Tag Archives: treatment

An Exploratory Human Laboratory Experiment Evaluating Vaporized Cannabis in the Treatment of Neuropathic Pain from Spinal Cord Injury and Disease.

Posted on by

“Using eight hour human laboratory experiments, we evaluated the analgesic efficacy of vaporized cannabis in patients with neuropathic pain related to injury or disease of the spinal cord, the majority of whom were experiencing pain despite traditional treatment.

After obtaining baseline data, 42 participants underwent a standardized procedure for inhaling 4 puffs of vaporized cannabis containing either placebo, 2.9%, or 6.7% delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol on three separate occasions. A second dosing occurred 3 hours later; participants chose to inhale 4 to 8 puffs. This flexible dosing was utilized to attempt to reduce the placebo effect.

Using an 11-point numerical pain intensity rating scale as the primary outcome, a mixed effects linear regression model demonstrated a significant analgesic response for vaporized cannabis.

When subjective and psychoactive side effects (e.g., good drug effect, feeling high, etc.) were added as covariates to the model, the reduction in pain intensity remained significant above and beyond any effect of these measures (all p<0.0004). Psychoactive and subjective effects were dose dependent.

Measurement of neuropsychological performance proved challenging because of various disabilities in the population studied. As the two active doses did not significantly differ from each other in terms of analgesic potency, the lower dose appears to offer the best risk-benefit ratio in patients with neuropathic pain associated with injury or disease of the spinal cord.

PERSPECTIVE:

A cross-over, randomized, placebo-controlled human laboratory experiment involving administration of vaporized cannabis was performed in patients with neuropathic pain related to spinal cord injury and disease. This study supports consideration of future research that would include longer duration studies over weeks to months in order to evaluate the efficacy of medicinal cannabis in patients with central neuropathic pain.”

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27286745

Cannabinoids cool the intestine

Posted on by

Logo of nihpa

“Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBDs) such as ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease affects over a million people in the United States, with an estimated indirect cost from work loss of $3.6 billion annually. Many of these individuals suffer from pain, diarrhea and poor ability to digest their food, and in up to half of those with IBD, the disease is so severe that it ultimately requires surgery to remove the affected bowel segment.

Historically, marijuana has been used to treat diarrhea and has been advocated for the treatment of a variety of other gastrointestinal problems, including Crohn’s disease.

More recent pharmacological studies have clearly established that cannabinoids inhibit gastrointestinal motility and secretion by acting on CB1 receptors located on the terminals of both intrinsic and extrinsic submucosal neurons.

When administered to mice with chemically induced enteritis, cannabinoids also reduce inflammation and fluid accumulation in the gut.

Cannabinoids inhibit motility and secretion in the intestine.

They are now assigned the additional task of curbing excessive inflammation, suggesting that drugs targeting the endogenous cannabinoid system could be exploited for inflammatory bowel disease.

These findings may offer a new therapeutic approach to IBD.”

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2516444/

 

Inhibition of human tumour prostate PC-3 cell growth by cannabinoids R(+)-Methanandamide and JWH-015: Involvement of CB2

Posted on by

Logo of brjcancer

“We have previously shown that cannabinoids induce growth inhibition and apoptosis in prostate cancer PC-3 cells, which express high levels of cannabinoid receptor types 1 and 2 (CB1 and CB2). In this study, we investigated the role of CB2 receptor in the anti-proliferative action of cannabinoids and the signal transduction triggered by receptor ligation.

This study defines the involvement of CB2-mediated signalling in the in vivo and in vitro growth inhibition of prostate cancer cells and suggests that CB2 agonists have potential therapeutic interest and deserve to be explored in the management of prostate cancer.

Cannabinoids, the active components of Cannabis sativa and their derivatives, exert a wide spectrum of modulatory actions and pharmacological activities in the brain as well as in the periphery, and therefore, the therapeutic potential of cannabinoids has gained much attention during the past few years. One of the most exciting areas of current research in the therapeutic potential of cannabinoids is cancer.

Recent evidence suggests that cannabinoids are powerful regulators of cell growth and differentiation. They have been shown to exert anti-tumoural effects by decreasing viability, proliferation, adhesion and migration on various cancer cells, thereby suggesting the potential use of cannabinoids in the treatment of gliomas, prostate and breast cancers and malignancies of immune origin.

Overall, our data show a role for the cannabinoid receptor CB2 in the anti-tumour effect of cannabinoids on prostate cells in vitroand in vivo. There is considerable interest in the application of selective CB2 receptor agonists, which are devoid of typical marijuana-like psychoactive properties of CB1 agonists, for future cannabinoid-based anticancer therapies. Therefore, our findings point to the potential application of cannabinoid receptor type 2 ligands as anti-tumour agents in prostate cancer.”

 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2743360/
http://www.thctotalhealthcare.com/category/prostate-cancer/

The effect of spinally administered WIN 55,212-2, a cannabinoid agonist, on thermal pain sensitivity in diabetic rats.

Posted on by

“These data show that cannabinoids have potent antinociceptive effects through direct actions in the spinal dorsal horn of nociceptive pathway. This suggests that intrathecally administered cannabinoids may offer hopeful strategies for the treatment of diabetic neuropathic pain.”

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27279983

Opioid and cannabinoid synergy in a mouse neuropathic pain model.

Posted on by

“Clinical studies have reported that pan-cannabinoid receptor agonists may have efficacy in neuropathic pain states and that this might be enhanced by co-administration with opioids. While cannabinoid-opioid analgesic synergy has been demonstrated in animal models of acute pain, it has not been examined in neuropathic pain models. We examined the effect of combination treatment with cannabinoid and opioid receptor agonists on allodynia and side-effects in a nerve injury induced neuropathic pain model.

These findings indicate that combination administration of non-selective opioid and cannabinoid receptor agonists synergistically reduces nerve injury induced allodynia, while producing side-effects in an additive manner. This suggests that combination treatment has an improved anti-allodynic potency and therapeutic index in a neuropathic pain model.”

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27278681

Aberrant epilepsy-associated mutant Nav1.6 sodium channel activity can be targeted with cannabidiol.

Posted on by

“Mutations in brain isoforms of voltage-gated sodium channels have been identified in patients with distinct epileptic phenotypes. Clinically, these patients often do not respond well to classic anti-epileptics and many remain refractory to treatment.

Exogenous as well as endogenous cannabinoids have been shown to target voltage-gated sodium channels and cannabidiol has recently received attention for its potential efficacy in the treatment of childhood epilepsies.

In this study, we further investigated the ability of cannabinoids to modulate sodium currents from wild-type and epilepsy-associated mutant voltage-gated sodium channels.

These findings suggest that cannabidiol could be exerting its anticonvulsant effects, at least in part, through its actions on voltage-gated sodium channels, and resurgent current may be a promising therapeutic target for the treatment of epilepsy syndromes.”

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27267376

Could cannabidiol be used as an alternative to antipsychotics?

Posted on by

“Schizophrenia is a mental disorder that affects close to 1% of the population. Individuals with this disorder often present signs such as hallucination, anxiety, reduced attention, and social withdrawal. Although antipsychotic drugs remain the cornerstone of schizophrenia treatment, they are associated with severe side effects.

Recently, the endocannabinoid system (ECS) has emerged as a potential therapeutic target for pharmacotherapy that is involved in a wide range of disorders, including schizophrenia.

Since its discovery, a lot of effort has been devoted to the study of compounds that can modulate its activity for therapeutic purposes.

Among them, cannabidiol (CBD), a non-psychoactive component of cannabis, shows great promise for the treatment of psychosis, and is associated with fewer extrapyramidal side effects than conventional antipsychotic drugs.

The overarching goal of this review is to provide current available knowledge on the role of the dopamine system and the ECS in schizophrenia, and to discuss key findings from animal studies and clinical trials investigating the antipsychotic potential of CBD.”

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27267317

Sativex Associated With Behavioral-Relapse Prevention Strategy as Treatment for Cannabis Dependence: A Case Series.

Posted on by

“The current lack of pharmacological treatments for cannabis dependence warrants the use of novel approaches and further investigation of promising pharmacotherapy.

In this case series, we assessed the use of self-titrated dosages of Sativex (1:1, Δ-tetrahydrocannabinol [THC]/cannabidiol [CBD] combination) and motivational enhancement therapy and cognitive behavioral therapy (MET/CBT) for the treatment of cannabis dependence among 5 treatment-seeking community-recruited cannabis-dependent subjects.

THC/CBD metabolite concentration indicated reduced cannabis use and compliance with medication.

CONCLUSIONS:

In summary, this pilot study found that with Sativex in combination with MET/CBT reduced cannabis use while preventing increases in craving and withdrawal in the 4 participants completing the study. Further systematic exploration of Sativex as a pharmacological treatment option for cannabis dependence should be performed.”

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27261670

Cannabinoid Receptors Are Overexpressed in CLL but of Limited Potential for Therapeutic Exploitation.

Posted on by

“The cannabinoid receptors 1 and 2 (CNR1&2) are overexpressed in a variety of malignant diseases and cannabinoids can have noteworthy impact on tumor cell viability and tumor growth.

Patients diagnosed with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) present with very heterogeneous disease characteristics translating into highly differential risk properties.

To meet the urgent need for refinement in risk stratification at diagnosis and the search for novel therapies we studied CNR expression and response to cannabinoid treatment in CLL.

Expression levels of CNR1&2 were determined in 107 CLL patients by real-time PCR and analyzed with regard to prognostic markers and survival.

In contrast to other tumor entities, our data suggest a limited usability of cannabinoids for CLL therapy. Nonetheless, we could define CNR1 mRNA expression as novel prognostic marker.”

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27248492

Endocannabinoid system: a promising therapeutic target for the treatment of haematological malignancies?

Posted on by

“The therapeutic properties of cannabinoids are well-known since ancient years.

Growing evidence exist on endocannabinoid system (ECS) modulation related with human tumorigenesis.

Taking into account the substantial role of ECS on immune cell regulation, the present review is aimed to summarize the emerging evidence concerning cannabinoid receptor (CBR) expression and cannabinoid ligand effects on haematological malignancies.

CONCLUSIONS:

Most of cannabinoid actions, mainly CB2R-mediated against haematopoietic malignant cells, seems promising, as inhibition of cell proliferation and apoptosis and paraptosis induction have been documented.

Cannabinoid ligands appear to activate rudimentary pathways for cell survival, such as ERK, JNK, p38 MAPK, and to induce caspase synthesis, in vitro. Such data are strongly recommended to be confirmed by in vivo experiments with emphasis on cannabinoid ligands’ bioavailability and phytocannabinoid psychotropic properties.

The preliminary antitumoral ECS effects and their relative lack of important side effects render ECS a promising therapeutic target for the treatment of haematological malignancies.”

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27237820