Entries by Site Administrator

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The medical necessity for medicinal cannabis: prospective, observational study evaluating the treatment in cancer patients on supportive or palliative care.

Authors: Gil Bar-Sela, Marina Vorobeichik, Saher Drawsheh, Anat Omer, Victoria Goldberg, Ella Muller
Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 2013
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BACKGROUND: Cancer patients using cannabis report better influence from the plant extract than from synthetic products. However, almost all the research conducted to date has been performed with synthetic products. We followed patients with a medicinal cannabis license to eval…

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The endocannabinoid system in normal and pathological brain ageing.

Authors: Andras Bilkei-Gorzo
Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 5 December 2012
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The role of endocannabinoids as inhibitory retrograde transmitters is now widely known and intensively studied. However, endocannabinoids also influence neuronal activity by exerting neuroprotective effects and regulating glial responses. This review centres around this less-s…

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Multiple sclerosis and extract of cannabis: results of the MUSEC trial.

Authors: John Peter Zajicek, Jeremy C. Hobart, Anita Slade, David Barnes, Paul G. Mattison
Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery, & Psychiatry, November 2012
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OBJECTIVE: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is associated with chronic symptoms, including muscle stiffness, spasms, pain and insomnia. Here we report the results of the Multiple Sclerosis and Extract of Cannabis (MUSEC) study that aimed to substantiate the patient based findings of pr…

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

Authors: Jody Corey-Bloom, Tanya Wolfson, Anthony Gamst, Shelia Jin, Thomas D. Marcotte, et al
CMAJ, 10 July 2012
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BACKGROUND: Spasticity is a common and poorly controlled symptom of multiple sclerosis. Our objective was to determine the short-term effect of smoked cannabis on this symptom. METHODS: We conducted a placebo-controlled, crossover trial involving adult patients with multiple s…

Cannabidiol inhibits lung cancer cell invasion and metastasis via intercellular adhesion molecule-1.

Authors: Robert Ramer, Katharina Bublitz, Nadine Freimuth, Jutta Merkord, Helga Rohde, et al
The FASEB Journal, April 2012
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Cannabinoids inhibit cancer cell invasion via increasing tissue inhibitor of matrix metalloproteinases-1 (TIMP-1). This study investigates the role of intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) within this action. In the lung cancer cell lines A549, H358, and H460, cannabidiol…

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Cannabinoid receptor 2-mediated attenuation of CXCR4-tropic HIV infection in primary CD4+ T cells.

Authors: Cristina Maria Costantino, Achla Gupta, Alice W. Yewdall, Benjamin M. Dale, et al
PLoS One, 2012
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Agents that activate cannabinoid receptor pathways have been tested as treatments for cachexia, nausea or neuropathic pain in HIV-1/AIDS patients. The cannabinoid receptors (CB(1)R and CB(2)R) and the HIV-1 co-receptors, CCR5 and CXCR4, all signal via Gαi-coupled pathways. We…

Cannabidiol enhances anandamide signaling and alleviates psychotic symptoms of schizophrenia.

Authors: F. M. Leweke, D. Piomelli, F. Pahlisch, D. Muhl, C. W. Gerth, C. Hoyer, J. Klosterkötter, et al
Translational Psychiatry, 20 March 2012
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Cannabidiol is a component of marijuana that does not activate cannabinoid receptors, but moderately inhibits the degradation of the endocannabinoid anandamide. We previously reported that an elevation of anandamide levels in cerebrospinal fluid inversely correlated to psychot…

Effects of Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol administration on human encoding and recall memory function: a pharmacological FMRI study.

Authors: Matthijs G. Bossong, Gerry Jager, Hendrika H. van Hell, Lineke Zuurman, et al
Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, March 2012
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Deficits in memory function are an incapacitating aspect of various psychiatric and neurological disorders. Animal studies have recently provided strong evidence for involvement of the endocannabinoid (eCB) system in memory function. Neuropsychological studies in humans have s…

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Decreased prevalence of diabetes in marijuana users: cross-sectional data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) III.

Authors: Tripathi B. Rajavashisth, Magda Shaheen, Keith C. Norris, Deyu Pan, et al
BMJ Open, 24 February 2012
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OBJECTIVE: To determine the association between diabetes mellitus (DM) and marijuana use. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. SETTING: Data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III, 1988-1994) conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics of th…

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Prescribing cannabis for harm reduction.

Authors: Mark Collen
Harm Reduction Journal, 1 January 2012
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Neuropathic pain affects between 5% and 10% of the US population and can be refractory to treatment. Opioids may be recommended as a second-line pharmacotherapy but have risks including overdose and death. Cannabis has been shown to be effective for treating nerve pain without…

Cannabinoid-opioid interaction in chronic pain.

Authors: D. I. Abrams, P. Couey, S. B. Shade, M. E. Kelly, N. L. Benowitz
Clinical Pharmacology & Therapeutics, December 2011
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Cannabinoids and opioids share several pharmacologic properties and may act synergistically. The potential pharmacokinetics and the safety of the combination in humans are unknown. We therefore undertook a study to answer these questions. Twenty-one individuals with chronic pa…