Characterization of endocannabinoids and related acylethanolamides in the synovial fluid of dogs with osteoarthritis: a pilot study.

Authors: Carmela Valastro, Debora Campanile, Mariarosaria Marinaro, Delia Franchini, Fabiana Piscitelli, Roberta Verde, Vincenzo Di Marzo, Antonio Di Bello
BMC Veterinary Research, 6 November 2017

BACKGROUND: Cannabis-based drugs have been shown to be effective in inflammatory diseases. A number of endocannabinoids including N- arachidonoylethanolamide (anandamide, AEA) and 2-arachidonyl glycerol (2-AG) with activity at the cannabinoid receptors (CBR) CBR1 and CBR2, hav…

Oral administration of cannabis with lipids leads to high levels of cannabinoids in the intestinal lymphatic system and prominent immunomodulation.

Authors: Atheer Zgair, Jong Bong Lee, Jonathan C. M. Wong, Dhiaa A. Taha, Jehan Aram, et al
Scientific Reports, 6 November 2017

Cannabidiol (CBD) and ∆9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) have well documented immunomodulatory effects in vitro, but not following oral administration in humans. Here we show that oral co-administration of cannabinoids with lipids can substantially increase their intestinal lympha…

Masturbation to Orgasm Stimulates the Release of the Endocannabinoid 2-Arachidonoylglycerol in Humans.

Authors: Johannes Fuss, Laura Bindila, Klaus Wiedemann, Matthias K. Auer, Peer Briken, Sarah V. Biedermann
Journal of Sexual Medicine, November 2017

BACKGROUND: Endocannabinoids are critical for rewarding behaviors such as eating, physical exercise, and social interaction. The role of endocannabinoids in mammalian sexual behavior has been suggested because of the influence of cannabinoid receptor agonists and antagonists o…

Physicians-in-training are not prepared to prescribe medical marijuana.

Authors: Anastasia B. Evanoff, Tiffany Quan, Carolyn Dufault, Michael Awad, Laura Jean Bierut
Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 1 November 2017

BACKGROUND: While medical marijuana use is legal in more than half of U.S. states, evidence is limited about the preparation of physicians-in-training to prescribe medical marijuana. We asked whether current medical school and graduate medical educational training prepare phys…

Standardized Cannabis sativa extract attenuates tau and stathmin gene expression in the melanoma cell line.

Authors: Golnaz Vaseghi, Mohamad Javad Taki, Shaghayegh Haghjooy Javanmard
Iranian journal of basic medical sciences, October 2017

OBJECTIVES: Metastasis is the main cause of death in patients with melanoma. Cannabis-based medicines are effective adjunctive drugs in cancer patients. Tau and Stathmin proteins are the key proteins in cancer metastasis. Here we have investigated the effect of a standardized…

Endocannabinoid system in neurodegenerative disorders.

Authors: Balapal S. Basavarajappa, Madhu Shivakumar, Vikram Joshi, Shivakumar Subbanna
Journal of Neurochemistry, September 2017

Most neurodegenerative disorders (NDDs) are characterized by cognitive impairment and other neurological defects. The definite cause of and pathways underlying the progression of these NDDs are not well-defined. Several mechanisms have been proposed to contribute to the develo…

Cannabinoids in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: A randomised-controlled trial.

Authors: Ruth E. Cooper, Emma Williams, Seth Seegobin, Charlotte Tye, Jonna Kuntsi, Philip Asherson
European Neuropsychopharmacology, August 2017

Adults with ADHD describe self-medicating with cannabis, with some reporting a preference for cannabis over ADHD medications. A small number of psychiatrists in the US prescribe cannabis medication for ADHD, despite there being no evidence from randomised controlled studies…

Marijuana and pregnancy: objective education is good, but biased education is not.

Authors: Ciara A. Torres, Carl L. Hart
American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, August 2017

To the Editors: We read with interest the article by Chasnoff, 1 which concluded that physicians should be educated about the negative effects of marijuana use during pregnancy and should discourage its use by pregnant women and women considering becoming pregnant. In our view…

Spatial distribution of cannabinoid receptor type 1 (CB1) in normal canine central and peripheral nervous system.

Authors: Jessica Freundt-Revilla, Kristel Kegler, Wolfgang Baumgärtner, Andrea Tipold
PLoS One, 10 July 2017

The endocannabinoid system is a regulatory pathway consisting of two main types of cannabinoid receptors (CB1 and CB2) and their endogenous ligands, the endocannabinoids. The CB1 receptor is highly expressed in the central and peripheral nervous systems (PNS) in mammalians and…

An Update on Safety and Side Effects of Cannabidiol: A Review of Clinical Data and Relevant Animal Studies.

Authors: Kerstin Iffland, Franjo Grotenhermen
Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research, 1 June 2017

Introduction: This literature survey aims to extend the comprehensive survey performed by Bergamaschi et al. in 2011 on cannabidiol (CBD) safety and side effects. Apart from updating the literature, this article focuses on clinical studies and CBD potential interactions with o…

Effects of Marijuana on Mental Health: Depression.

Authors: Susan A. Stoner
Alcohol & Drug Abuse Institute, University of Washington, June 2017

THC and CBD appear to have antidepressant-like effects in animal models at certain doses but not others. Marijuana has been associated with diminished motivation, but a distinct “cannabis amotivational syndrome” has yet to be substantiated. Studies looking at whether marijuana…

A chronic low dose of Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) restores cognitive function in old mice

Authors: Andras Bilkei-Gorzo, Onder Albayram, Astrid Draffehn, Kerstin Michel, Anastasia Piyanova, Hannah Oppenheimer, Mona Dvir-Ginzberg, Ildiko Rácz, Thomas Ulas, Sophie Imbeault, Itai Bab, Joachim L Schultze, Andreas Zimmer
Nature Medicine, 8 May 2017

The balance between detrimental, pro-aging, often stochastic processes and counteracting homeostatic mechanisms largely determines the progression of aging. There is substantial evidence suggesting that the endocannabinoid system (ECS) is part of the latter system because it m…