Best of the Week...
A paper looking at the lifestyle interventions that might improve your endocannabinoid tone during a pandemic
Lifestyle Interventions Improving Cannabinoid Tone During COVID-19 Lockdowns May Enhance Compliance With Preventive Regulations and Decrease Psychophysical Health Complications
In humans with cocaine use disorder, CBD caused anti-inflammatory effects
Exploring cannabidiol effects on inflammatory markers in individuals with cocaine use disorder: a randomized controlled trial
A survey of spinal patients found that many of them found CBD helpful for treating their pain, improving their sleep & reducing their anxiety
Prevalence of Cannabidiol Use in Patients With Spine Complaints: Results of an Anonymous Survey
In diabetic humans with painful neuropathy in their feet, 20 mg of water solubilized CBD reduced pain, improved sleep & reduced anxiety
Cannabidiol (CBD) For the Treatment of Painful Diabetic Peripheral Neuropathy of the Feet: A Placebo-Controlled, Double-Blind, Randomized Trial
In honey bees, hemp extracts improved their immune systems
Cannabis Extract Has a Positive–Immunostimulating Effect through Proteolytic System and Metabolic Compounds of Honey Bee (Apis mellifera) Workers
“The busy bee has no time for sorrow.” - Blake
In a rat model of a traumatic brain injury, CBD improved the integrity of the blood-brain barrier & reduced edema (brain swelling from excess fluids)
Effects of cannabinoid (CBD) on blood brain barrier permeability after brain injury in rats
A review of using the cannabinoids to treat autoimmune disorders with a focus on their epigenetic control of genes regulating inflammation (nice chart)
Epigenetic Regulation of Cannabinoid-Mediated Attenuation of Inflammation and Its Impact on the Use of Cannabinoids to Treat Autoimmune Diseases
New research from Di Marzo presents the first evidence that CBD acts an antagonist at an orexin receptor (a key neurotransmitter that regulates in arousal, the sleep/wake cycle & in the motivation and reward processes involved in addiction)
Identification and Characterization of Cannabidiol as an OX1R Antagonist by Computational and In Vitro Functional Validation
Clinical Studies & Reviews of CBD & the Endocannabinoid System (ECS)
A review of the studies on the use of CBD in sports
The role of cannabidiol in professional sports: A scoping review
This survey of epilepsy patients shows several improvements for users of “artisanal CBD products” including “higher quality of life, lower psychiatric symptom severity, and improved sleep”
Cross-sectional and longitudinal evaluation of cannabidiol (CBD) product use and health among people with epilepsy
A long-term study of patients with Lennox-Gastaut Syndrome found CBD to be a safe & effective add-on to current treatments
Long-term safety and efficacy of add-on cannabidiol in patients with Lennox-Gastaut syndrome: Results of a long-term open-label extension trial
A survey of why people are using CBD
The emerging role of cannabidiol (CBD) products; a survey exploring the public's use and perceptions of CBD
In humans with Tourette’s, initial promise was seen with a combination of 10 mg of THC + 800 mg of PEA
A Phase-2 Pilot Study of a Therapeutic Combination of Δ 9-Tetrahydracannabinol and Palmitoylethanolamide for Adults With Tourette's Syndrome
In canines, the researchers looked at how 3 weeks of CBD treats altered the dog’s metabolomics
Alteration of the Canine Metabolome After a 3-Week Supplementation of Cannabidiol (CBD) Containing Treats: An Exploratory Study of Healthy Animals
This review looks at the use of cannabinoids for the treatment of endometriosis and chronic pelvic pain in women
Cannabinoids and chronic pelvic pain in women: Focus on endometriosis
An overview of how the cannabinoids may help with heart diseases
An overview on plants cannabinoids endorsed with cardiovascular effects
A review of how the endocannabinoids regulate synaptic plasticity
Mechanisms of endocannabinoid control of synaptic plasticity
Preclinical Research & Cannabinoid Chemistry
In a rat model of tonic pain, the injection of CBD into the brain’s nucleus accumbens (a major mediating center of analgesics for pain) lessened the pain response
Cannabidiol microinjection into the nucleus accumbens attenuated nociceptive behaviors in an animal model of tonic pain
In mouse neurons, the repeated use of cocaine (but not heroin) increased CB2 receptors in the dopamine neurons of the midbrain as well as the brain’s cortex & striatum (primarily the nucleus accumbens) as well as the spleen
Repeated cocaine administration upregulates CB 2 receptor expression in striatal medium-spiny neurons that express dopamine D 1 receptors in mice
Research in mice shows 2-AG to be the endocannabinoid neurotransmitter most associated with the control of neurotransmitter release & neuronal signaling
In vivo endocannabinoid dynamics at the timescale of physiological and pathological neural activity
In stem cells of the soft tissue connecting the teeth, the endocannabinoids regulate their genes & expression using a pathway other than the cannabinoid or TRPV1 receptors
Endocannabinoids Regulate Stem Cells of The Apical Papilla in A Cannabinoid Receptors and TRPV1-Independent Pathway
In the mouse brain, THC promotes remyelination
Δ9-Tetrahydrocannabinol promotes functional remyelination in the mouse brain