Emerging targets and therapeutic approaches for the treatment of osteoarthritis pain.

Posted on by

“Osteoarthritis is a complex and often painful disease that is inadequately controlled with current analgesics. This review discusses emerging targets and therapeutic approaches that may lead to the development of better analgesics…

Aberrant excitability in peripheral and central pain pathways drives osteoarthritis pain, reversing this via modulation of nerve growth factor, voltage-gated sodium channel, voltage-gated calcium channel and transient receptor potential vanilloid one activity, and increasing inhibitory mechanisms through modulation of cannabinoid and descending modulatory systems hold promise for osteoarthritis pain therapy.”

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25730180

http://www.thctotalhealthcare.com/category/osteoarthritis/

 

Modulation of sweet taste sensitivities by endogenous leptin and endocannabinoids in mice.

Posted on by

“Leptin is an anorexigenic mediator that reduces food intake by acting on hypothalamic receptor, Ob-Rb. In contrast, endocannabinoids are orexigenic mediators that act via cannabinoid CB1 receptors in hypothalamus, limbic forebrain, and brainstem.

In the peripheral taste system, leptin administration selectively inhibits behavioral, taste nerve and taste cell responses to sweet compounds. Opposing the action of leptin, endocannabinoids enhance sweet taste responses.

Taken together, our results suggest that circulating leptin, but not local endocannabinoids, may be a dominant modulator for sweet taste in lean mice; however, endocannabinoids may become more effective modulators of sweet taste under conditions of deficient leptin signaling, possibly due to increased production of endocannabinoids in taste tissue.”

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25728242

Hebrew U. Researchers Find Cannabis Can Strengthen Bones

Posted on by

Arutz Sheva

“Researchers at Hebrew University have found that extracts from the cannabis plant can help strengthen human bones, preventing osteoporosis, according to an Israel21c report.”

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/96146#.VPH1lE33-ix

“Peripheral cannabinoid receptor, CB2, regulates bone mass… These results demonstrate that the endocannabinoid system is essential for the maintenance of normal bone mass by osteoblastic and osteoclastic CB2 signaling. Hence, CB2 offers a molecular target for the diagnosis and treatment of osteoporosis, the most prevalent degenerative disease in developed countries.” http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1334629/

http://www.thctotalhealthcare.com/category/osteoporosis-2/

Peripheral cannabinoid receptor, CB2, regulates bone mass.

Posted on by

“Here we show that CB2-deficient mice have a markedly accelerated age-related trabecular bone loss and cortical expansion, although cortical thickness remains unaltered.

These changes are reminiscent of human osteoporosis and may result from differential regulation of trabecular and cortical bone remodeling…

These results demonstrate that the endocannabinoid system is essential for the maintenance of normal bone mass by osteoblastic and osteoclastic CB2 signaling.

Hence, CB2 offers a molecular target for the diagnosis and treatment of osteoporosis, the most prevalent degenerative disease in developed countries.”

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1334629/

http://www.thctotalhealthcare.com/category/osteoporosis-2/

 

Cannabinoid receptor type 1 protects against age-related osteoporosis by regulating osteoblast and adipocyte differentiation in marrow stromal cells.

Posted on by

X-ray generic

“Age-related osteoporosis is characterized by reduced bone formation and accumulation of fat in the bone marrow compartment.

Here, we report that the type 1 cannabinoid receptor (CB1) regulates this process…

The CB1 receptor is therefore unique in that it regulates peak bone mass through an effect on osteoclast activity, but protects against age-related bone loss by regulating adipocyte and osteoblast differentiation of bone marrow stromal cells.”

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19656492

“Cannabis may prevent osteoporosis”  http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/edinburgh_and_east/8199007.stm

http://www.thctotalhealthcare.com/category/osteoporosis-2/

Marijuana: A Time-Honored but Untested Treatment for Epilepsy.

Posted on by

Image result for marijuana

“The biology of the endocannabinoid system in the brain provides a possible basis for a beneficial pharmacological effect of marijuana on seizures.

However, evidence for efficacy of cannabis treatment of epilepsy is anecdotal because no acceptable randomized controlled trials have been done.

Proper dosage and means of administration remain unknown.

Cannabis is safer than other controlled substances, including tobacco or alcohol, and appears to be relatively safe compared with most pharmaceuticals used to treat epilepsy.”

 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25715711

http://www.thctotalhealthcare.com/category/epilepsy-2/

Simultaneous inhibition of fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH) and monoacylglycerol lipase (MAGL) shares discriminative stimulus effects with ∆9-THC in mice.

Posted on by

“Δ9 -tetrahydrocannabinol (∆9 -THC) is a cannabinoid CB1 /CB2 receptor agonist that produces therapeutic effects such as analgesia and anti-emetic effects…

Collectively, the current results show that pharmacological increases in endogenous AEA and 2-AG simultaneously through inhibition of FAAH and MAGL, respectively, mimics the discriminative stimulus effects of Δ9 -THC.”

http://jpet.aspetjournals.org/content/early/2015/02/24/jpet.115.222836.long

Influence of nitric oxide synthase or cyclooxygenase inhibitors on cannabinoids activity in streptozotocin-induced neuropathy.

Posted on by

“The results of this study seemed to indicate that the interaction between cannabinoid, COX-2 and NOS(s) systems might exist…

Concomitant administration of small doses of CB1 and/or CB2 receptor agonists and COX-2 or NOS inhibitors can be effective in the alleviation of diabetic neuropathic pain.”

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25712641

http://www.thctotalhealthcare.com/category/neuropathic-pain/

The role of cannabinoids in regulation of nausea and vomiting, and visceral pain.

Posted on by

“Marijuana derived from the plant Cannabis sativa has been used for the treatment of many gastrointestinal (GI) disorders, including anorexia, emesis, abdominal pain, diarrhea, and others.

Several cannabinoid receptors, which include the cannabinoid receptor 1 (CB1), CB2, and possibly GPR55, have been identified throughout the GI tract.

These receptors may play a role in the regulation of food intake, nausea and emesis, gastric secretion and gastroprotection, GI motility, ion transport, visceral sensation, intestinal inflammation, and cell proliferation in the gut.

…the regulation of nausea and vomiting by cannabinoids and the endocannabinoid system has shed new knowledge in this field.

Novel drug targets such as FAAH and monoacylglycerol lipase (MAGL) inhibitors appear to be promising in animal models, but more studies are necessary to prove their efficiency.

The promise of emerging drugs that are more selective and peripherally acting suggest that, in the near future, cannabinoids will play a major role in managing an array of GI diseases.”

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25715910

Are Cannabinoids Effective for Orofacial Pain States?

Posted on by

“…there is increasing attention being given in the media as well as in the biomedical sciences to the use as analgesic agents of the crude extracts of plants of the genus Cannabis (eg, marijuana) and their active ingredient delta 9-tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ9-THC).

These cannabinoid compounds have been reported in the biomedical literature to be beneficial in the treatment of some types of neuropathic pain and other pain states…

This review has found evidence indicating that they may be effective analgesic agents for neuropathic pain conditions refractory to other therapeutic approaches…

The clinical findings pointing to the usefulness of the cannabinoids for pain relief are supported by a growing body of evidence from basic science investigations addressing the possible efficacy and mechanisms of action of the cannabinoids in animal models of acute or chronic pain.

These preclinical findings add to the growing evidence that cannabinoid receptor agonists may be effective agents for the treatment of neuropathic pain and other types of pain.

They also point to their possible clinical utility in acute or chronic orofacial pain conditions, and thereby suggest an affirmative answer applies to the question posed in the title of this editorial.”

http://www.quintpub.com/journals/ofph/abstract.php?article_id=15025#.VPBsU033-iw

http://www.thctotalhealthcare.com/category/pain-2/