“It has been suggested that the non-psychoactive phytocannabinoid cannabidiol (CBD) can impact the pharmacological effects of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). We tested the hypothesis that CBD and THC would significantly mitigate mechanical sensitivity in a mouse model of paclitaxel-induced neuropathic pain, and that CBD+THC combinations would produce synergistic effects. We also tested the hypothesis that CBD would attenuate oxaliplatin- and vincristine- induced mechanical sensitivity.
Selective Cannabinoids for Chronic Neuropathic Pain: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.
“There is a lack of consensus on the role of selective cannabinoids for the treatment of neuropathic pain (NP). Guidelines from national and international pain societies have provided contradictory recommendations. The primary objective of this systematic review and meta-analysis (SR-MA) was to determine the analgesic efficacy and safety of selective cannabinoids compared to conventional management or placebo for chronic NP.
METHODS:
We reviewed randomized controlled trials that compared selective cannabinoids (dronabinol, nabilone, nabiximols) with conventional treatments (eg, pharmacotherapy, physical therapy, or a combination of these) or placebo in patients with chronic NP because patients with NP may be on any of these therapies or none if all standard treatments have failed to provide analgesia and or if these treatments have been associated with adverse effects. MEDLINE, EMBASE, and other major databases up to March 11, 2016, were searched. Data on scores of numerical rating scale for NP and its subtypes, central and peripheral, were meta-analyzed. The certainty of evidence was classified using the Grade of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation approach.RESULTS:
Eleven randomized controlled trials including 1219 patients (614 in selective cannabinoid and 605 in comparator groups) were included in this SR-MA. There was variability in the studies in quality of reporting, etiology of NP, type and dose of selective cannabinoids. Patients who received selective cannabinoids reported a significant, but clinically small, reduction in mean numerical rating scale pain scores (0-10 scale) compared with comparator groups (-0.65 points; 95% confidence interval, -1.06 to -0.23 points; P = .002, I = 60%; Grade of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation: weak recommendation and moderate-quality evidence). Use of selective cannabinoids was also associated with improvements in quality of life and sleep with no major adverse effects.CONCLUSIONS:
Selective cannabinoids provide a small analgesic benefit in patients with chronic NP. There was a high degree of heterogeneity among publications included in this SR-MA. Well-designed, large, randomized studies are required to better evaluate specific dosage, duration of intervention, and the effect of this intervention on physical and psychologic function.”Activation of cannabinoid receptor type II by AM1241 protects adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells from oxidative damage and enhances their therapeutic efficacy in myocardial infarction mice via Stat3 activation.
“The cannabis plant and its active ingredients (i.e., cannabinoids and terpenoids) have been socially stigmatized for half a century. Luckily, with more than 430,000 published scientific papers and about 600 ongoing and completed clinical trials, nowadays cannabis is employed for the treatment of many different medical conditions. Nevertheless, even if a large amount of high-throughput functional genomic data exists, most researchers feature a strong background in molecular biology but lack advanced bioinformatics skills. In this work, publicly available gene expression datasets have been analyzed giving rise to a total of 40,224 gene expression profiles taken from cannabis plant tissue at different developmental stages. The resource presented here will provide researchers with a starting point for future investigations with Cannabis sativa.”
“Although the application of medical marijuana and cannabinoid drugs is controversial, it is a part of modern-day medicine.
The list of diseases in which cannabinoids are promoted as a treatment is constantly expanding. Cases of significant improvement in patients with a very poor prognosis of glioma or epilepsy have already been described. However, the occurrence of side effects is still difficult to estimate, and the current knowledge of the therapeutic effects of cannabinoids is still insufficient.
In our opinion, the answers to many questions and concerns regarding the medical use of cannabis can be provided by pharmacogenetics. Knowledge based on proteins and molecules involved in the transport, action, and metabolism of cannabinoids in the human organism leads us to predict candidate genes which variations are responsible for the presence of the therapeutic and side effects of medical marijuana and cannabinoid-based drugs.
We can divide them into: receptor genes-CNR1, CNR2, TRPV1, and GPR55, transporters-ABCB1, ABCG2, SLC6A, biotransformation, biosynthesis, and bioactivation proteins encoded by CYP3A4, CYP2C19, CYP2C9, CYP2A6, CYP1A1, COMT, FAAH, COX2, ABHD6, ABHD12 genes, and also MAPK14. This review organizes the current knowledge in the context of cannabinoids pharmacogenetics according to individualized medicine and cannabinoid drugs therapy.”
“Recent studies demonstrated that 