Tag Archives: medications

Marijuana’s Medicinal Value Vindicated Once Again, This Time For The Elderly

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Image Credit: Photos.com

Lee Rannals for redOrbit.com – Your Universe Online

“Researchers from Tel Aviv University say that smoking a little marijuana could help provide dramatic relief for the elderly who suffer from a variety of chronic ailments.

The scientists tested the effects of marijuana treatment on 19 residents of the Hadarim nursing home in Israel. During the study, the participants reported dramatic physical results, including healthy weight gain and the reduction of pain and tremors.

According to the study authors, the elderly participants also experienced an immediate improvement in their moods and communication skills after smoking cannabis.

Zach Klein, a graduate of Tel Aviv University’s Department of Film and Television Studies, said that the use of prescription medications was also significantly reduced as a result of using medical marijuana

The active ingredient in marijuana THC was first discovered in Israel by professors Raphael Mechoulam and Yechiel Gaoni. Israel is known as the world leader in medical cannabis research, according to Klein.

During the nursing home study, 19 patents between the ages of 69 and 101 were treated with medical cannabis in the form of powder, oil, vapor or smoke three times daily over the course of a year for conditions like chronic pain, lack of appetite, and muscle spasms and tremors.

Both researchers and nursing home staff members monitored participants for signs of improvement in their conditions as well as their overall quality of life.

Seventeen of the study participants achieved a healthy weight during their use of marijuana and experienced a noticeable reduction in pain, muscle spasms, joint stiffness and tremors. Nearly all of the patients using cannabis slept better, longer and had a reduced incidence of nightmares and flashbacks related to Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

The researchers also reported a decline in the amount of prescribed medications taken by patients, such as antipsychotics, Parkinson’s treatment, mood stabilizers and pain relievers. Towards the end of the study, researchers found that 72 percent of participants were able to reduce their drug intake by an average of 1.7 medications per day.

For the next phase of his research, Klein wants to study the connection between medical cannabis and an improved ability to swallow. Difficulties in swallowing can lead to a decline in nutrition and, ultimately, premature death. He believes that cannabis will have a positive impact on patients suffering from this disorder, which is known in medical jargon as dysphagia.”

http://www.redorbit.com/news/health/1112770306/medical-benefits-of-marijuana-elderly-012413/

Medical cannabis eases pain, improves appetite

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“Medical Cannabis treatment can improve appetite, ease chronic pain, and more, researchers say.

Though controversial, medical cannabis has been gaining ground as a valid therapy, offering relief to suffers of diseases such as cancer, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, ALS and more.

The substance is known to soothe severe pain, increase the appetite, and ease insomnia where other common medications fail.”

http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-01-25/health/36547301_1_medical-cannabis-chronic-pain-muscle-spasms

A role for cannabinoid CB1 receptors in mood and anxiety disorders.

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“Mood and anxiety disorders, the most prevalent of the psychiatric disorders, cause immeasurable suffering worldwide. Despite impressive advances in pharmacological therapies, improvements in efficacy and side-effect profiles are needed. The present literature review examines the role that the endocannabinoid system may play in these disorders and the potential value of targeting this system in the search for novel and improved medications.

Cannabis and its major psychoactive component (-)-trans-delta9-tetrahydrocannabinol, have profound effects on mood and can modulate anxiety and mood states. Cannabinoid receptors and other protein targets in the central nervous system (CNS) that modulate endocannabinoid function have been described. The discovery of selective modulators of some of these sites that increase or decrease endocannabinoid neurotransmission, primarily through the most prominent of the cannabinoid receptors in the CNS, the CB1 receptors, combined with transgenic mouse technology, has enabled detailed investigations into the role of these CNS sites in the regulation of mood and anxiety states. Although data point to the involvement of the endocannabinoid system in anxiety states, the pharmacological evidence seems contradictory: both anxiolytic- and anxiogenic-like effects have been reported with both endocannabinoid neurotransmission enhancers and blockers.

Due to advances in the development of selective compounds directed at the CB1 receptors, significant progress has been made on this target. Recent biochemical and behavioural findings have demonstrated that blockade of CB1 receptors engenders antidepressant-like neurochemical changes (increases in extracellular levels of monoamines in cortical but not subcortical brain regions) and behavioural effects consistent with antidepressant/antistress activity in rodents.”

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16148437

Endocannabinoid system and mood disorders: Priming a target for new therapies.

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“The endocannabinoid system (ECS), comprising two G protein-coupled receptors (the cannabinoid receptors 1 and 2 [CB1 and CB2] for marijuana’s psychoactive principle ∆(9)-tetrahydrocannabinol [∆(9)-THC]), their endogenous small lipid ligands (namely anandamide [AEA] and 2-arachidonoylglycerol [2-AG], also known as endocannabinoids), and the proteins for endocannabinoid biosynthesis and degradation, has been suggested as a pro-homeostatic and pleiotropic signaling system activated in a time- and tissue-specific way during physiopathological conditions. In the brain activation of this system modulates the release of excitatory and inhibitory neurotransmitters and of cytokines from glial cells. As such, the ECS is strongly involved in neuropsychiatric disorders, particularly in affective disturbances such as anxiety and depression. It has been proposed that synthetic molecules that inhibit endocannabinoid degradation can exploit the selectivity of endocannabinoid action, thus activating cannabinoid receptors only in those tissues where there is perturbed endocannabinoid turnover due to the disorder, and avoiding the potential side effects of direct CB1 and CB2 activation. However, the realization that endocannabinoids, and AEA in particular, also act at other molecular targets, and that these mediators can be deactivated by redundant pathways, has recently led to question the efficacy of such approach, thus opening the way to new multi-target therapeutic strategies, and to the use of non-psychotropic cannabinoids, such as cannabidiol (CBD), which act via several parallel mechanisms, including indirect interactions with the ECS. The state of the art of the possible therapeutic use of endocannabinoid deactivation inhibitors and phytocannabinoids in mood disorders is discussed in this review article.”

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23261685

Marijuana compound beats Alzheimer’s drugs in study

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“THC, the key compound in marijuana, blocks the formation of brain-clogging plaques better than current Alzheimer’s drugs do. Medications like Aricept and Cognex work in much the same way as THC–by inhibiting the enzyme acetylcholinesterase–Researchers… point out that the compound THC… would likely be the key to developing new Alzheimer’s medications.”

http://www.healthcentral.com/alzheimers/news-266060-98.html

Marijuana is helping to treat parkinson’s

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“My sister, who lives in Holland, is a Parkinson’s patient who is treating her condition with marijuana – or derivatives of it. In the last couple of months, Dutch doctors have been allowed to prescribe marijuana-based medication for Parkinson’s, and my sister has taken advantage of this change in the law.

Several products are available, including Marinol, a synthetic form of THC (tetrahydrocannabiol), the active ingredient of marijuana. This US-made product is expensive – 10 capsules cost 86 euros (£60) – and is not yet approved for Parkinson’s. It has so far been tested only on AIDS and MS patients.

Nonetheless, my sister has started to show spectacular results. She now has clarity of mind, she can turn around in bed by herself and doesn’t have to wake her husband to help her get out of bed. Her stiffness has gone and she is no longer an invalid…”

http://www.wddty.com/marijuana-is-helping-to-treat-parkinson-s.html

Smoked cannabis proven effective in treating neuropathic pain.

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UC San Diego Health

“Smoked cannabis eased pain induced in healthy volunteers, according to a study by researchers at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) Center for Medical Cannabis Research (CMCR.) However, the researchers found that less may be more.”

“The results, showing a medium-dose (4% THC by weight) of cannabis to be an effective analgesic, converged with results from the CMCR’s first published study, a paper by UCSF researcher Donald Abrams, M.D. published in the journal Neurology in February 2007. In that randomized placebo-controlled trial, patients smoking the same dose of cannabis experienced a 34% reduction in HIV-associated sensory neuropathy pain—twice the rate experienced by patients receiving a placebo.”

““This study helps to build a case that cannabis does have therapeutic value at a medium-dose level,” said Grant. “It also suggests that higher doses aren’t necessarily better in certain situations – something also observed with other medications, such as antidepressants.””

Read more: http://phys.org/news112456382.html

“Smoked Cannabis Proven Effective In Treating Neuropathic Pain”  https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/10/071024141745.htm

“Smoked cannabis proven effective in treating neuropathic pain”  https://medicalxpress.com/news/2007-10-cannabis-proven-effective-neuropathic-pain.html

“Smoked Cannabis Proven Effective in Treating Neuropathic Pain”  https://health.ucsd.edu/news/2007/pages/10-24-medical-cannabis.aspx

Smoked cannabis for spasticity in multiple sclerosis: a randomized, placebo-controlled trial.

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“Spasticity is a common and disabling symptom that remains a substantial problem for many patients with multiple sclerosis. Some patients have adverse effects from conventional antispasticity medications; for others, spasticity persists despite treatment. A report from the Institute of Medicine in the United States concluded that the active compounds of cannabis (marijuana) are potentially effective in treating neurologic conditions and “should be tested rigorously in clinical trials.” There is evidence that the cannabinoid receptors CB1 and CB2 may be involved in the control of spasticity in multiple sclerosis2 and that the endogenous ligand of CB1, anandamide, is itself an effective antispasticity agent.3 CB1 receptors are primarily presynaptic; their activation inhibits calcium influx and glutamate release, and reduces neuronal excitability by activating somatic and dendritic potassium channels.“

“Although many patients with multiple sclerosis endorse smoking cannabis as therapy, evidence that it relieves spasticity is largely anecdotal, as most trials focus on orally administered cannabinoids. We sought to assess the safety and efficacy of smoked cannabis versus placebo in patients with multiple sclerosis who have treatment-resistant spasticity.”

“Smoked cannabis was superior to placebo in symptom and pain reduction in participants with treatment-resistant spasticity. Future studies should examine whether different doses can result in similar beneficial effects with less cognitive impact.”

“No serious adverse events occurred during the trial.”

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3394820/

Neuroprotective agents: cannabinoids.

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Abstract

“Chronic inflammation and neurodegeneration are the main pathological traits of multiple sclerosis that coexist in all stages of the disease course, with complex and still nonclarified relationships. Currently licensed medications have efficacy to control aspects related to inflammation, but have been unable to modify pure progression. Experimental work has provided robust evidence of the immunomodulatory and neuroprotective properties that cannabinoids exert in animal models of multiple sclerosis. Through activation of the CB2 receptor, cannabinoids modulate peripheral blood lymphocytes, interfere with migration across the blood-brain barrier and control microglial/macrophage activation. CB1 receptors present in neural cells have a fundamental role in direct neuroprotection against several insults, mainly excitotoxicity. In multiple sclerosis, several reports have documented the disturbance of the endocannabinoid system. Considering the actions demonstrated experimentally, cannabinoids might be promising agents to target the main aspects of the human disease.”

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21420365

Evaluation of oral cannabinoid-containing medications for the management of interferon and ribavirin-induced anorexia, nausea and weight loss in patients treated for chronic hepatitis C virus

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  “The systemic and cognitive side effects of hepatitis C virus (HCV) therapy may be incapacitating, necessitating dose reductions or abandonment of therapy. Oral cannabinoid-containing medications (OCs) ameliorate chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting, as well as AIDS wasting syndrome. The efficacy of OCs in managing HCV treatment-related side effects is unknown.”

 

“Although formal studies are lacking, there is anecdotal evidence that cannabis may be beneficial by alleviating common side effects associated with interferon-ribavirin, including anorexia, nausea, weight loss and insomnia. Despite the potential benefits of cannabis, concerns related to the long-term medical complications of inhaled cannabis use and the inability to legally obtain this product limit the use of it as a therapeutic intervention.”

“Oral cannabinoid-containing medications (OCs) have multiple potential therapeutic uses due to their analgesic, antiemetic, anticonvulsant, bronchodilatory and anti-inflammatory effects. They have been shown in clinical trials to ameliorate chemotherapy-induced nausea, to benefit those with AIDS wasting syndrome and to reduce spasticity in multiple sclerosis patients.”

“CONCLUSIONS:

The present retrospective cohort analysis found that OC use is often effective in managing HCV treatment-related symptoms that contribute to weight loss, and may stabilize weight decline once initiated.”

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2662895/