Medical Research Journals & Articles

As an $8.7-million state research effort comes to an end, investigators report that cannabis can significantly relieve neuropathic pain and reduce muscle spasms in MS patients. More research is urged.

Los Angeles Times - By John Hoeffel

With an innovative but little-known state program to study medical marijuana about to run out of money, researchers and political supporters said Wednesday the results show promise.

by: Aaron Turpen

A systematic review conducted by The Global Neuroscience Initiative Foundation found that five of six controlled trials reported a reduction in spasticity and an improvement in mobility amongst multiple sclerosis patients using cannabis extracts.

The two researchers, Shaheen Lakhan and Marie Rowland from the Los Angeles-based foundation, searched for trials evaluating cannabis extracts. Specifically, they were looking for extracts known as delta 9 - tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD). Their study was published in the December 2009 issue of BMC Neurology.

esciencenews.com

Published: Tuesday, December 22, 2009 - 12:47 in Psychology & Sociology

Teens who frequently listen to music that contains references to marijuana are more likely to use the drug than their counterparts with less exposure to such lyrics, according to a University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine study online now in the journal Addiction. "Based on an analysis of survey data from 959 ninth-graders, we found that students who listen to music with the most references to marijuana are almost twice as likely to have used the drug than their peers whose musical tastes favor songs less focused on substance use, even after controlling for confounding factors," said Brian Primack, M.D.,Ed.M., M.S., lead author of the study and assistant professor of medicine and pediatrics at Pitt's School of Medicine.

brazzilmag.com

Fri. Jan. 1 2010 22:30

Brazilian researchers from prestigious University of São Paulo (USP) have discovered that marijuana contains substances that can help ease the collateral effects of medicines prescribed to patients suffering from Parkinson disease.

www.news-medical.net

17. December 2009 04:15

Chemicals found in cannabis could prove an effective treatment for the inflammatory bowel diseases Ulcerative Colitis and Crohn's Disease, say scientists.

Laboratory tests have shown that two compounds found in the cannabis plant - the cannabinoids THC and cannabidiol - interact with the body's system that controls gut function.

Crohn's Disease and Ulcerative Colitis, which affect about one in every 250 people in Northern Europe, are caused by both genetic and environmental factors. The researchers believe that a genetic susceptibility coupled with other triggers, such as diet, stress or bacterial imbalance, leads to a defective immune response.

Dr Karen Wright, Peel Trust Lecturer in Biomedicine at Lancaster University, will be presenting her soon-to-be published work at The British Pharmacological Society's Winter Meeting in London today (Thursday).

In April 2005 GW announced its first regulatory approval (NOC/c) for Sativex® in Canada for the symptomatic relief of neuropathic pain in adults with Multiple Sclerosis.

GW has reported positive results from Phase III neuropathic pain trials covering the following indications; central neuropathic pain in MS, allodynia and brachial plexus avulsion. In these trials the patients maintained all their existing analgesic medication in addition to taking the study medication.

Therefore symptom relief obtained from Sativex was over and above any effect achieved by the patients existing analgesia.

2009 The Press Association

(UKPA) – 1 day ago

Cancer patients who used a cannabis mouthspray had their pain levels reduced by 30%, researchers have said.

The cannabis-based spray, like a mouth freshener, was used on 177 patients by researchers from Edinburgh University.

They found that it reduced pain levels by 30% in a group of cancer patients, all in the Edinburgh area, who had not been helped by morphine or other medicines.

By Americans for Safe Access , Medical Marijuana Therapeutics/Research - 4 Hours Ago

Last week, ASA was in Tucson, AZ, to discuss medical cannabis with pharmacists and drug regulators from around the nation. What a great event! ASA applauds the wisdom, courage and foresight of the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy for organizing the full-day symposium, and I am confident the presentations will inform meaningful dialogue among NABP’s member boards and individual pharmacists in the months and years to come.