Patients: Patients aged 2 years to 18 years with established diagnosis of Dravet syndrome having at least four convulsive seizures during the 28-day baseline period despite regular antiepileptic medication.
Intervention: Adjunctive cannabidiol or placebo oral solution at 20 mg per kilogram of body weight per day.
Primary outcome: Percentage change in median frequency of convulsive seizures per month.
Follow-up period: Outcome measured over a 14-week treatment period in comparison to a 4-week baseline period.
Patient follow-up: One hundred and eight (90%) completed the trial: 85% (52/61) in the cannabidiol group and …”
http://ep.bmj.com/content/early/2017/09/22/archdischild-2017-313700Cannabidiol attenuates alcohol-induced liver steatosis, metabolic dysregulation, inflammation and neutrophil-mediated injury.
“Cannabidiol (CBD) is a non-psychoactive component of marijuana, which has anti-inflammatory effects. It has also been approved by FDA for various orphan diseases for exploratory trials. Herein, we investigated the effects of CBD on liver injury induced by chronic plus binge alcohol feeding in mice. CBD may have therapeutic potential in the treatment of alcoholic liver diseases associated with inflammation, oxidative stress and steatosis, which deserves exploration in human trials.” https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28935932 “Cannabidiol (CBD) is the most abundant non-psychoactive constituent of marijuana plant (Cannabis Sativa) with excellent safety profile in humans even after chronic use. In conclusion, we demonstrate that CBD treatment significantly attenuates liver injury induced by chronic plus binge alcohol in a mouse model and oxidative burst in human neutrophils. CBD ameliorates alcohol-induced liver injury by attenuating inflammatory response involving E-selectin expression and neutrophil recruitment, and consequent oxidative/nitrative stress, in addition to attenuation of the alcohol-induced hepatic metabolic dysregulation and steatosis. These beneficial effects, coupled with the proven safety of CBD in human clinical trials and its current orphan drug approval by FDA for various indications suggest that it may have therapeutic potential in liver disease associated with inflammation, oxidative stress, metabolic dysregulation and steatosis.” https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-017-10924-8]]>
Delta-9-Tetrahydrocannabinol (∆9-THC) Induce Neurogenesis and Improve Cognitive Performances of Male Sprague Dawley Rats.
“Neurogenesis is influenced by various external factors such as enriched environments. Some researchers had postulated that neurogenesis has contributed to the hippocampal learning and memory. This project was designed to observe the effect of Delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (∆9-THC) in cognitive performance that influenced by the neurogenesis.
Different doses of ∆9-THC were used for observing the neurogenesis mechanism occurs in the hippocampus of rats. The brains were stained with antibodies, namely BrdU, glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), nestin, doublecortin (DCX) and class III β-tubulin (TuJ-1). The cognitive test was used novel-object discrimination test (NOD) while the proteins involved, DCX and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), were measured.
Throughout this study, ∆9-THC enhanced the markers involved in all stages of neurogenesis mechanism. Simultaneously, the cognitive behaviour of rat also showed improvement in learning and memory functions observed in behavioural test and molecular perspective.
Administration of ∆9-THC was observed to enhance the neurogenesis in the brain, especially in hippocampus thus improved the cognitive function of rats.”
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28933048
“There are no pharmacological treatments for obstructive sleep apnea syndrome, but dronabinol showed promise in a small pilot study. In anesthetized rats, dronabinol attenuates reflex apnea via activation of cannabinoid (CB) receptors located on vagal afferents; an effect blocked by cannabinoid type 1 (CB1) and/or type 2 (CB2) receptor antagonists. Here, using a natural model of central sleep apnea, we examine the effects of dronabinol, alone and in combination with selective antagonists in conscious rats chronically instrumented to stage sleep and measure cessation of breathing.
“Spasticity in chronic spinal cord injury is a condition that can have negative repercussions on the patient’s quality of life. Its treatment is complex and sometimes the outcome is insufficient.