Medicine continues to struggle in its approaches to numerous common subjective pain syndromes that lack objective signs and remain treatment resistant. Foremost among these are migraine, fibromyalgia, and irritable bowel syndrome, disorders that may overlap in their affected populations and whose sufferers have all endured the stigma of a psychosomatic label, as well as the failure of endless pharmacotherapeutic interventions with substandard benefit. The commonality in symptomatology in these conditions displaying hyperalgesia and central sensitization with possible common underlying pathophysiology suggests that a clinical endocannabinoid deficiency might characterize their origin. Its base hypothesis is that all humans have an underlying endocannabinoid tone that is...

Cannabis species have been used as medicine for thousands of years; only since the 1940s has the plant not been widely available for medical use. However, an increasing number of jurisdictions are making it possible for patients to obtain the botanical for medicinal use. For the cancer patient, cannabis has a number of potential benefits, especially in the management of symptoms. Cannabis is useful in combatting anorexia, chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting, pain, insomnia, and depression. Cannabis might be less potent than other available antiemetics, but for some patients, it is the only agent that works, and it is the only antiemetic that also increases...

The endocannabinoid (eCB) system is a widespread intercellular signalling mechanism that plays a critical role in body homoeostasis. It is located in key points involved in food intake and energy expenditure, coordinating all the players involved in energy balance. As such, it has come to be seen as an interesting target for the management of diseases characterized by an imbalanced energy homoeostasis, such as obesity and eating disorders. The aetiology of eating disorders and the molecular systems involved are still largely a mystery. Research has focused on brain circuits where the eCB system plays an important role, such as those related to feeding behaviour...