Cannabis and cannabinoids

The condition termed cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome (CHS) was characterized a decade ago by Allen et al. and includes cyclic episodes of nausea and vomiting and the learned behavior of hot bathing in individuals with chronic cannabis abuse. During pregnancy, the differential diagnosis of this syndrome is challenging since it can be masked by typical symptoms of early pregnancy or by hyperemesis gravidarum, a complication of early pregnancy associated with excessive nausea and vomiting. We herein describe the case of a 21-year-old primigravida patient diagnosed with hyperemesis gravidarum at 6 weeks of gestation and with pre-eclampsia at 35 weeks...

In many communities, cannabis is perceived as a low-risk drug, leading to political lobbying to decriminalise its use. However, acute and chronic cannabis use has been shown to be harmful to several aspects of psychological and physical health, such as mood states, psychiatric outcomes, neurocognition, driving and general health. Furthermore, cannabis is highly addictive, and the adverse effects of withdrawal can lead to regular use. These in turn have adverse implications for public safety and health expenditure...

BACKGROUND: Cannabis use is common in North America, especially among young people, and is associated with a risk of various acute and chronic adverse health outcomes. Cannabis control regimes are evolving, for example toward a national legalization policy in Canada, with the aim to improve public health, and thus require evidence-based interventions. As cannabis-related health outcomes may be influenced by behaviors that are modifiable by the user, evidence-based Lower-Risk Cannabis Use Guidelines (LRCUG)-akin to similar guidelines in other health fields-offer a valuable, targeted prevention tool to improve public health outcomes...

AIMS OF THE STUDY: In recent years, the Swiss Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH) granted exceptional licenses for the medical use of cannabinoids, typically for 6 months with possible extensions. A systematic review of cannabinoids for medical use commissioned by the FOPH supports the use of cannabinoids for the treatment of chronic pain and spasticity. However, little is known about the patients treated with cannabinoids. We aimed to study medical uses of cannabinoids as part of the FOPH's programme of exceptional licenses...

Δ(9)-tetrahydrocannabinolic acid (THCA) is a plant derived secondary natural product from the plant Cannabis sativa l. The discovery of the human endocannabinoid system in the late 1980s resulted in a growing number of known physiological functions of both synthetic and plant derived cannabinoids. Thus, manifold therapeutic indications of cannabinoids currently comprise a significant area of research. Here we reconstituted the final biosynthetic cannabinoid pathway in yeasts. The use of the soluble prenyltransferase NphB from Streptomyces sp...

Daurichromenic acid (DCA) synthase catalyzes the oxidative cyclization of grifolic acid to produce DCA, an anti-HIV meroterpenoid isolated from Rhododendron dauricum. We identified a novel cDNA encoding DCA synthase by transcriptome-based screening from young leaves of R. dauricum. The gene coded for a 533-amino acid polypeptide with moderate homologies to FAD oxidases from other plants. The primary structure contained an N-terminal signal peptide, and conserved amino acid residues to form bicovalent linkage to FAD isoalloxazine ring at His112 and Cys175...

BACKGROUND & PURPOSE: The initial aim was to generate cannabinoid agents that control spasticity, occurring as a consequence of multiple sclerosis, whilst avoiding the sedative, side-effect-potential associated with cannabis. (R,Z)-3-(6-(dimethylamino)-6-oxohex-1-enyl)-N-(1-hydroxypropan-2-yl)benzamide (VSN16R) was synthesized as an anandamide (endocannabinoid) analogue in an anti-metabolite approach to identify drug-like agents to target spasticity. EXPERIMENTAL APPROACH: Following the initial chemistry, a variety of biochemical, pharmacological and electrophysiological approaches, using isolated cells, tissue-based assays and in vivo animal models, were used to demonstrate: activity, efficacy, pharmacokinetics and mechanism of action of the molecule...

BACKGROUND: Despite evidence that cannabinoid receptors are located in movement-related brain regions (e.g., basal ganglia, cerebral cortex, and cerebellum), and that chronic cannabis use is associated with structural and functional brain changes, little is known about the long-term effect of cannabis use on human movement. The aim of the current study was to investigate balance and walking gait in adults with a history of cannabis use. We hypothesised that cannabis use is associated with subtle changes in gait and balance that are insufficient in magnitude for detection in a clinical setting...

The steroid hormone pregnenolone attenuates several in vivo behavioural and somatic effects of the phytocannabinoid Δ(9)-tetrahydrocannabinol, and it was suggested that pregnenolone can protect the brain from cannabis intoxication. The primary neuronal cannabinoid action behind most of the behavioural and somatic effects of cannabinoids is presynaptic inhibition of synaptic transmission. Therefore, the hypothesis of the present study was that pregnenolone attenuates the inhibition of synaptic transmission elicited by cannabinoids...

The use of cannabis during pregnancy and lactation is widely recognized as a health concern. The placenta is one of the several biological matrices that can be used to detect in utero drug exposure with the distinct advantage of easy and noninvasive collection. We conducted a PubMed search of selected literature published to June 30, 2016 to investigate the pharmacokinetics of cannabinoids, the active constituent of cannabis, in the placenta. The majority of the selected twelve papers was before 1990 and concerned animals at term gestation with great variability of experimental conditions...

BACKGROUND: Cannabis use is common in North America, especially among young people, and is associated with a risk of various acute and chronic adverse health outcomes. Cannabis control regimes are evolving, for example toward a national legalization policy in Canada, with the aim to improve public health, and thus require evidence-based interventions. As cannabis-related health outcomes may be influenced by behaviors that are modifiable by the user, evidence-based Lower-Risk Cannabis Use Guidelines (LRCUG)-akin to similar guidelines in other health fields-offer a valuable, targeted prevention tool to improve public health outcomes...

INTRODUCTION: Cannabis and agonists of the brain cannabinoid receptor (CB1R) produce acute memory impairments in humans. However, the extent to which cannabinoids impair the component processes of encoding and retrieval has not been established in humans. The objective of this analysis was to determine whether the administration of Δ(9)-Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the principal psychoactive constituent of cannabis, impairs encoding and/or retrieval of verbal information. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Healthy subjects were recruited from the community...

Cannabis products have recently regained much attention due to the high pharmacological potential of their cannabinoid content. In this review, the most widely used sample preparation strategies for the extraction of cannabinoids are described for the specific application to either plant materials or biological matrices. Several analytical techniques are described pointing out their respective advantages and drawbacks. In particular, chromatographic methods, such as TLC, GC and HPLC, are discussed and compared in terms of selectivity and sensitivity...

The cannabinoid-1 receptor (CB1R) agonist Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the main psychoactive constituent of cannabis, adversely effects working memory performance in humans. The α2A-adrenoceptor (AR) agonist guanfacine improves working memory performance in humans. The authors aimed to determine the effects of short-term (6 days) treatment with guanfacine on adverse cognitive effects produced by THC. Employing a double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover design, the cognitive, subjective, and cardiovascular effects produced by oral THC (20 mg) administration were determined twice in the same cannabis users: once after treatment with placebo and once after treatment with guanfacine (3 mg/day)...

BACKGROUND: Although, especially in the United States, there has been a recent surge of legalized cannabis for either recreational or medicinal purposes, surprisingly little is known about clinical dose-response relationships, pharmaco- and toxicodynamic effects of cannabinoids such as Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). Even less is known about other active cannabinoids. METHODS: To address this knowledge gap, an online extraction, high-performance liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) method for simultaneous quantification of 11 cannabinoids and metabolites including THC, 11-hydroxy-Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (11OH-THC), 11-nor-Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol-9-carboxylic acid (THC-COOH), 11-nor-Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol-9-carboxylic acid glucuronide (THC-C-gluc), cannabinol (CBN), cannabidiol (CBD), cannabigerol (CBG), cannabidivarin (CBDV), Δ9-tetrahydrocannabivarin (THCV), and 11-nor-9-carboxy-Δ9-tetrahydrocannabivarin (THCV-COOH) was developed and validated in human urine and plasma...

Despite its controversial nature, the use of medical marijuana and cannabis-derived medicinal products grows more popular with each passing year. As of November 2016, over 40 states have passed legislation regarding the use of either medical marijuana or cannabidiol products. Many providers have started encountering patients experimenting with cannabis products for a wide range of conditions. While the debate continues regarding these agents for both medicinal and recreational use in the general population, special consideration needs to be made for pediatric use...

Anxiety and related disorders are the most common mental conditions affecting the North American population. Despite their established efficacy, first-line antidepressant treatments are associated with significant side effects, leading many afflicted individuals to seek alternative treatments. Cannabis is commonly viewed as a natural alternative for a variety of medical and mental health conditions. Currently, anxiety ranks among the top five medical symptoms for which North Americans report using medical marijuana...

Chronic cannabinoid consumption is an increasingly common behavior among teenagers and has been shown to cause long-lasting neurobehavioral alterations. Besides, it has been demonstrated that cocaine addiction in adulthood is highly correlated with cannabis abuse during adolescence. Cocaine consumption and subsequent abstinence from it can cause psychiatric symptoms, such as psychosis, cognitive impairment, anxiety, and depression. The aim of the present research was to study the consequences of adolescent exposure to cannabis on the psychiatric-like effects promoted by cocaine withdrawal in adult mice...

Prospective epidemiological studies have consistently demonstrated that cannabis use is associated with an increased subsequent risk of both psychotic symptoms and schizophrenia-like psychoses. Early onset of use, daily use of high-potency cannabis, and synthetic cannabinoids carry the greatest risk. The risk-increasing effects are not explained by shared genetic predisposition between schizophrenia and cannabis use. Experimental studies in healthy humans show that cannabis and its active ingredient, delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), can produce transient, dose-dependent, psychotic symptoms, as well as an array of psychosis-relevant behavioral, cognitive and psychophysiological effects; the psychotogenic effects can be ameliorated by cannabidiol (CBD)...

BACKGROUND: Cannabis use disorder (CUD) is a prevalent and impairing condition, and established psychosocial treatments convey limited efficacy. In light of recent findings supporting the efficacy of N-acetylcysteine (NAC) for CUD in adolescents, the objective of this trial was to evaluate its efficacy in adults. METHODS: In a 12-week double-blind randomized placebo-controlled trial, treatment-seeking adults ages 18-50 with CUD (N=302), enrolled across six National Drug Abuse Treatment Clinical Trials Network-affiliated clinical sites, were randomized in a 1:1 ratio to a 12-week course of NAC 1200mg (n=153) or placebo (n=149) twice daily...