“Cannabinoids inhibit tumor neovascularisation as part of their tumorregressive action.
However, the underlying mechanism is still under debate. In the present study the impact of cannabinoids on potential tumor-to-endothelial cell communication conferring anti-angiogenesis was studied…
Collectively, our data suggest a pivotal role of the anti-angiogenic factor TIMP-1 inintercellular tumor-endothelial cell communication resulting in anti-angiogenic features of endothelial cells.”
“The marijuana plant Cannabis sativa has been used for centuries as a treatment for a variety of ailments. It contains over 60 different cannabinoid compounds.
Studies have revealed that the endocannabinoid system is involved in almost all major immune events. Cannabinoids may, therefore, be beneficial in inflammatory disorders.In murine colitis, cannabinoids decrease histologic and microscopic inflammation.
In humans, cannabis has been used to treat a plethora of gastrointestinal problems, including anorexia, emesis, abdominal pain, diarrhea, and diabetic gastroparesis.
Despite anecdotal reports on medical cannabis in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), there are few controlled studies. In an observational study in 30 patients with Crohn’s disease (CD), we found that medical cannabis was associated with improvement in disease activity and reduction in the use of other medications.
In a more recent placebo-controlled study in 21 chronic CD patients, we showed a decrease in the CD activity index >100 in 10 of 11 subjects on cannabis compared to 4 of 10 on placebo. Complete remission was achieved in 5 of 11 subjects in the cannabis group and 1 of 10 in the placebo group. Yet, in an additional study, low-dose cannabidiol did not have an effect on CD activity.
In summary, evidence is gathering that manipulating the endocannabinoid system can have beneficial effects in IBD, but further research is required to declare cannabinoids a medicine. We need to establish the specific cannabinoids, as well as appropriate medical conditions, optimal dose, and mode of administration, to maximize the beneficial effects while avoiding any potential harmful effects of cannabinoid use”
“Perinatal hypoxia-ischemia remains the single most important cause of brain injury in the newborn, leading to death or lifelong sequelae.
Because of the fact that there is still no specific treatment for perinatal brain lesions due to the complexity of neonatal hypoxic-ischemic pathophysiology, the search of new neuroprotective therapies is of great interest.
In this regard, therapeutic possibilities of the endocannabinoid system have grown lately.
The endocannabinoid system modulates a wide range of physiological processes in mammals and has demonstrated neuroprotective effects in different paradigms of acute brain injury, acting as a natural neuroprotectant.
Concerning perinatal asphyxia, the neuroprotective role of this endogenous system is emerging these years.
The present review mainly focused on the current knowledge of the cannabinoids as a new neuroprotective strategy against perinatal hypoxic-ischemic brain injury.
“The cannabinoid system has been recently described, including the endogenous ligands, mainly arachidonic acid derivatives, and their specific receptors. Endocannabinoids are involved in the modulation of synaptic transmission, through which they exert their psychoactive, motor and antinociceptive effects, among others; they also exert extraneural effects, mainly immunomodulation and vasodilation.
Recent data suggest that the cannabinoid system might play an important role in human ontogeny and could participate in the implantation and early development of the embryo, in fetal brain development, and in the beginning of breast feeding after birth.
In addition, the vasodilatory effect of cannabinoids, together with inhibition of the release of excitotoxic amino acids and cytokines, as well as modulation of oxidative stress and the toxic production of nitric oxide, justify the growing evidence pointing to a possible neuroprotective effect of cannabinoids in perinatal asphyxia.”
“Perinatal brain injury can be induced by a number of different damaging events occurring during or shortly after birth… the number of clinical interventions available for the treatment of the affected newborn babies is extremely limited. Hence, there is a dramatic need to develop new effective therapies aimed to prevent acute brain damage and enhance the endogenous mechanisms of long-term brain repair.
The endocannabinoid system is an endogenous neuromodulatory system involved in the control of multiple central and peripheral functions. An early responder to neuronal injury, the endocannabinoid system has been described as an endogenous neuroprotective system that once activated can prevent glutamate excitotoxicity, intracellular calcium accumulation, activation of cell death pathways, microglia activation, neurovascular reactivity and infiltration of circulating leukocytes across the blood-brain barrier.
The modulation of the endocannabinoid system has proven to be an effective neuroprotective strategy to prevent and reduce neonatal brain injury in different animal models and species.
Also, the beneficial role of the endocannabinoid system on the control of the endogenous repairing responses (neurogenesis and white matter restoration) to neonatal brain injury has been described in independent studies.”
“Study results showed that those who were genetically pre-disposed to schizophrenia were more likely to use cannabis and in greater quantities than those who did not possess schizophrenia risk genes.
… a pre-disposition to schizophrenia increases your likelihood of cannabis use,””
“A new study published in Molecular Psychiatry suggests that people who are genetically predisposed to developing schizophrenia may also have the propensity for cannabis use, influenced by the same set of genes. The study is a collaboration between King’s College London and the Queensland Institute of Medical Research in Australia, partly funded by the UK Medical Research Council (MRC).
“We know that cannabis increases the risk of schizophrenia. Our study certainly does not rule this out, but it suggests that there is likely to be an association in the other direction as well – that a pre-disposition to schizophrenia also increases your likelihood of cannabis use,” Power said. “Our study highlights the complex interactions between genes and environments when we talk about cannabis as a risk factor for schizophrenia. Certain environmental risks, such as cannabis use, may be more likely given an individual’s innate behaviour and personality, itself influenced by their genetic make-up.””
http://www.medicaldaily.com/schizophrenia-and-marijuana-use-may-be-linked-same-set-genes-289574
“Although considerable evidence implicates cannabis use as a component cause of schizophrenia, it remains unclear whether this is entirely due to cannabis directly raising risk of psychosis, or whether the same genes that increases psychosis risk may also increase risk of cannabis use.
Although directly predicting only a small amount of the variance in cannabis use, these findings suggest that part of the association between schizophrenia and cannabis is due to a shared genetic aetiology. This form of gene-environment correlation is an important consideration when calculating the impact of environmental risk factors, including cannabis use.”
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24957864
http://www.nature.com/mp/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/mp201451a.html
“Marijuana’s active ingredient killed herpes viruses in test-tube experiments…
University of South Florida microbiologist Gerald Lancz said his study may help scientists discover new anti-herpes medicines.
The findings, published Sept. 15 in the online journal BMC Medicine, could lead to the creation of antiviral drugs based on nonpsychoactive derivatives of THC.”