Please use this link to access this publication. Abstract Purpose of review This review is to summarize most recent evidence published in the last 18 months on medical and recreational use of cannabis and cannabinoids in relation to anxiety, depression (unipolar and bipolar), and dysregulation of emotions as part of posttraumatic stress disorders (PTSD) and emotionally instable personality disorders. It also covers the investigation of endocannabinoids as potential biomarkers in these conditions. This is important with increasing medicinal use of cannabinoids and growing social tolerance towards recreational cannabis use. Recent findings There is some recent evidence suggesting cannabinoids, cannabidiol or cannabidiol-enriched cannabis preparations have...

Abstract Cannabidiol (CBD) is a naturally occurring, non-psychotropic cannabinoid of the hemp plant Cannabis sativa L. and has been known to induce several physiological and pharmacological effects. While CBD is approved as a medicinal product subject to prescription, it is also widely sold over the counter (OTC) in the form of food supplements, cosmetics and electronic cigarette liquids. However, regulatory difficulties arise from its origin being a narcotic plant or its status as an unapproved novel food ingredient. Regarding the consumer safety of these OTC products, the question whether or not CBD might be degraded into psychotropic cannabinoids, most prominently tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), under in vivo conditions...

ABSTRACT CBD was shown to have anti-seizure activity based on in vitro and in vivo models. However, several reports of small series or case reports of the use of cannabis extracts in epilepsy yielded contradictory results and the efficacy of cannabis use in patients with epilepsy have also been inconclusive. In 2013, the first Phase 1 trial for a purified form of CBD (Epidiolex/Epidyolex; >99% CBD), developed by GW Pharma, showed some efficacy signals and subsequently, a comprehensive program on the efficacy and tolerability of this compound for the treatment of drug-resistant epilepsies was initiated. Results of these trials led to the FDA and EMA approval respectively in...

Please use this link to access this publication. Abstract It is thought that endogenous cannabinoids have a role in the analgesia induced by specific forms of stress. We examined if the role of endogenous cannabinoids is also dependent upon the mode of nociception, and whether this could be altered by drugs which block their enzymatic degradation. In C57BL/6 mice, restraint stress produced analgesia in the hot-plate and plantar tests, two thermal pain assays that engage distinct supraspinal and spinal nociceptive pathways. Stress-induced analgesia in the hot-plate test was abolished by pre-treatment with the opioid receptor antagonist naltrexone but was unaffected by the cannabinoid receptor...

Abstract Choosing an appropriate treatment for chronic pain remains problematic, and despite the available medication for its treatment, still, many patients complain about pain and appeal to the use of cannabis derivatives for pain control. However, few data have been provided to clinicians about the pharmacokinetic drug-drug interactions of cannabinoids with other concomitant administered medications. Therefore, the aim of this brief review is to assess the interactions between cannabinoids and pain medication through drug transporters (ATP-binding cassette superfamily members) and/or metabolizing enzymes (cytochromes P450 and glucuronyl transferases).

Abstract Cannabis sativa is an aromatic annual flowering plant with several botanical varieties, used for different purposes, like the production of fibers, the production of oil from the seeds, and especially for recreational or medical purposes. Phytocannabinoids (terpenophenolic compounds derived from the plant), include the well-known psychoactive cannabinoid Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol, and many non-psychoactive cannabinoids, like cannabidiol. The endocannabinoid system (ECS) comprises of endocannabinoid ligands, enzymes for synthesis and degradation of such ligands, and receptors. This system is widely distributed in the gastrointestinal tract, where phytocannabinoids exert potent effects, particularly under pathological (i.e., inflammatory) conditions. Herein, we will first look at the hemp plant as a possible...

Please use this link to access this publication. Abstract T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) is a highly heterogeneous malignant hematological disorder arising from T-cell progenitors. This study was aimed to evaluate the cytotoxic effect of CP55940 on human peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL) and on T-ALL cells (Jurkat). PBL and Jurkat cells were treated with CP55940 (0−20 μM), and morphological changes in the cell nucleus/ DNA, mitochondrial membrane potential (ΔΨm), and intracellular reactive oxygen species levels were determined by fluorescence microscopy and flow cytometry. Cellular apoptosis markers were also evaluated by western blotting, pharmacological inhibition and immunofluorescence. CP55940 induced apoptotic cell death in Jurkat cells, but...

Please use this link to access this publication . Abstract Three prevalent neurodegenerative diseases, Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, and Huntington’s are in need of symptomatic relief of slowing disease progression or both. This chapter focuses on the potential of cannabinoids to afford neuroprotection, i.e. avoid or retard neuronal death. The neuroprotective potential of cannabinoids is known from the work in animal models and is mediated by the two cannabinoid receptors (CB1/CB2) and eventually, by their heteromers, GPR55, orphan receptors (GPR3/GPR6/GPR12/GPR18), or PPARγ. Now, there is the time to translate the findings into patients. The chapter takes primarily into account advances since 2016 and addresses the issue...

Abstract Purpose of review Cannabis (marijuana, weed, pot, ganja, Mary Jane) is the most commonly used federally illicit drug in the United States. The present review provides an overview of cannabis and cannabinoids with relevance to the practice of nephrology so that clinicians can best take care of patients. Recent findings Cannabis may have medicinal benefits for treating symptoms of advanced chronic kidney disease (CKD) and end-stage renal disease including as a pain adjuvant potentially reducing the need for opioids. Cannabis does not seem to affect kidney function in healthy individuals. However, renal function should be closely monitored in those with CKD, the lowest...

Abstract Activation of the cannabinoid CB1 receptor induces neuroprotection against brain ischemia/reperfusion injury (IRI); however, the mechanism is still unknown. In this study, we used oxygen-glucose deprivation/reoxygenation (OGD/R)-induced injury in neuronal cells and middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO)-induced brain IRI in rats to mimic ischemic brain injury, and hypothesized that the CB1 receptor agonist arachidonyl-2-chloroethylamide (ACEA) would protect ischemic neurons by inhibiting mitochondrial fission via dynamin-related protein 1 (Drp1). We found that OGD/R injury reduced cell viability and mitochondrial function, increased lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) release, and increased cell apoptosis, and mitochondrial fission. Notably, ACEA significantly abolished the OGD/R-induced neuronal injuries described above. Similarly, ACEA...