Please use this link to access this publication. Abstract Background Acute cannabis administration can produce transient psychotic-like effects in healthy individuals. However, the mechanisms through which this occurs and which factors predict vulnerability remain unclear. We investigate whether cannabis inhalation leads to psychotic-like symptoms and speech illusion; and whether cannabidiol (CBD) blunts such effects (study 1) and adolescence heightens such effects (study 2). Methods Two double-blind placebo-controlled studies, assessing speech illusion in a white noise task, and psychotic-like symptoms on the Psychotomimetic States Inventory (PSI). Study 1 compared effects of Cann-CBD (cannabis containing Δ-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and negligible levels of CBD) with Cann+CBD (cannabis containing...

Abstract Decline in cognitive performance, an aspect of the normal aging process, is influenced by the endocannabinoid system (ECS). Cannabinoid receptor 1 (CB1) signaling diminishes with advancing age in specific brain regions that regulate learning and memory and abolishing CB1 receptor signaling accelerates cognitive aging in mice. We recently demonstrated that prolonged exposure to low dose (3 mg/kg/day) Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) improved the cognitive performances in old mice on par with young untreated mice. Here we investigated the potential influence of cannabidiol (CBD) on this THC effect, because preclinical and clinical studies indicate that the combination of THC and CBD often exhibits an enhanced therapeutic...

Abstract Positive effect of some cannabinoids in the treatment and prophylaxis of a wide variety of oxidation-associated diseases and growing popularity of supplements containing cannabinoids, mainly cannabinoid oils (e.g. CBD oil, CBG oil), in the self-medication of humans cause a growing interest in the antioxidant properties of these compounds, especially those not showing psychotropic effects. Herein, we report the antioxidant activity of cannabigerol (CBG), cannabidiol (CBD), Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ9-THC), cannabinol (CBN), cannabigerolic acid (CBGA), cannabinolic acid (CBDA) and Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinolic acid (Δ9-THCA) estimated by spectrophotometric methods: ABTS, DPPH, ORAC, beta-carotene CUPRAC and FRAP. The presented data prove that all the examined cannabinoids exhibit antioxidant activity manifested...

Abstract Background: People with schizophrenia are more likely to develop cannabis use disorder (CUD) and experience worse outcomes with use. Yet as cannabis is legalized for medical and recreational use, there is interest in its therapeutic potential. Objectives: To conduct a systematic review summarizing the design and results of controlled trials using defined doses of THC and CBD in schizophrenia. Method: A keyword search of eight online literature databases identified 11 eligible reports. Results: One placebo controlled trial (13 stable patients without CUD) found that intravenous THC increased psychosis and worsened learning/recall. Two reports of a functional magnetic resonance (fMRI) study of smoked or...

Introduction Neuropathic pruritus is defined as an itch arising from diseases of the central or peripheral nervous system, including nerve damage, compression, or irritation. It can be generalized or localized and is encompassed within a broad range of diagnoses, including notalgia paresthetica, brachioradialis pruritus, certain forms of vulvar itch, and small fiber neuropathy, amongst others.1 Brachioradial pruritus is a well-known type of neuropathic itch that is believed to result from an insult to cervical nerves C5-C8 from degenerative disc disease or trauma.2 Symptoms include itch, burning, numbness, and tingling affecting the dorsolateral aspects of the upper extremities.

Abstract Neural hyperexcitability in the event of damage during early life, such as hyperthermia, hypoxia, traumatic brain injury, status epilepticus, or a pre-existing neuroinflammatory condition, can promote the process of epileptogenesis, which is defined as the sequence of events that converts a normal circuit into a hyperexcitable circuit and represents the time that occurs between the damaging event and the development of spontaneous seizure activity or the establishment of epilepsy. Epilepsy is the most common neurological disease in the world, characterized by the presence of seizures recurring without apparent provocation. Cannabidiol (CBD), a phytocannabinoid derived from the subspecies Cannabis sativa (CS), is the most...

Abstract Antimicrobial resistance has emerged as a global health crisis and, therefore, new drug discovery is a paramount need. Cannabis sativa contains hundreds of chemical constituents produced by secondary metabolism, exerting outstanding antimicrobial, antiviral, and therapeutic properties. This paper comprehensively reviews the antimicrobial and antiviral (particularly against SARS-CoV-2) properties of C. sativa with the potential for new antibiotic drug and/or natural antimicrobial agents for industrial or agricultural use, and their therapeutic potential against the newly emerged coronavirus disease (COVID-19). Cannabis compounds have good potential as drug candidates for new antibiotics, even for some of the WHO’s current priority list of resistant pathogens. Recent studies...

Abstract Chemotherapy-induced peripheral neurotoxicity (CIPN) is one of the most frequent side effects of antineoplastic treatment, particularly of lung, breast, prostate, gastrointestinal, and germinal cancers, as well as of different forms of leukemia, lymphoma, and multiple myeloma. Currently, no effective therapies are available for CIPN prevention, and symptomatic treatment is frequently ineffective; thus, several clinical trials are addressing this unmet clinical need. Among possible pharmacological treatments of CIPN, modulation of the endocannabinoid system might be particularly promising, especially in those CIPN types where analgesia and neuroinflammation modulation might be beneficial. In fact, several clinical trials are ongoing with the specific aim to better investigate...

Abstract Cannabinoids and Cannabis-derived compounds have been receiving especial attention in the epilepsy research scenario. Pharmacological modulation of endocannabinoid system's components, like cannabinoid type 1 receptors (CB1R) and their bindings, are associated with seizures in preclinical models. CB1R expression and functionality were altered in humans and preclinical models of seizures. Additionally, Cannabis-derived compounds, like cannabidiol (CBD), present anticonvulsant activity in humans and in a great variety of animal models. Audiogenic seizures (AS) are induced in genetically susceptible animals by high-intensity sound stimulation. Audiogenic strains, like the Genetically Epilepsy Prone Rats, Wistar Audiogenic Rats, and Krushinsky-Molodkina, are useful tools to study epilepsy. In audiogenic susceptible...

Abstract The present mini-review focuses on animal models of schizophrenia that have explored the effects of cannabidiol (CBD; a non-psychoactive component of cannabis) or the pharmacological manipulation of the endocannabinoid system on behavioral and cognitive outcome measures. First, results of some relevant clinical studies in this area are summarized, and then pre-clinical work on animal models of schizophrenia based on NMDA receptor antagonism or neurodevelopmental manipulations are discussed. A brief overview is given of the theoretical framework on which these models are based, along with a concise summary of results that have been obtained. Clinical results using CBD for schizophrenia seem promising and its...