Tag Archives: cannabis

Non-Hallucinogenic Cannabinoids Could Cure Cancer: Is A Cheap Anti-Cancer Drug On The Way?

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Non-Hallucinogenic Cannabinoids

“Studies that support marijuana’s medicinal properties are met with a great deal of skepticism due to cannabis’ hallucinogenic effects. Researchers from St. George’s University of London have isolated six non-hallucinogenic cannabinoids that could lead to the development of effective anti-cancer medication.

“This study is a critical step in unpicking the mysteries of cannabis as a source of medicine,” explained the study’s lead researcher, Dr. Wai Liu. “The cannabinoids examined have minimal, if any, hallucinogenic side effects, and their properties as anti-cancer agents are promising.””

More: http://www.medicaldaily.com/non-hallucinogenic-cannabinoids-could-cure-cancer-cheap-anti-cancer-drug-way-259962

Cannabidiol in Humans-The Quest for Therapeutic Targets.

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“Cannabidiol (CBD), a major phytocannabinoid constituent of cannabis, is attracting growing attention in medicine for its anxiolytic, antipsychotic, antiemetic and anti-inflammatory properties.

However, up to this point, a comprehensive literature review of the effects of CBD in humans is lacking. The aim of the present systematic review is to examine the randomized and crossover studies that administered CBD to healthy controls and to clinical patients.

A systematic search was performed in the electronic databases PubMed and EMBASE using the key word “cannabidiol”. Both monotherapy and combination studies (e.g., CBD + ∆9-THC) were included. A total of 34 studies were identified: 16 of these were experimental studies, conducted in healthy subjects, and 18 were conducted in clinical populations, including multiple sclerosis (six studies), schizophrenia and bipolar mania (four studies), social anxiety disorder (two studies), neuropathic and cancer pain (two studies), cancer anorexia (one study), Huntington’s disease (one study), insomnia (one study), and epilepsy (one study).

Experimental studies indicate that a high-dose of inhaled/intravenous CBD is required to inhibit the effects of a lower dose of ∆9-THC. Moreover, some experimental and clinical studies suggest that oral/oromucosal CBD may prolong and/or intensify ∆9-THC-induced effects, whereas others suggest that it may inhibit ∆9-THC-induced effects.

Finally, preliminary clinical trials suggest that high-dose oral CBD  may exert a therapeutic effect for social anxiety disorder, insomnia and epilepsy, but also that it may cause mental sedation. Potential pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic explanations for these results are discussed.”

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24281562

Molecular Mechanisms Involved in the Antitumor Activity of Cannabinoids on Gliomas: Role for Oxidative Stress.

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“Cannabinoids, the active components of Cannabis sativa, have been shown to exert antiproliferative and proapoptotic effects on a wide spectrum of tumor cells and tissues.

Of interest, cannabinoids have displayed great potency in reducing the growth of glioma tumors, one of the most aggressive CNS tumors, either in vitro or in animal experimental models curbing the growth of xenografts generated by subcutaneous or intrathecal injection of glioma cells in immune-deficient mice.

Cannabinoids appear to be selective antitumoral agents as they kill glioma cells without affecting the viability of non-transformed cells.

This review will summarize the anti-cancer properties that cannabinoids exert on gliomas and discuss their potential action mechanisms that appear complex, involving modulation of multiple key cell signaling pathways and induction of oxidative stress in glioma cells.” http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24281104

“The therapy of gliomas, the most frequent class of malignant primary brain tumors and one of the most aggressive forms of cancer characterized by high invasiveness, a high proliferation rate and rich neovascularization, could benefit from the use of cannabinoids, the active compounds of Cannabis sativa, and their synthetic derivatives. They have been shown to mimic the endogenous substances named “endocannabinoids” that activate specific cannabinoid receptors (CB1 and CB2).

Cannabinoids have been proven to inhibit glioma tumor growth in either in vitro or in vivo models through several cellular pathways such as elevating ceramide levels, modulating PI3K/Akt, MAPK kinases, inducing autophagy and oxidative stress state in glioma cells, thus arresting cell proliferation and inducing apoptosis. Since cannabinoids kill tumor cells without toxicity on their non transformed counterparts, probably modulating the cell survival/cell death pathways differently, they can represent a class of new potential anticancer drugs.” http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3835116/

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

Cannabinoids (Marijuana Compounds) Lead to Leukemia Cancer Cell Destruction

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marijuana anti cancer 263x166 Cannabinoids (Marijuana Compounds) Lead to Leukemia Cancer Cell Destruction

 “As new studies are released showing just how miraculous the compounds of marijuana are, the argument for legalized marijuana or at least legal access to medicinal marijuana seems to build a little more each month.

One new study, from researchers with Saint George’s University of London and published in Anticancer Research, reveals how various compounds within cannabis are able to work together to kill human leukemia cells.

The study looked at three non-psychoactive cannabinoids, including cannabidiol, cannabigerol, and cannabigevarin. These compounds were tested on two leukemia cell lines where they acted synergistically to fight the cancerous cells.

According to a press release from the University, these “non-hallucinogenic components of cannabis could act as effective anti-cancer agents.””

Read more: http://naturalsociety.com/cannabinoids-marijuana-kill-leukemia-cancer-cells/

The endocannabinoid system, cannabinoids, and pain.

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“The endocannabinoid system is involved in a host of homeostatic and physiologic functions, including modulation of pain and inflammation… Exogenous plant-based cannabinoids (phytocannabinoids) and chemically related compounds, like the terpenes, commonly found in many foods, have been found to exert significant analgesic effects in various chronic pain conditions.

Currently, the use of Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol is limited by its psychoactive effects and predominant delivery route (smoking), as well as regulatory or legal constraints.

 However, other phytocannabinoids in combination, especially cannabidiol and β-caryophyllene, delivered by the oral route appear to be promising candidates for the treatment of chronic pain due to their high safety and low adverse effects profiles.

This review will provide the reader with the foundational basic and clinical science linking the endocannabinoid system and the phytocannabinoids with their potentially therapeutic role in the management of chronic pain.”

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24228165

Cannabidiol, a Non-Psychoactive Cannabinoid Compound, Inhibits Proliferation and Invasion in U87-MG and T98G Glioma Cells through a Multitarget Effect.

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“…the non-psychoactive cannabinoid compound cannabidiol (CBD) effectively limits human glioma cell growth, both in vitro and in vivo… the present investigation confirms the antiproliferative and antiinvasive effects of CBD in U87-MG cells.

 More interestingly, these effects can also be extended to T98G glioma cells, a well known Δ9-THC-resistant lineage…

Taken together, these results provide new insights into the antitumor action of CBD, showing that this cannabinoid affects multiple tumoral features and molecular pathways.

 As CBD is a non-psychoactive phytocannabinoid that appears to be devoid of side effects, our results support its exploitation as an effective anti-cancer drug in the management of gliomas.”

 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24204703

Full-text: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3804588/

Study: Marijuana Compound Can Kill Some Cancer Cells – TIME

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Marijuana leaf

“Compounds derived from marijuana can kill cancerous cells in patients with leukemia, according to a recent study.

The study, published in the Anticancer Research journal, was partially funded by GW Pharmaceuticals. which already produces a cannabis-derived drug to help people with multiple sclerosis. Dr. Wai Liu studied six different non-psychoactive cannabinoids (compounds derived from marijuana that don’t get the user high like its THC component does). He found that certain non-psychoactive cannabinoids “resulted in dramatic reductions in cell viability” and “caused a simultaneous arrest at all phases of the cell cycle,” according to the study summary posted online.

Leukemia will take the lives of an estimated 23,720 people this year.

This isn’t the first time marijuana has been linked to deterring cancer: In 2012, researchers at the California Pacific Medical Center in San Francisco found that CBD — a non-psychoactive chemical compound found in cannabis — can stop metastasis in some kinds of aggressive cancer. Liu told the Huffington Post that smoking cannabis is unlikely to have the same cancer-inhibiting effect.”

http://healthland.time.com/2013/10/28/study-marijuana-compounds-can-kill-some-cancer-cells/

Cannabis might be a better treatment for epilepsy sufferers -msn

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Young marijuana plants (©AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

“Cannabis is now apparently the cure for everything from cancer,  diarrhea, bipolar disorder and Multiple sclerosis, to an ailing economy and being a smart aleck teenager. The latest chronic illness to get the 4:20 treatment is epilepsy. British scientists from the University of Reading tested a compound in pot called cannabidivarin on rats and mice with six types of epilepsy, and found it “strongly suppressed seizures” without the unpleasant side effects of current anti-epilepsy drugs. With 1 percent of the world’s population suffering from the disease, the head of the research team, Ben Whalley, says there’s a pressing need for better treatments. “It’s a chronic condition with no cure and currently, in around one-third of cases, the currently available treatments do not work, cause serious side effects and increase fatalities,” he said.”

http://now.msn.com/epilepsy-treatment-found-in-cannabis-may-prove-better-than-current-methods

FDA approves marijuana based drug

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“The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved clinical trials of a cannabis-based drug and its effects on epilepsy. The treatment, Epidiolex, is 98 percent purified cannabidiol (CBD) made by GW Pharmaceuticals based out of the U.K.  

There are around 60 known chemicals contained in cannabis called cannabinoids. Tetrahydrocannabinol, also known as THC, is the main component responsible for the drug’s psychoactive nature. CBD, however, is the second most abundant cannabinoid in the cannabis and provides medicinal benefits without the “high.” Epidiolex will come in a viscous liquid form to be dispensed from syringes. A 25 milligram per meter or 100 milligram per meter will be the two strengths made available to those in the trials.

The FDA has approved of intermediate-sized clinical trials sponsored by two doctors. Dr. Orrin Devinsky, a professor in the Department of Neurology, Neuroscience and Psychiatry in the New York University School of Medicine and director of the NYU Comprehensive Epilepsy Center, and Dr. Roberta Cilio, a pediatric neurologist at the University of California, San Francisco, are set to follow 25 patients using Epidiolex as treatment for pediatric epilepsy.

On Oct. 4, at the NYU Langone Medical Center, Devinsky led a conference entitled, “Cannabidiols: Potential Use in Epilepsy & Other Neurological Disorders.” During the affair, Devinsky and Cilio led a presentation on planned trials on CBD in children with treatment resistant epilepsy. 

The D.C. – based Marijuana Policy Project’s Communications Director Mason Tvert responded to the news of the approved trials. “We’ve long known that marijuana has a variety of medical benefits,” Tvert said. Tvert added that the federal government clearly recognizes marijuana’s medicinal benefits and it’s a shame they hindered most research of it.

Maryland’s new marijuana law came into effect on Oct. 1, but its miniscule scope won’t have much effect. It deals with a small number of patients that would enroll in state-approved clinical studies. However, with no hospitals signed up to hold these studies, no visible changes are set to occur in the near future.

Now the country will wait and see if CBD can live up to the hype, and if the epileptic patients can find any relief from their disease.”

 By Bonnie Katz

http://www.thesentinel.com/mont/news/FDA-approves-marijuana-drug10-31-2013

“Cannabis-Based Epilepsy Drug Approved For Clinical Trials” http://www.medicaljane.com/2013/10/23/cannabis-based-epilepsy-drug-approved-for-clinical-trials/

Around The World, Researchers Begin Clinical Trials of Cannabis For Epilepsy

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Many patients in the U.S. have turned to tinctures and oil extracts to help control their seizures (Photo: Luis Sinco/Los Angeles Times) 
 

“While a large body of anecdotal and laboratory evidence points to cannabis as an effective treatment for epilepsy, research in humans is just beginning to catch up.

 GW Pharmaceuticals – the UK-based company behind the natural cannabis spray Sativex – announced the start of the first round of clinical trials of a new cannabis treatment for epilepsy.

In the press release, Dr. Stephen Wright, Director of Research and Development at GW, said the company has spent years testing cannabis in pre-clinical models – which include cell cultures and animals.

So far, the drug is only known as GWP42006.

“We are pleased to have advanced GWP42006 to first dose in man, a significant milestone in the development of this novel product candidate. The decision to progress into Phase 1 follows several years of highly promising pre-clinical research.”

Dr. Ben Whalley, Senior Lecturer in Pharmacology at the Reading School of Pharmacy, added, “Our research collaboration with GW over the last several years has shown that GWP42006 not only exerts significant anticonvulsant effects in a wide range of preclinical models of seizure and epilepsy but is also better tolerated compared to existing anti-epileptic drugs.”

While the company has not disclosed the ingredients in the new drug, their latest animal study – which appears in the October issue of the British Journal of Pharmacology – showed positive results with two chemicals derived from cannabis: Cannabidiol (CBD) and cannabidivarin (CBDV).

Both were found to suppress seizures and increase survival across a range of different rat models of epilepsy.”

More: http://www.leafscience.com/2013/09/20/around-world-researchers-begin-clinical-trials-cannabis-epilepsy/

Both CBD and CBDV are produced naturally by cannabis. Unlike THC, these two compounds do not get patients high.

“Both CBD and CBDV are produced naturally by cannabis. Unlike THC, these two compounds do not get patients high.”