Tag Archives: marijuana

Impact of adolescent marijuana use on intelligence: Results from two longitudinal twin studies.

Posted on by

Logo of pnas

“The purpose of the present study was to examine the associations of marijuana use with changes in intellectual performance in two longitudinal studies of adolescent twins.

There was no evidence of a dose-response relationship between frequency of use and intelligence quotient (IQ) change. Furthermore, marijuana-using twins failed to show significantly greater IQ decline relative to their abstinent siblings.

Evidence from these two samples suggests that observed declines in measured IQ may not be a direct result of marijuana exposure but rather attributable to familial factors that underlie both marijuana initiation and low intellectual attainment.”

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26787878
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4747759/
http://www.pnas.org/content/113/5/E500.long
“Short-term cannabis use in adolescence does not appear to cause IQ decline or impair executive functions, even when cannabis use reaches the level of dependence. Family background factors explain why adolescent cannabis users perform worse on IQ and executive function tests.”
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28734078

The Pharmacological Basis of Cannabis Therapy for Epilepsy.

Posted on by

“Recently, cannabis has been suggested as a potential alternative therapy for refractory epilepsy, which affects 30% of epilepsy patients including children who do not respond to current medications.

There is a large unmet medical need for new antiepileptics for refractory epilepsy and conditions associated with refractory seizures that would not interfere with normal function.

The two chief cannabinoids are delta-9-tetrahyrdrocannabinol, the major psychoactive component of marijuana, and cannabidiol (CBD), the major non-psychoactive component of marijuana.

There are claims of clinical efficacy of CBD-predominant cannabis or medical marijuana for epilepsy, mostly from limited studies, surveys or case reports.

However, the mechanisms underlying the antiepileptic efficacy of cannabis remain unclear. This article highlights the pharmacological basis of cannabis therapy, with an emphasis on the endocannabinoid mechanisms underlying the emerging neurotherapeutics of CBD in epilepsy.

CBD is anticonvulsant, but it has a low affinity for the cannabinoid CB1 and CB2 receptors; therefore the exact mechanism by which it affects seizures remains poorly understood.

A rigorous clinical evaluation of pharmaceutical CBD products is needed to establish the safety and efficacy for the treatment of epilepsy.

Identification of mechanisms underlying the anticonvulsant efficacy of CBD is additionally critical to identify other potential treatment options.”

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26787773

http://jpet.aspetjournals.org/content/early/2016/01/19/jpet.115.230151.long

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

Five-year follow-up of rural Jamaican children whose mothers used marijuana during pregnancy.

Posted on by

“This research provides data on the development of 59 Jamaican children, from birth to age 5 years, whose mothers used marijuana during pregnancy.

Approximately one-half of the sample used marijuana during pregnancy and were matched with non-users according to age, parity, and socioeconomic status. Testing of the children was done at 1, 3, and 30 days of age with the Brazelton Neonatal Behavioral Assessment Scales and at ages 4 and 5 years with the McCarthy Scales of Children’s Abilities. Data about the child’s home environment and temperament were collected from direct observations as well as from standardized questionnaires.

The results show no significant differences in developmental testing outcomes between children of marijuana-using and non-using mothers except at 30 days of age when the babies of users had more favourable scores on two clusters of the Brazelton Scales: autonomic stability and reflexes. The developmental scores at ages 4 and 5 years were significantly correlated to certain aspects of the home environment and to regularity of basic school (preschool) attendance.”

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1957518

Prenatal marijuana exposure and neonatal outcomes in Jamaica: an ethnographic study.

Posted on by

AAP Gateway

“Exposed and nonexposed neonates were compared at 3 days and 1 month old, using the Brazelton Neonatal Assessment Scale, including supplementary items to capture possible subtle effects.

There were no significant differences between exposed and nonexposed neonates on day 3. At 1 month, the exposed neonates showed better physiological stability and required less examiner facilitation to reach organized states.

The neonates of heavy-marijuana-using mothers had better scores on autonomic stability, quality of alertness, irritability, and self-regulation and were judged to be more rewarding for caregivers.

CONCLUSIONS:

The absence of any differences between the exposed on nonexposed groups in the early neonatal period suggest that the better scores of exposed neonates at 1 month are traceable to the cultural positioning and social and economic characteristics of mothers using marijuana that select for the use of marijuana but also promote neonatal development.”

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8121737

http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/93/2/254

Cannabidiol limits Tcell-mediated chronic autoimmune myocarditis: implications to autoimmune disorders and organ transplantation.

Posted on by

“Myocarditis is a major cause of heart failure and sudden cardiac death in young adults and adolescents. Many cases of myocarditis are associated with autoimmune processes in which cardiac myosin is a major autoantigen.

Conventional immunosuppressive therapies often provide unsatisfactory results and are associated with adverse toxicities during the treatment of autoimmune myocarditis.

Cannabidiol (CBD) is a non-psychoactive constituent of Marijuana which exerts antiinflammatory effects independent from classical cannabinoid receptors.

Recently 80 clinical trials have been reported investigating the effects of CBD in various diseases from inflammatory bowel disease to graft-versus-host disease.

CBD-based formulations are used for the management of multiple sclerosis in numerous countries, and CBD also received FDA approval for the treatment of refractory childhood epilepsy and glioblastoma multiforme.

Herein, using a well-established mouse model of experimental autoimmune myocarditis (EAM) induced by immunization with cardiac myosin emmulsified in adjuvant resulting in T cell-mediated inflammation, cardiomyocyte cell death, fibrosis and myocardial dysfunction, we studied the potential beneficial effects of CBD…

CBD may represent a promising novel treatment for management of autoimmune myocarditis and possibly other autoimmune disorders, and organ transplantation.”

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26772776

The G1359A-CNR1 gene polymorphism is associated to glioma in Spanish patients.

Posted on by

“The cannabinoid receptor gene 1 (CNR1) encodes the human cannabinoid receptor CB1.

This receptor has a widespread distribution in the central nervous system (CNS), the main ligands being anandamide, 2-araquidonoil glycerol and marijuana constituents.

There is evidence to suggest an anti-neoplastic effect of these ligands in glial tissues mediated through stimulation of the receptor.

Our results suggest that allele G of the CNR1 gene could be associated with a lower susceptibility to glioma.”

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21156413

“A glioma is a primary brain tumor that originates from the supportive cells of the brain, called glial cells.” http://neurosurgery.ucla.edu/body.cfm?id=159

“Remarkably, cannabinoids kill glioma cells selectively and can protect non-transformed glial cells from death.” http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15275820

“Cannabinoids, the active components of Cannabis sativa…”  http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17952650

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

Evaluation of the role of the cannabidiol system in an animal model of ischemia/reperfusion kidney injury.

Posted on by

“This work aimed to investigate the effects of the administration of cannabidiol in a kidney ischemia/reperfusion animal model…

The cannabidiol treatment had a protective effect against inflammation and oxidative damage in the kidney ischemia/reperfusion model.

These effects seemed to be independent of CB1/CB2 receptor activation.”

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26761477

“In conclusion, the present study suggests that cannabidiol treatment has a protective effect against inflammation and oxidative damage in the utilized kidney ischemia/reperfusion model.” http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0103-507X2015000400383&lng=en&nrm=iso&tlng=en

Marijuana: A Fifty-Year Personal Addiction Medicine Perspective.

Posted on by

“As of September 2015, the cultivation, possession, and/or use of marijuana is illegal under U.S. federal law as a Schedule I narcotic; however, it is legal in four states and Washington, D.C. Forty-six states allow some form of medicinal marijuana or decriminalization.

Marijuana has been used medicinally for thousands of years; Marijuana’s regulation by law enforcement in the U.S., rather than the medical community, led to an almost complete halt to academic and scientific research after the 1930s.

The late 1960s saw an upsurge in recreational marijuana use by middle-class youth, the majority of whom experienced minimal adverse effects aside from arrest and attendant legal complications.

Since the mid-1990s, the use of medicinal marijuana for certain conditions has gained increasing acceptance.

In the East, the feeling is primarily that marijuana continue to be proscribed. In the West, where clinicians must face the realities of medicalization, decriminalization, and/or legalization, as well as widespread recreational use, there is more of a movement to minimize adverse effects, particularly on youth.”

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26757396

The Use of Marijuana or Synthetic Cannabinoids for the Treatment of Headache

Posted on by

“Although marijuana is principally used as a psychoactive substance, it has also been used for medical and religious purposes for over 2000 years.

This review concluded that there was evidence of a positive and moderate short-term trend toward a reduction of pain.

There are a number of reasons why naturally occurring cannabis or cannabinoid drugs might have a pharmacologic effect on headache..

It has been suggested that one explanation for migraine and other headache disorders may be an underlying endocannabinoid deficiency.

…cluster headache attacks were relieved within 5 minutes by the inhalation of marijuana.

Subsequent treatment with dronabinol (THC) 5 mg orally also provided the patient relief within 15 minutes.”

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/738529_2

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

Marijuana For Migraines

Posted on by

 

 

“Our brain’s own endogenous marijuana-like chemicals produce analgesia by modulating the entry of pain signals into the brain at the level of our spinal cord.

Future generations of pain relievers will likely be developed based upon the action of marijuana in the body.

The advantage of targeting the endogenous marijuana system is that only noxious or painful signals are blocked; normal touch sensation is normal.

This study may lead to the development of more effective migraine prevention and treatment.

The challenge will be to find a dose of marijuana that produces pain relief without disturbing normal cognitive function.”

 https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/your-brain-food/201309/marijuana-migraines

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