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

Cannabidiol exerts anti-proliferative activity via a cannabinoid receptor 2-dependent mechanism in human colorectal cancer cells

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Colorectal cancer is the third leading cause of cancer incidence and mortality in the United States. Cannabidiol (CBD), the second most abundant phytocannabinoid in Cannabis sativa, has potential use in cancer treatment on the basis of many studies showing its anti-cancer activity in diverse types of cancer, including colon cancer. However, its mechanism of action is not yet fully understood. In the current study, we observed CBD to repress viability of different human colorectal cancer cells in a dose-dependent manner. CBD treatment led to G1-phase cell cycle arrest and an increased sub-G1 population (apoptotic cells); it also downregulated protein expression of cyclin D1, cyclin D3, cyclin-dependent kinase 2 (CDK2), CDK4, and CDK6. CBD further increased caspase 3/7 activity and cleaved poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase, and elevated expression of endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress proteins including binding immunoglobulin protein (BiP), inositol-requiring enzyme 1α (IRE1α), phosphorylated eukaryotic initiation factor 2α (eIF2α), activating transcription factor 3 (ATF3), and ATF4.

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Use of Medicinal Cannabis for Palliative Care Patients: A Systematic Review

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Medical cannabis is a rapidly growing area of medicine. In this sense, due to the numerous benefits associated with its use, it has been increasingly proposed for patients in palliative care, in which the improvement of debilitating symptoms is directly associated with better quality of life. However, due to the complexity of treatments for these individuals, further studies are needed to determine the best possible prescription for them.

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Raising awareness: The implementation of medical cannabis and psychedelics used as an adjunct to standard therapy in the treatment of advanced metastatic breast cancer

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A 49-year-old woman was diagnosed with an ER + , PR-, HER2 + , BRCA- invasive ductal carcinoma which progressed metastatically to include bone, liver, and lymph node involvement. Standardised care included a 26-month treatment period with targeted chemotherapy and a ketogenic diet. The patient also began a course of cannabinoid-based therapy, consisting initially of a titrated high-dose protocol of mixed cannabidiol (CBD) and d9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) chemotypes, as well as psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy at macro and intermittent micro-doses. At the end of the five-month treatment period PET/CT investigations revealed no evidence of metastatic disease and chemotherapy was withdrawn.

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A Case Series of the Role of Cannabis Based Medicine in the Palliative Care Setting

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Complex refractory pain is highly prevalent in the palliative care setting. Opioid therapies play a pivotal role in pain management, but have an extensive side effect profile and frequently fail to provide sufficient relief, despite dose optimisation or concurrent use of standard adjuvant analgesics.(1) Therefore, identification of novel analgesics to alleviate pain would be very beneficial.(2)Currently, there is equipoise within the available clinical evidence of the efficacy and safety of cannabis-based medications in the management of pain.(3) This is a case series of three patients with complex pain, with inadequate pain relief with standard multimodal analgesia. Each of these patients were commenced on Sativex, an oromucosal spray composed of two cannabis extracts, delta-9- tetrahydrocannabinol and cannabidiol, and the dose was titrated until therapeutic benefit was
achieved. All three cases demonstrated a positive analgesic effect without any adverse symptoms.

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The Effectiveness and Safety of Medical Cannabis for Treating Cancer Related Symptoms in Oncology Patients

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The use of medical cannabis (MC) to treat cancer-related symptoms is rising. However, there is a lack of long-term trials to assess the benefits and safety of MC treatment in this population. In this work, we followed up prospectively and longitudinally on the effectiveness and safety of MC treatment. Oncology patients reported on multiple symptoms before and after MC treatment initiation at one-, three-, and 6-month follow-ups. Oncologists reported on the patients’ disease characteristics. Intention-to-treat models were used to assess changes in outcomes from baseline. MC treatment was initiated by 324 patients and 212, 158 and 126 reported at follow-ups. Most outcome measures improved significantly during MC treatment for most patients (p < 0.005). Specifically, at 6 months, total cancer symptoms burden declined from baseline by a median of 18%, from 122 (82–157) at baseline to 89 (45–138) at endpoint (−18.98; 95%CI= −26.95 to −11.00; p < 0.001). Reported adverse effects were common but mostly non-serious and remained stable during MC treatment. The results of this study suggest that MC treatment is generally safe for oncology patients and can potentially reduce the burden of associated symptoms with no serious MC-related adverse effects.

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The chemical composition of ethanolic extracts from six genotypes of medical cannabis (Cannabis sativa L.) and their selective cytotoxic activity

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Cannabis (Cannabis sativa L.) for medical purposes has been legalized again in many countries in recent years. Currently, only two major cannabinoids (Δ9-THC and CBD) are considered in the legislation and medication, which is not sufficient in case of dried plant material or resulting extract. Other substances (mainly terpenes/terpenoids), or their specific combinations, could influence the resulting therapeutic effect for specific oncology diagnosis and specific patients. Six different genotypes (Conspiracy Kush, Jilly Bean, Jack Cleaner 2, Jack Skellington, Nordle and Nurse Jackie) were cultivated indoor at the Czech University of Life Sciences Prague. Ethanol extracts taken from the inflorescences were assayed for their content of main cannabinoids and terpenes/terpenoids. The extracts were used for in vitro cytotoxicity studies on hepatocarcinoma human cell lines Hep-G2 and colorectal carcinoma human cell lines Caco-2 and Ht-29.

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Cannabinoid extract in microdoses ameliorates mnemonic and nonmnemonic Alzheimer’s disease symptoms: a case report

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Cannabinoid-based therapy has been shown to be promising and is emerging as crucial for the treatment of cognitive deficits, mental illnesses, and many diseases considered incurable. There is a need to find an appropriate therapy for Alzheimer’s disease, and cannabinoid-based therapy appears to be a feasible possibility.

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A Randomized Controlled Trial of Topical Cannabidiol for the Treatment of Thumb Basal Joint Arthritis

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Since the passage of the Agricultural Improvement Act of 2018, hand surgeons have increasingly encountered patients seeking counseling on over-the-counter, topical cannabidiol (CBD) for the treatment of pain. To this end, we designed a human clinical trial to investigate the therapeutic potential of CBD for the treatment of pain associated with thumb basal joint arthritis.

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Cannabidiol as a treatment for arthritis and joint pain: an exploratory cross-sectional study

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An estimated 54 million Americans currently suffer from debilitating arthritis. Patients who have exhausted conservative measures can be subject to chronic pain and resort to symptomatic management with anti-inflammatories, acetaminophen, and opioids. Cannabidiol (CBD) is a non-psychoactive cannabinoid that has shown promise in preclinical studies to reduce inflammation and pain associated with arthritis. The purpose of this study was to explore patient perceived effects of cannabidiol on symptoms of arthritis.

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Oral cannabidiol for prevention of acute and transient chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy

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To assess the safety, dosing, and preventive effects of cannabidiol (CBD) on chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN) in patients receiving oxaliplatin- or paclitaxel-based chemotherapy.

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Medicinal Cannabis for the Treatment of Chronic Refractory Pain: An Investigation of the Adverse Event Profile and Health-Related Quality of Life Impact of an Oral Formulation

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Medicinal cannabis is prescribed in Australia for patients with chronic refractory pain conditions. However, measures of safety and effectiveness of different cannabinoids are lacking. We designed an observational study to capture effectiveness, adverse events (AEs), and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) measures in patients prescribed an oral medicinal cannabis formulation at Cannabis Access Clinics through the Cannabis Access Clinics Observational study (CACOS).

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An Examination of the Anti-Cancer Properties of Plant Cannabinoids in Preclinical Models of Mesothelioma

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Mesothelioma is an aggressive cancer with limited treatment options and a poor prognosis. Phytocannabinoids possess anti-tumour and palliative properties in multiple cancers, however their effects in mesothelioma are unknown. We investigated the anti-cancer effects and potential mechanisms of action for several phytocannabinoids in mesothelioma cell lines.

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