Used to classify article posts by terms used for medical conditions. It’s mostly aimed at practitioners and physicians.

Is it the Ideal Time to Start Prescribing Cannabis Derivatives to Treat Endometriosis-associated Pain?

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Endometriosis affects 5%-10% of women of reproductive age and is often associated with painful symptoms like dysmenorrhea, dyschezia, dyspareunia, and even non cyclical pain. The disease is diagnosed in at least 20% of women with dysmenorrhea and/or non-menstrual pelvic pain, reaching a prevalence of 50% pain among adolescents. There is an alignment among international societies3,4 that the pre- sumed diagnosis of this disease is enough to start clinical treatment. Moreover, there seems to be a consensus that first-line treatment should be hormonal contraceptives since the efficacy is similar to that of surgery but with lower complication rates and costs. However, these drugs are
effective in only approximately two-thirds of patients, have limited long-term efficacy and may occasionally lead to undesirable side effects. Additionally, there are serious limitations in the interpretation of clinical trials.

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Cannabinoids as a Potential Alternative to Opioids in the Management of Various Pain Subtypes: Benefits, Limitations, and Risks

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Pain is a global phenomenon encompassing many subtypes that include neuropathic, musculoskeletal, acute postoperative, cancer, and geriatric pain. Traditionally, opioids have been a mainstay pharmacological agent for managing many types of pain. However, opioids have been a subject of controversy with increased addiction, fatality rates, and cost burden on the US healthcare system. Cannabinoids have emerged as a potentially favorable alternative or adjunctive treatment for various types of acute and chronic pain. This narrative review seeks to describe the efficacy, risks, and benefits of cannabinoids as an adjunct or even potential replacement for opioids in the treatment of various subtypes of pain.

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Cannabidiol as a potential novel treatment for endometriosis by its anti-inflammatory, antioxidative and anti-angiogenic effects in an experimental rat model

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Can cannabidiol (CBD) be used in the treatment of endometriosis by its anti-inflammatory, antioxidative, and anti-angiogenic effects? Endometrial implants were surgically induced in 36 female Wistar-Albino rats. After confirmation of endometriotic foci, the rats were randomized into four groups. In leuprolide acetate (LA) group, rats were given a single 1mg/kg subcutaneous LA injection. Other groups were 5 mg/kg CBD (CBD5), saline solution (SS), and 20 mg/kg CBD (CBD20) and daily intra-peritoneal injections were applied for seven days. After 21 days, the rats were sacrificed, and total antioxidant status (TAS), total oxidant status (TOS), oxidative stress index (OSI), interleukin-6 (IL-6) and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) measurements in blood and peritoneal fluid samples, and immunohistochemical staining for TNF-α, IL-6 and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) of endometriotic tissues were evaluated.

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Endocannabinoids are potential inhibitors of glioblastoma multiforme proliferation

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Globally, it is evident that glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is an aggressive malignant cancer with a high mortality rate and no effective treatment options. Glioblastoma is classified as the stage-four progression of a glioma tumor, and its diagnosis results in a shortened life expectancy. Treatment options for GBM include chemotherapy, immunotherapy, surgical intervention, and conventional pharmacotherapy; however, at best, they extend the patient’s life by a maximum of 5 years. GBMs are considered incurable due to their high recurrence rate, despite various aggressive therapeutic approaches which can have many serious adverse effects. Ceramides, classified as endocannabinoids, offer a promising novel therapeutic approach for GBM. Endocannabinoids may enhance the apoptosis of GBM cells but have no effect on normal healthy neural cells.

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Efficacy and Safety of Medical Marijuana in Migraine Headache: A Systematic Review

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Medical marijuana treatment for migraine is becoming more common, although the legality and societal acceptance of marijuana for medical purposes in the United States have been challenged by the stigma attached to it as a recreational drug. These substances function to reduce nociception and decrease the frequency of migraine by having an impact on the endocannabinoid system. Our study reviewed the clinical response, dosing, and side effects of marijuana in migraine management. Using Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines, we conducted a literature search in PubMed, Google Scholar, and Science Direct, and nine studies were included in the systematic review. The studies demonstrated that medical marijuana has a significant clinical response by reducing the length and frequency of migraines. No severe adverse effects were noted. Due to its effectiveness and convenience, medical marijuana therapy may be helpful for patients suffering from migraines. However, additional clinical trials and observational studies with longer follow-ups are required to study the efficacy and safety of the drug.

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The synergistic anticancer effect of CBD and DOX in osteosarcoma

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Osteosarcoma is a malignant tumor that can present with pain in the bones, joints, and local masses. The incidence is highest in adolescents, and the most common sites are the distal femur, proximal tibia and proximal humerus metaphyseal. Doxorubicin is the first-line chemotherapeutic agent for the treatment of osteosarcoma, but it has many side effects. Cannabidiol is a non-psychoactive plant cannabinoid cannabinol (CBD) that has been shown to be effective against osteosarcoma; however, the molecular targets and mechanisms of CBD action in osteosarcoma remain unclear.

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To Be Blunt: Weed Appreciate You Not Flying with Marijuana, but Current Conflicting Cannabis Law Leaves Things Hazy

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The Controlled Substances Act of 1970 categorized marijuana as a Schedule I drug, making all forms of possession illegal at the federal level. However, in the last ten years alone, the majority of America has gained access to a form of marijuana, whether it be for recreational or medicinal purposes, in accordance with rapidly changing state laws. As of November 2022, twenty-one states, Washington, D.C., and Guam have legalized recreational marijuana, and thirty-seven states, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands have legalized medical marijuana. With this conflict between federal and state law regarding cannabis possession, air travel while possessing marijuana has become a grey area filled with discrepancies and varying approaches. This Article offers specific recommendations for Congress to employ to best address the current issues airports across the United States are facing upon the discovery of a passenger attempting to fly while possessing a personal use amount of marijuana. This framework includes, at the broad level: (1) the removal of marijuana from the Controlled Substances Act of 1970, in accordance with current proposed legislation; and (2) editing current proposed legislation to include mention of what applicable federal agencies’ roles will be as related to marijuana in response to this.

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When The Pharmacopoeia Fails: Cannabis for Pain

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Addressing the most compelling cannabis concern, its abuse by young people, the best meta-analysis of the data [2] reveals that even the heaviest non-medical cannabis usage in teen- agers and young adults reduces cognitive sequelae to non- statistical salience after abstinence of 72 hours with no evident permanent sequelae. No formal study has shown cognitive impairment in medical cannabis patients, and some have even documented improvement.

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The Anti-Tumorigenic Role of Cannabinoid Receptor 2 in Colon Cancer: A Study in Mice and Humans

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The endocannabinoid system, particularly cannabinoid receptor 2 (CB2 in mice and CNR2 in humans), has controversial pathophysiological implications in colon cancer. Here, we investigate the role of CB2 in potentiating the immune response in colon cancer in mice and determine the influence of CNR2 variants in humans. Comparing wild-type (WT) mice to CB2 knockout (CB2−/−) mice, we performed a spontaneous cancer study in aging mice and subsequently used the AOM/DSS model of colitis-associated colorectal cancer and a model for hereditary colon cancer (ApcMin/+). Additionally, we analyzed genomic data in a large human population to determine the relationship between CNR2 variants and colon cancer incidence. Aging CB2−/− mice exhibited a higher incidence of spontaneous precancerous lesions in the colon compared to WT controls.

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Therapeutic Potential of Phytocannabinoid Cannabigerol for Multiple Sclerosis: Modulation of Microglial Activation In Vitro and In Vivo

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Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a widespread chronic neuroinflammatory and neurodegenerative disease. Microglia play a crucial role in the pathogenesis of MS via the release of cytokines and reactive oxygen species, e.g., nitric oxide. Research involving the role of phytocannabinoids in neuroinflammation is currently receiving much attention. Cannabigerol is a main phytocannabinoid, which has attracted significant pharmacological interest due to its non-psychotropic nature. In this research, we studied the effects of cannabigerol on microglial inflammation in vitro, followed by an in vivo study. Cannabigerol attenuated the microglial production of nitric oxide in BV2 microglia and primary glial cells; concomitant treatment of the cells with cannabigerol and telmisartan (a neuroprotective angiotensin receptor blocker) decreased nitric oxide production additively. Inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) expression was also reduced by cannabigerol.

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The Effectiveness and Safety of Pharmaceutical-Grade Cannabidiol in the Treatment of Mastocytosis-Associated Pain: A Pilot Study

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Mastocytosis patients often experience a number of symptoms, including mastocytosis-associated pain that is difficult to manage due to resistance to usual antalgic treatments and/or the patient’s poor tolerance. Mastocytosis patients display significantly higher levels of indoleamine-2,3-dioxygenase-1 (IDO1) activity, leading to hyperactivation of the N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor. As cannabidiol (CBD) is known to inhibit IDO1′s enzymatic activity, we hypothesized that pharmaceutical-grade CBD is an effective treatment for mastocytosis-associated pain. Patients with non-advanced mastocytosis and refractory pain were eligible for inclusion in this observational pilot study.

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A Retrospective Cohort Study That Examined the Impact of Cannabis Consumption on Long-Term Kidney Outcomes

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Cannabis consumption for recreational and medical use is increasing worldwide. However, the long-term effects on kidney health and disease are largely unknown. Post hoc analysis of cannabis use as a risk factor for kidney disease was performed using data from the Assessment, Serial Evaluation, and Subsequent Sequelae of Acute Kidney Injury (ASSESS-AKI) study that enrolled hospitalized adults with and without acute kidney injury from four U.S. centers during 2009–2015. Associations between self-reported cannabis consumption and the categorical and continuous outcomes were determined using multivariable Cox regression and linear mixed models, respectively.

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