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IACM-Bulletin of 19 July 2020

IACM: Sophisticated possibilities to present posters at the virtual Conference

The 11th IACM Conference on Cannabinoids in Medicine organized together with the AMMCann (Mexico) will take place on 5-7 November 2020 as a virtual 3-day meeting. There will be sophisticated possibilities to present posters. We are supported by a company, which already organized several conferences, form where we took this sample poster presentation. We have planned to have the e-posters online until 15th December, just as the virtual exhibition of sponsors. However, depending on interest we may even prolong this period.

Registration is open now for the webinars in October and the conference in early November. For regular IACM members registration is free for the webinars and registration fees are reduced for the online conferenc. Students and people from Hinary countries pay reduced registration fees.

Science/Human: In Canada about 20% of patients with arthritis and muscle pain use cannabis and more would like to try it

Lots of people are using medical cannabis to treat their arthritis and other muscle aches and pains, often without consulting their doctor, a new study reports. As many as 1 in 5 patients who consult an orthopaedic surgeon for chronic musculoskeletal pain are using a cannabis product to treat them, Canadian researchers found. For this study, researchers surveyed more than 600 patients who visited a Toronto orthopaedic clinic.

"We found 20% had reported past or current use of cannabis with the specific intention to manage pain," said study author Dr Timothy Leroux, an orthopaedic surgeon at the University of Toronto. "Not just recreational users, but patients who said, 'I'm using cannabis because I want to improve pain with this condition.'” There’s also a lot of interest in medical cannabis among arthritis sufferers who haven't yet tried it, Leroux and his team found. Two-thirds of nonusers are interested in trying a cannabis product to treat their muscle and joint pain, the researchers reported.

WebMD of 28 May 2020

Science: CBD and CBG in mouthwash as effective as chlorhexidine

In an investigation on the feasibility of using the cannabinoids CBD (cannabidiol) and CBG (cannabigerol) in mouthwash against dental plaque they showed similar bactericidal efficacy as chlorhexidine. Researchers from CannIBite in Antwerp, Belgium, tested two cannabinoid-infused mouthwash products containing less than 1% of the cannabinoids against plaque samples collected from 72 adults. To compare the efficacy of these products, they included two most commonly available products over the counter (Product A and Product B) to represent commercially available mouthwash products and the gold standard chlorhexidine digluconate 0.2% as a positive control.

On average, the cannabinoids infused mouthwash products showed similar bactericidal efficacy as that of chlorhexidine 0.2%. Both chlorhexidine 0.2% and cannabinoids infused mouthwash products were effective against all the samples tested. Product A did not show any significant antimicrobial activity in any of the samples tested, except a very marginal inhibition in 9 samples. Product B did not show any detectable inhibition at all in any of the samples tested. Authors wrote that the “results demonstrate the potential of cannabinoids in developing efficient and safer mouthwash products and next generation oral care products without fluoride and alcohol.”

Vasudevan K, Stahl V. Cannabinoids infused mouthwash products are as effective as chlorhexidine on inhibition of total-culturable bacterial content in dental plaque samples. J Cannabis Res. 2020;2:20.

Science/Human: Cannabis has no negative impact on fitness in older adults

In a study with 28 older adult cannabis users and 136 nonusers participating in exercise intervention trial within a 16-week period cannabis had no impact on fitness. Participants were aged 60 or over. Investigators from the University of Colorado in Boulder, USA, measured body mass index (BMI), exercise behavior and cardiovascular fitness in both groups.

BMI of cannabis users was significantly lower than non-users. Cannabis users reported 0.7 more days of exercise then non-users at the 8-week time point and were 4.1 points higher on an exercise subscale for seniors at 16-weeks. Neither baseline nor post-intervention fitness differed by cannabis use status, and cardiovascular fitness improved after intervention in the full sample. Authors concluded that these “preliminary data suggest that current cannabis use status is not associated with a negative impact on fitness and efforts to increase exercise in sedentary older adults.”

YorkWilliams SL, Gibson LP, Gust CJ, Giordano G, Hutchison KE, Bryan AD. Exercise Intervention Outcomes with Cannabis Users and Nonusers Aged 60 and Older. Am J Health Behave 2020;44(4):420-431.

News in brief

IACM: Official journal is increasing frequency of publication
From 2021 on the official journal of the IACM, Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research, will increase the annual frequency of publication to 6 issues in 2021.
Press release of 13 July 2020

Science: Online Symposium on cannabis in a changing brain
On 16 September 2020 the Center of the Study of Cannabis is organizing an online symposium on “Cannabis in a Changing Brain.” Speakers are Andreas Zimmer, Tibor Harkany, Sachin Patel and Ziva Cooper, among others. It is about cannabinoid effects in different stages of life.

Brazil: Court allows parents of two autistic children to grow cannabis
The São Paulo Court of Appeals allowed a family to grow cannabis for medicinal purposes. The decision granted a request from the São Paulo Public Defender's Office, which pointed out the medicinal need for the product since the couple's ten and seven-year-old children were diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder. The medical report pointed out that the children displayed significant and persistent communication by using cannabis.
Rio Times Online of 28 June 2020

Canada: 330,000 patients get cannabis from licensed sellers and 35,000 are allowed to grow their own
According to an update by Health Canada, the Canadian health ministry, with data from the end of March 329,038 medical patients registered with federally licensed sellers and 35,227 individuals were registered with Health Canada for personal and designated cultivation of cannabis for their own medical purposes. The average authorization amount associated with license holder client registrations was 2.0 grams per day.
Health Canada of 6 July 2020

Nepal: Attempts to bring back cannabis cultivation to the country
In March former law minister Sher Bahadur Tamang of the ruling Nepal Communist Party (NCP) registered a private bill in Parliament to overturn a 1976 law that criminalized the cultivation, sale and consumption of cannabis. “The bill is designed for the economic upliftment of poor farmers that depend on the cannabis crop,” says an optimistic Tamang. “So far we have received very positive response from fellow MPs and I am sure there will not be a single vote against it.”
Nepal Times of 9 July 2020

Science: Survey on cannabis hyperemesis syndrome
EndoCannaHealth.com is conducting an online survey on patients with cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome. Please find here the link to the survey.

Canada/Spain: Canadian and Spanish hemp companies team up to distribute CBG in Canada
A Canadian biotechnology hemp company is entering an agreement with a Spanish company to produce and distribute a THC-free, high CBG (cannabigerol) variety of the plant in Canada. Ottawa-based Cannabis Orchards’ partnership with Hemp Trading to get the hemp variety, called Panakeia, into the Canadian market comes after “successful distribution” of it in the United States.
Hemp Industry Daily of 25 June 2020

Science: New inhaler for medical cannabis allows micro-dosing
According to a study in pain patients already presented in the IACM-Bulletin the Israeli company Syqe Medical demonstrated that inhaling "extremely low and precise doses" of THC can be used as an effective pain reliever while avoiding the "common [psychoactive] side effects" normally associated with cannabis use.
Jerusalem Post of 2 July 2020

Science: Cannabinoids may be effective in the treatment of autism spectrum disorder
Researchers compiled a review on data regarding the use of cannabis and CBD in the treatment of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and described their own clinical experience. They were working with children and young adults, who have used cannabis or CBD. They concluded that “pre-clinical and clinical data suggest a potential for therapeutic benefit amongst some persons with ASD and that it is overall well tolerated.”
Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, USA.
Mostafavi M, Gaitanis J. Sem Pediatric Neurol. 2020 Jul 2. [in press]

Science/Cells: CBD induces the production of osteoblasts
Researchers found that CBD increased the activity of certain enzymes for differentiation of bone cells into osteoblasts. They concluded that this may suggest “that cannabidiol might provide a novel therapeutic option for the bone regeneration.”
Department of Biological Science, Gachon University, Seongnam, Republic of Korea.
Kang MA, et al. Environ Toxicol. 2020 Jul 13. [in press]

Science/Human: Cannabis use is not associated with ECG abnormalities by middle age
Investigators used data from the so-called CARDIA study from a total of 2585 participants recruited at the age 18 to 30 years in 1985 to 1986 and evaluated possible effects of cannabis use on electrocardiogram (ECG) abnormalities. They concluded that a “lifetime cumulative and occasional current marijuana use were not associated with increases in electrocardiogram abnormalities.”
Institute of Primary Health Care, University of Bern, Switzerland.
Jakob J, et al. Addiction. 2020 Jul 10. [in press]

Science/Animal: Anti-neuroinflammatory effects of cannabinoids against migraine are mediated by cannabinoid receptors
In a rat model of migraine researchers demonstrated that some cannabinoid effects against migraine were mediated by the CB1 receptor and others through the CB2 receptor. They concluded that “selective ligands targeting CB1 and CB2 receptors may provide novel and effective treatment strategies against migraine.”
Abant Izzet Baysal University, Medical Faculty, Department of Physiology, Bolu, Turkey.
Kilinc E, et al. EUR J Neurosci. 2020 Jul 8. [in press]

Science/Animal: THC inhibits pro-inflammatory responses in a monkey model of HIV
HIV-associated oral mucosal disease and dysfunction, including periodontitis and inflammation of salivary glands represents a major comorbidity affecting HIV patients on anti-retroviral therapy. In a study with SIV-infected rhesus macaques investigators found that THC “may safely and effectively reduce oral inflammatory responses in HIV/SIV and other (autoimmune) diseases.” SIV infection in monkeys corresponds to HIV infection in humans.
Southwest National Primate Research Center, Texas Biomedical Research Institute, San Antonio, USA.
Alvarez X, et al. Viruses. 2020;12(7).

Science: Several minor cannabinoids may have promising neuroprotective potential
In a systematic review, which included 31 articles authors found that CBG and CBDV displayed efficacy in models of Huntington's disease and epilepsy. CBC, THCA and THCV showed promise in models of seizure and hypomobility, Huntington's and Parkinson's disease.
School of Medicine, University of Nottingham, UK.
Stone NL, et al. Br J Pharmacol. 2020 Jul 1. [in press]

Science/Animal: Some derivatives of THCA showed anti-cancer potential
New synthetic derivatives of tetrahydrocannabinolic acid (THCA) showed anti-cancer effects in cells and mice.
AL&AM Pharmachem, Rehovot, Israel.
Aizikovich A. J Pancreat Cancer. 2020;6(1):40-44.

Science/Animal: Antiepileptic effects of CBD are mediated by the vanilloid 1 receptor
Investigators found a role of TRPV1 (transient receptor potential vanilloid 1) in anticonvulsive effects of CBD. They assessed the effect of CBD on seizure threshold using a mouse model of generalized seizure.
GW Research, Cambridge, UK.
Gray RA, et al. Cannabis Cannabinoid Res. 2020;5(2):145-149.

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The 12th IACM Conference on Cannabinoids in Medicine will be we be held on 20 and 21 October 2022 together with the Swiss SSCM in Basel/Switzerland.

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