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IACM-Bulletin of 11 September 2022

IACM: Conference attendees to receive additional free IACM membership

Attendees at the upcoming Cannabinoid Conference 2022 on Oct. 20-21 in Basel, Switzerland, will receive a free membership to the new IACM. The IACM is undergoing a restructuring. The old IACM has been dissolved, and the successor organization is nearing completion of its new formation. IACM members who have already paid their dues this year will receive a code in a few days that will give them a reduction in their normal individual rate.

Conference website.
program.
sponsors
registration
Overnight stay.

The conference language will be English. There will be simultaneous translation into German and French. The 2022 Cannabinoid Conference is dedicated to Dr. Daniela Parolaro, who passed away in March 2022. Dr. Parolaro was a member of the IACM Board of Directors for many years and served as IACM Chair from 2013 to 2015.

Science/Human: Legalisation of cannabis in the US leads to big revenue losses for pharmaceutical companies

Legalization of cannabis in the USA is increasing the use of cannabis as an alternative to conventional pharmaceutical drugs. Investigators of California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo noted that legalisation influences stock market returns of pharmaceutical companies, which “decreased in response to both medical and recreational legalization, for both generic and brand drugmakers. Investors anticipate a single legalization event to reduce drugmaker annual sales by 3 billion dollars on average.”

They noted that the legalisation of “cannabis applies competitive pressure to both generic and brand drug markets, across both classes of drug-makers” and predict that “spending on conventional pharmaceutical drugs would decrease by almost 11 percent”, if cannabis was legalised in all US states.

Bednarek Z, Doremus JM, Stith SS. U.S. cannabis laws projected to cost generic and brand pharmaceutical firms billions. PLoS One. 2022;17(8):e0272492.

Science/Human: THC may be beneficial in Tourette syndrome according to a controlled study

In a study with 12 patients suffering from Tourette syndrome cannabis high in THC was somewhat superior in symptom control compared to placebo. They all received a single dose of 0.25 g of one of the following preparations: cannabis with 10% THC, cannabis with 9% THC and 9% CBD and a placebo at 2-week intervals. Of the 12 participants 9 completed the whole study. The study was conducted by investigators of the Department of Psychiatry of The Hospital for Sick Children at the University of Toronto, Canada.

There was no significant difference between the 3 products according to the Modified Rush Video-Based Tic Rating Scale (MRVTRS), but improvements by cannabis on the the Premonitory Urge for Tics Scale (PUTS). From their research investigators concluded that this “pilot randomized controlled trial of cannabis for tics in TS, there was no statistically significant difference on the MRVTRS for any of the cannabis products, although the THC 10% product was significantly better than placebo on the secondary outcome measures.”

Abi-Jaoude E, Bhikram T, Parveen F, Levenbach J, Lafreniere-Roula M, Sandor P. A Double-Blind, Randomized, Controlled Crossover Trial of Cannabis in Adults with Tourette Syndrome. Cannabis Cannabinoid Res. 2022. [in press].

Science/Human: Cannabis use in gastroparesis is associated with lower risk of vomiting

An analysis of data from about all 50,000 patients with gastroparesis revealed, that those using cannabis had a lower risk of vomiting. Investigators of the Department of Internal Medicine Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center in Las Vegas and other hospitals from the US used a nationwide inpatient sample database from January 2012 to December 2014. The patients included in this study were the ones with primary diagnosis of gastroparesis and cannabis use.

The prevalence of cannabis use among patients hospitalized for gastroparesis was 4.2%. Cannabis use was associated with lower odds of vomiting. Patients who used cannabis were younger than non-users and more often of African American, Asian, or Pacific Islander descent. They had Medicaid insurance and a lower median household income.

Department of Internal Medicine, Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center, Las Vegas, USA.
Saleem S, Tarar ZI, Aziz M, Alsamman MA, Tansel A, Abell TL. Marijuana Use in Patients with Gastroparesis. Cannabis Cannabinoid Res. 2022 Sep 6. [in press]

Science/Human: CBD may be helpful in the treatment of joint pain

According to a survey by US investigators with 428 patients suffering from joint pain CBD was associated with symptom improvement and the reduction of other medications. Participants were recruited through online methods including social media accounts and newsletters (The Arthritis Foundation and Savvy Cooperative).

CBD use was associated with improvements in pain (83%), physical function (66%), and sleep quality (66%). Subgroup analysis by diagnosis type (osteoarthritis, rheumatoid, or other autoimmune arthritis) found improvements among groups for physical function, favoring the osteoarthritis group. The overall cohort reported a 44% reduction in pain after CBD use. The majority of respondents reported a reduction or cessation of other medications after CBD use.

Frane N, Stapleton E, Iturriaga C, Ganz M, Rasquinha V, Duarte R. Cannabidiol as a treatment for arthritis and joint pain: an exploratory cross-sectional study. J Cannabis Res. 2022;4(1):47.

News in brief

Science/Cells: Several cannabinoids of the cannabis plant reduce inflammation in gingival fibroblasts
Using human fibroblasts of gingiva researchers demonstrated that several cannabinoids including cannabidivarin (CBDV), cannabigerol (CBG) and cannabidiol (CBD) reduced the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines. Authors noted that “targeting the endocannabinoid system may lead to the development of therapeutic strategies for periodontal therapy” and that every cannabinoid “has its unique anti-inflammatory profile.”
College of Dentistry, The University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC), USA.
Abidi AH, et al. J Periodontal Res. 2022 Sep 7. [in press].

Science/Human: 1 in 200 cannabis users may experience psychotic-like symptoms
According to an analysis of data from about 233,000 cannabis users about 0.5% reported lifetime occurrence of psychotic symptoms (hallucinations and/or paranoia) requiring emergency medical treatment. Authors wrote that “some individuals could be particularly sensitive to the adverse psychological effects of cannabis, such as young individuals or those with pre-existing mental health vulnerabilities.”
Department of Computational Biology, University of Lausanne, Switzerland.
Schoeler T, et al. Transl Psychiatry. 2022;12(1):369.

Science/Animal: Activation of the CB2 receptor may protect against chemotherapy induced damage to the kidneys
Activation of the CB2 receptor by 1-phenylisatin protected mice against damage to the kidneys induced by the chemotherapeutic agent cisplatin.
Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Ain Shams University, Cairo,
Egypt.
Chafik SG, et al. . Life Sci. 2022:120928.

Science/Human: Cannabis using schizophrenia patients had a better facial emotion recognition than non-users
In a study with 2039 patients with schizophrenia, 2141 siblings and 2049 healthy controls those patients with schizophrenia, who started cannabis use after the age of 16, had a better facial emotion recognition than schizophrenia patients without cannabis use.
Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Psychiatry Unit, University of Catania, Italy.
Fusar-Poli, et al EUR Neuropsychopharmacol. 2022;63:47-59.

Science/Human: No influence of cannabis use on quality of semen
Analysis of semen from 112 men “did not observe any consistent associations between cannabis use on any semen parameters in Asian-American men.”
Division of Experimental Oncology/Unit of Urology; URI; IRCCS Ospedale San Raffaele, Milan, Italy
Belladelli F, et al. World J Mens Health. 2022 Aug 29 [in press].

Science/Animal: CBD ameliorates anxiety induced by chronic consumption of a high-carbohydrate diet
In a study with mice CBD ameliorated the anxiogenic and compulsive-like behaviors induced by chronic consumption of a high-carbohydrate diet in male mice.
Department of Pharmacology, Institute of Biological Sciences, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil.
Marçal AP, et al. Metab Brain Dis. 2022.[in press].

Science/Human: Cannabis may influence fetal and maternal blood flow
According to a study with 275 pregnant women maternal and fetal blood flow was influenced by cannabis use. However, researchers were not able “to disentangle the association of the tobacco and cannabis.”
Obstetrics Department, Maternal-Fetal Medicine Unit, Hospital Universitari Vall d'Hebron, Barcelona, Spain
Brik M, et al. Acta Obstet Gynecol Scand. 2022.[in press].

Science/Human: The medical use of cannabis had no negative effect on obesity
In a study with 52 obese people with a mean body mass index of 36 there was no significant change in BMI about 3 months after initiating medical use of cannabis.
School of Professional and Applied Psychology, Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, Philadelphia, USA.
Lent MR, et al. J Cannabis Res. 2022;4(1):48].

Science/Animal: Some isoflavonoids may have antidepressant effects by inhibition of FAAH
In a study with mice some isoflavonoids (genistein, hydroxyflavone) showed antidepressant-like effects in mice by inhibiting endocannabinoid degradation through inhibition of the enzyme FAAH (fatty acid amide hydrolase).
Department of Pharmacy, COMSATS University Islamabad, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan.
Zada W, et al. . Pharmacol Res Perspect. 2022;10(5):e00999.

Science/Animal: An oral cannabis extract may improve sperm quality
In a study with rats, which received either DMSO, vitamins C and different amounts of an alcoholic extract of cannabis the cannabis extract improved sperm quality. Authors wrote that the “antioxidant effects of the flavonoids in the ethanolic extract of cannabis may have protected testicular and sperm cells from oxidative damage.”
Department of Biochemistry, College of Pure and Applied Sciences, Landmark University, Omuaran, Nigeria.
Nwonuma CO, et al. BMC Complement Med Ther. 2022;22(1):227].

Science/Animal: CBD may enhance the analgesic effects of morphine in neuropathic pain
Following traumatic damage to the sciatic nerve in rats CBD improved pain reducing effects of morphine and CBD treatment partially attenuated morphine-induced tolerance. Authors wrote that these “results support the indication of CBD as an adjuvant to opioid therapy for the attenuation of NP [neuropathic pain] and opioid-induced analgesic tolerance.”
Department of Pharmacology, Biological Sciences Sector, Federal University of Paraná, Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil.
Jesus CHA, et al. Behav Brain Res. 2022;435:114076.

Science/Human: Legalisation may increase cannabis use by about 20%
According to a twin study from the USA with 1425 living in states with legal cannabis and 1996 in states with illegal cannabis “there appears to be a ~ 20% average increase in cannabis use frequency attributable to recreational legalization, consistent across increasingly rigorous designs.”
Department of Psychology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, USA.
Zellers SM, et al. . Addiction. 2022 Aug 24.[in press].

Science/Human: Alcohol may reduce the concentration of the endocannabinoid anandamide
In a study with 47 healthy participants, who received either alcohol or a placebo, alcohol which was titrated to a nearly identical breath alcohol concentration of 0.05% and maintained over 3 hours, the drug reduced the blood concentration of the endocannabinoid anandamide but not of 2-AG.
Addictions Division, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Sloan ME, et al. Addict Biol. 2022;27(5):e13197.

Science/Human: EEG may be used to identify patients with epilepsy, who may profit from a treatment with CBD
In a study with epileptic patients, of whom some responded to treatment with CBD and the others not, researchers were able to differentiate the two groups by “subtle changes in certain metrics” in EEG (electroencephalogram), which measures brainwaves.
Division of Neurology and Pediatric Epilepsy Program, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, USA.
Armstrong C, et al. Epilepsy Res. 2022;185:10699.

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