A new study at the University Pompeu Fabra of Barcelona has highlighted the effectiveness of cannabinoid compounds found in cannabis for pain relief in women suffering with endometriosis, leading to a clinical trial launching in collaboration with the Gynecology Service of the Hospital Clinic of Barcelona. The trial will evaluate the possible benefits of the naturally occurring cannabinoid ∆9-tetrahydrocannabinol in women with endometriosis.

Endometriosis is a painful condition where the lining of the uterus grows on other parts of the organ such as the fallopian tubes. These growths affect reproductive organs and can cause pain, infertility, anxiety, depression and result in a considerable impact on quality of life. Treatment options include surgery or hormone therapy, but these are not always effective and often have significant side-effects.

The new study shows initial results from treating endometriosis in mice with cannabinoids – suggesting they can alleviate symptoms of the disease. The team studied mice with endometrial implants in their pelvis to mimic endometriosis in humans. Those with the implants were more sensitive to pain in their pelvis that can also be associated with emotional and cognitive alterations – similar to symptoms seen in some women with endometriosis.

The team next found that mice with endometriosis had similar anxiety-like symptoms experienced by some women with the condition. This was measured by the amount of time the animals spent in open areas of a maze, as those with higher anxiety levels tend not to explore too far. However, their experiments could not reveal whether THC had any significant effects in treating this anxiety.

As endometriosis can be known to impair cognitive function in some women, the team also studied memory performance in the mice. They provided the animals with two identical objects and allowed them to become familiar with them. They then replaced one of the objects and timed how long the mice spent exploring the new versus familiar object, to give an indication of what the animals remembered.

The team found that memory was impaired in the mice with endometriosis compared with those that did not have the condition. However, mice treated with THC did not show this impairment, suggesting that THC may have a protective effect.

Finally, the team studied the effects of THC on the endometrium inside and outside of the womb, and found that mice with endometriosis treated with THC for 32 days had smaller endometrial growths.

source: https://elifesciences.org/articles/50356

A new study has shown how fatty foods help the absorption of CBD into the body. So far, very little was known about the effect of food on CBD absorption.

A University of Minnesota study examined whether eating high-fat foods after taking CBD increased the body’s absorption of CBD. The study tested whether fasting or a high fat meal has an effect when cannabidiol oral capsules were taken by patients.

To find out what effect a fatty meal would have on CBD absorption, the research group measured CBD concentrations in epilepsy patients who were taking 99% pure CBD capsules. Concentrations from patients who took CBD on an empty stomach and a standardised fatty breakfast were compared.

The study found that: CBD exposure is vastly increased when CBD is taken with high fatty foods. When compared to fasting, taking CBD with food increased the amount of CBD in the body by four-times and the maximum amount recorded in the participants’ blood by 14-times. And: No cognitive differences were identified, which is consistent with previous studies.

Sources: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31247132

Cannabis can be useful for treating migraine and other forms of headache

A study conducted by the Department of Psychology and the Translational Addiction Research Center at Washington State University, United States, showed that cannabis provides a significant reduction in headache.

The researchers will use an application (app) so that patients in medical treatment with cannabis can automatically monitor the symptoms and before using cannabis.

This technology is also intended to determine whether genetics, THC or CBD content and dose influence the outcome.

The collection of user data determined that there were 12,293 to treat headache and 7,441 for migraine. Among the first results included that “men affected greater headache reductions than women”, well, “the use of concentrates is associated with greater reductions than with flowers”.

“Inhaled cannabis reduces headache and migraine severity by approximately 50%. However, its effectiveness seems to decrease over time and patients can use increasing doses, which may develop tolerance to these effects with continuous use.”, the researchers conclude.

Source: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31715263

The scientists of the Dana Farber Institute whose mission is to study cancer at Harvard University managed to completely eliminate malignant tumors in rats with pancreatic cancer thanks to a cannabis extract.

Pancreatic cancer is today one of the deadliest that exists and has a life expectancy of 5 years in just 9% of the population.

This has been the conclusion of the researchers who have just published the result in the Frontiers of Oncology.

In it, the researchers tested the effects of flavonoids, a compound derived from cannabis, on pancreatic cancer cells in mice.

The result surprised the researchers.

“We hope it will show some inhibition of tumor growth, but it was not surprising that it also inhibited tumor progression in other parts of the body. We really had to perform some additional measurements to see if this was really true,” said lead researcher Dr. Wilfred Ngwa.

The researchers’ biggest surprise was that the research exceeded traditional radiotherapy. The team now investigates whether by 2020 the treatment could be tested in humans.

Flavonoids are compounds that are practically in all plants, fruits and vegetables since they are the ones who give color to them.

The novelty of this research is to know about the administration of cannabis-derived flavonoids and their relationship directly with cell and metastatic destruction.

In addition, this finding could translate into an increase in the life expectancy of this type of patients since pancreatic cancer is often diagnosed in advanced stages and it seems that with this type of cannabis flavonoid approach they could be destroyed these cancer cells.

“If it translates into clinical success, this will have a major impact on the treatment of pancreatic cancer,” the researcher concluded.

Source: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6663976/

Cognitive effects of medical cannabis

Patients who use cannabis have no negative effects on the brain, study indicates

In an observational study on cognitive effects on the use of cannabis in patients that neurocognitive abilities remained stable. The study that was carried out by researchers from the University of Michigan, Detroit and Windsor in the United States and Canada proved the opposite of the hypothesis that “cognitive functioning would be negatively affected by cannabis poisoning.”

At least 22 medical cannabis patients from Southeast Ontario completed the study. The majority of these were men of an age of 36 years and a level of secondary education. “The same neurocognitive battery was applied to the patients three times over a period of six hours: at the beginning of the study, after consuming the cannabis product with 20% THC and once more several hours later.”

The result was contrary to expectations and popular opinion.

“Contrary to expectations, performance in neuropsychological tests remained stable or even improved during the acute intoxication stage … and continued to increase during recovery. Contrary to our hypothesis, there was no psychometric evidence of a decrease in cognitive ability after THC poisoning.”

Source: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31790276

Hope for lower cost medicines for psoriasis by using CBD

Psoriasis is often triggered by stress which can lead to anxiety and depression due to fear of being ridiculed by the symptoms such as scaling of the skin, as well as complications to fingernails.

The National Psoriasis Foundation states that upwards of 8 million people have the auto-immune skin disorder. Often accompanied by arthritis, psoriasis not only causes scaling of the skin, but complications to fingernails as well.

Affecting everyone from children to adults, psoriasis can lead to anxiety and depression, as individuals with the skin disorder are often afraid of being ridiculed. Usually treated with Humira and Enbrel, psoriasis comes with a shocking price tag and complications that are often difficult to ignore.

Hopeful studies to support the use of CBD for psoriasis

A 2014 study published in the journal Drugs in Context found that Humira had a price tag upwards of $39,000, while Enbrel’s annual cost was around $46,000. Stelara, the most expensive drug, was found to cost over $53,000. As TNF blockers, while medications like Humira help against psoriasis, they can lower the body’s ability to fight infections and cause serious side effects.

Even more interesting, a September 2019 study in London found that, “A number of medications commonly prescribed by rheumatologists may interact with cannabidiol oil” (CBD oil). The most affected medicines appear to be corticosteroids (including hydrocortisone and prednisolone) since CBD, “is a potent inhibitor of CYP3A.” Put plainly, CBD may block the effects of the other medicine.

Often triggered by stress, new studies are showing that psoriasis can be better managed by diet, oral health, and even cannabidiol. The National Psoriasis Foundation shared information on a study from the Journal of Dermatological Science showcasing that, “CBD may offer therapeutic value for psoriasis by slowing the overgrowth of certain skin cells.”

A 2016 study published by the National Institute of Health found similar results, citing that cannabinoids may be a positive addition to treatment for psoriasis. Even better, a 2018 study did a sweeping review of prior research on cannabis’ role within dermatology and found, “cannabinoids have shown some initial promise as a therapy for a variety of skin diseases.” Their only concern was a lack of research in clinical trials, due to the Schedule 1 classification of the drug.

While CBD and cannabis offer pain relief and psoriasis is often accompanied by rheumatoid arthritis, each individual must discuss the addition of any new medicine (including CBD and cannabis) with their care team. With new clinical trials for cannabinoids and psoriasis recruiting even now, promising cures may be on the horizon.

Source: 420intel

Could cannabis become a therapeutic option for the eye?

In about 20 to 30 percent of patients with dry eyes, the pain does not decrease to a tolerable level despite tear substitutes and anti-inflammatory ophthalmic drugs, such as Ciclosporin A. The pain is caused by the use of a combination of the two drugs. Here, newly developed cannabis-containing eye drops could become a therapeutic option.

This was announced by Professor Dr. Philipp Steven of the University Hospital Cologne at a press conference of the German Ophthalmological Society in Berlin. The use of the ingredient tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) in the eye is plausible because it not only has an analgesic effect but also has an anti-inflammatory and wound healing promoting effect. The cornea as well as the conjunctiva of the eye have many endocannabinoid receptors.

Adding cannabinoids in eyedrops

Like other cannabinoids, THC is only poorly soluble in water, which was previously an obstacle to its use on the eye. Steven’s research group and a pharmaceutical company from Heidelberg have investigated the galenic problem and developed THC-containing eye drops based on anhydrous semifluorinated alkanes (SFA). These are linear molecules with a perfluorocarbon and a hydrogen carbon content.

Steven explained that the THC-SFA eye drops, for which a patent application had been filed, could be used to apply large amounts of the active ingredient to the eye surface. In experiments with mice, the use of eye drops has led to a significant improvement in dry eyes and the function of the nerve endings.

Source: https://ptaforum.pharmazeutische-zeitung.de/cannabis-fuers-auge/

CBD reduced pain in patients with myofascial pain in placebo controlled study

In a placebo-controlled study with 60 patients suffering from pain in the face topical CBD significantly reduced pain and muscle activity of the masseter, a face muscle.

Patients received either topical CBD to the face or a placebo. Pain intensity and muscle activity were measured on days 0 and 14. Pain reduction was 70% and 10% in the placebo group.

Authors concluded that “application of CBD formulation over masseter muscle reduced the activity of masseter muscles and improved the condition of masticatory muscles in patients with myofascial pain.”

Department of Temporomandibular Disorders, Medical University of Silesia in Katowice, Zabrze, Poland.

Nitecka-Buchta A, et al. J Clin Med. 2019;8(11).

Source: http://www.cannabis-med.org/

CBD was effective in reducing seizures in children with epilepsy

In a study with 16 patients with epilepsy with an average age of 9 years old, a high-purity CBD preparation reduced the frequency of seizures. The study was conducted at Dana-Dwek Children’s Hospital in Tel Aviv, Israel. This prospective Phase II study was open to pediatric patients with treatment-resistant epilepsy at stable doses of antiepileptic drugs who suffered at least 4 seizures within 4 weeks. After a four-week observation period, patients began a two-week dose titration phase (up to 25mg/kg or 450mg, the lower of the two) followed by a ten-week maintenance treatment.

Of the 16 participants, 11 completed the entire treatment program. The average maintenance dose was 14 mg CBD per kilogram body weight. At the end of the treatment period, there was an average reduction in monthly seizure frequency of 73% compared to baseline. Two patients were completely free of seizures. 73% of the nurses stated that the condition was improved or greatly improved. The most frequently reported treatment-related adverse events were sleep disorders/insomnia (25% of patients), followed by drowsiness, increased seizure frequency, and restlessness (3 patients each (19%)). No side effect was serious or severe and all disappeared by themselves.

Mitelpunkt A, Kramer U, Hausman Kedem M, Zilbershot Fink E, Orbach R, Chernuha V, Fattal-Valevski A, Deutsch L, Heffetz D, Sacks H. The safety, tolerability, and effectiveness vom PTL-101, an oral cannabidiol formulation, in pediatric intractable epilepsy: A phase II, open-label, single-center study. Epilepsy Behav. 2019;98(Pt A):233-237.

Source: https://www.cannabis-med.org/german/bulletin