STUDY: MEDICAL MARIJUANA CAN MINIMIZE BRAIN DAMAGE (original) (raw)
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The American journal of medicine, 2018
The recent Federal Drug Administration approval of the marijuana constituent cannabidiol (CBD) as safe and effective for treatment of two rare forms of epilepsy, has raised hopes that others of the 500 chemicals in marijuana will be found to be therapeutic. However, the long term consequences of street marijuana use are unclear and recent studies raise red flags about its effects. Changes in brain maturation and intellectual function including decreases in intelligence quotient have been noted in chronic users and appear permanent in early users in most but not all studies. These studies suggest that at a minimum, regular marijuana use should be discouraged in individuals under the age of 21.
Journal of Clinical Medicine
Neurological disorders such as neurodegenerative diseases or traumatic brain injury are associated with cognitive, motor and behavioural changes that influence the quality of life of the patients. Although different therapeutic strategies have been developed and tried until now to decrease the neurological decline, no treatment has been found to cure these pathologies. In the last decades, the implication of the endocannabinoid system in the neurological function has been extensively studied, and the cannabinoids have been tried as a new promising potential treatment. In this study, we aimed to overview the recent available literature regarding in vivo potential of natural and synthetic cannabinoids with underlying mechanisms of action for protecting against cognitive decline and motor impairments. The results of studies on animal models showed that cannabinoids in traumatic brain injury increase neurobehavioral function, working memory performance, and decrease the neurological def...
Effects of endocannabinoid system, synthetic and nonsynthetic cannabinoid drugs on traumatic brain injury outcome: a narrative review, 2019
Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. The initial injury is followed by a series of secondary processes that can further harm the injured brain and worsen the outcome. The endocannabinoid system (ECS) consists of ligands, such as anandamide and 2-arachidonoyl-glycerol (2-AG), receptors (e.g., Cannabinoid receptor type 1 and Cannabinoid receptor type 2), as well as transporters, and enzymes. Dexanabinol (HU-211) is a synthetic cannabinoid with cerebroprotective effects devoid of cannabimimetic effects, which exhibits the pharmacological properties of N-Methyl-D-aspartate receptor antagonist. The increase in the brain levels of endocannabinoids in the pathogenic events of brain injury suggests that this system plays a role in compensatory repair mechanisms. In recent years, the therapeutic effects of cannabinoid manipulative drugs have been numerously studied through the manipulation of the ECS in TBI. Therefore, the literature review was performed to assess the therapeutic effects of ECS manipulation, cannabinoid-derived drugs, and HU-211 in traumatic brain injury pathology. The ECS possesses promising effects in the treatment of diverse TBI pathologies through releasing endogenous ligands and changes in cannabinoid receptors activity or both. Preclinical studies suggest that the ECS has many targets for therapeutic agents that might help decrease TBI pathologic effects and should be considered for developing novel drugs. Furthermore, more clinical trials with larger populations and more extended follow-up periods should be performed for a better understanding of the effects of ECS manipulative drugs.
STUDY: MEDICAL MARIJUANA MAY PREVENT ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE
Pioneering new research suggests that smoking marijuana before the onset of certain types of dementia, such as Alzheimer’s disease, can slow down the development of degenerative conditions. Taken at the right age and with sufficient frequency, smoking marijuana could prevent the symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease from manifesting, to the degree that a person could die from old age before the condition fully sets in.
Cannabis Therapeutics and the Future of Neurology
Frontiers in Integrative Neuroscience
Neurological therapeutics have been hampered by its inability to advance beyond symptomatic treatment of neurodegenerative disorders into the realm of actual palliation, arrest or reversal of the attendant pathological processes. While cannabisbased medicines have demonstrated safety, efficacy and consistency sufficient for regulatory approval in spasticity in multiple sclerosis (MS), and in Dravet and Lennox-Gastaut Syndromes (LGS), many therapeutic challenges remain. This review will examine the intriguing promise that recent discoveries regarding cannabis-based medicines offer to neurological therapeutics by incorporating the neutral phytocannabinoids tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), cannabidiol (CBD), their acidic precursors, tetrahydrocannabinolic acid (THCA) and cannabidiolic acid (CBDA), and cannabis terpenoids in the putative treatment of five syndromes, currently labeled recalcitrant to therapeutic success, and wherein improved pharmacological intervention is required: intractable epilepsy, brain tumors, Parkinson disease (PD), Alzheimer disease (AD) and traumatic brain injury (TBI)/chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). Current basic science and clinical investigations support the safety and efficacy of such interventions in treatment of these currently intractable conditions, that in some cases share pathological processes, and the plausibility of interventions that harness endocannabinoid mechanisms, whether mediated via direct activity on CB 1 and CB 2 (tetrahydrocannabinol, THC, caryophyllene), peroxisome proliferator-activated receptorgamma (PPARγ; THCA), 5-HT 1A (CBD, CBDA) or even nutritional approaches utilizing prebiotics and probiotics. The inherent polypharmaceutical properties of cannabis botanicals offer distinct advantages over the current single-target pharmaceutical model and portend to revolutionize neurological treatment into a new reality of effective interventional and even preventative treatment.
Neurology, 2014
Objective: To determine the efficacy of medical marijuana in several neurologic conditions. Methods: We performed a systematic review of medical marijuana (1948-November 2013) to address treatment of symptoms of multiple sclerosis (MS), epilepsy, and movement disorders. We graded the studies according to the American Academy of Neurology classification scheme for therapeutic articles. Results: Thirty-four studies met inclusion criteria; 8 were rated as Class I. Conclusions: The following were studied in patients with MS: (1) Spasticity: oral cannabis extract (OCE) is effective, and nabiximols and tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) are probably effective, for reducing patientcentered measures; it is possible both OCE and THC are effective for reducing both patient-centered and objective measures at 1 year. (2) Central pain or painful spasms (including spasticity-related pain, excluding neuropathic pain): OCE is effective; THC and nabiximols are probably effective. (3) Urinary dysfunction: nabiximols is probably effective for reducing bladder voids/day; THC and OCE are probably ineffective for reducing bladder complaints. (4) Tremor: THC and OCE are probably ineffective; nabiximols is possibly ineffective. (5) Other neurologic conditions: OCE is probably ineffective for treating levodopa-induced dyskinesias in patients with Parkinson disease. Oral cannabinoids are of unknown efficacy in non-chorea-related symptoms of Huntington disease, Tourette syndrome, cervical dystonia, and epilepsy. The risks and benefits of medical marijuana should be weighed carefully. Risk of serious adverse psychopathologic effects was nearly 1%. Comparative effectiveness of medical marijuana vs other therapies is unknown for these indications. Neurology ® 2014;82:1556-1563 GLOSSARY AAN 5 American Academy of Neurology; AE 5 adverse effect; CBD 5 cannabidiol; CI 5 confidence interval; CRS 5 category rating scale; HD 5 Huntington disease; ITT 5 intention-to-treat; MS 5 multiple sclerosis; NRS 5 numeric rating score; OCE 5 oral cannabis extract; THC 5 D-9-tetrahydrocannabinol; UHDRS 5 Unified Huntington's Disease Rating Scale; UPDRS 5 Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale; VAS 5 visual analog scale.
Cannabis therapy in neurological disorders: Recent advances and perspectives
2020
Both phytocannabinoids (Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol, cannabidiol) and synthetic derivatives (nabilone, dronabinol) showed therapeutic benefits in some neurological disorders. Cannabis inhalation was reported to attenuate several symptoms (rigidity, bradykinesia, tremor) in Parkinson’s disease. A significant reduction in monthly seizures in patients with epilepsy has been noted for cannabidiol, while administration of Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol resulted in benefits on psychomotor agitation in patients suffering from Alzheimer’s disease. Although there are clinical studies supporting the use of cannabis preparations as adjuvant therapy in neurological disorders, more investigations are needed to assess their safety and efficacy.