Top Cannabis Science Headlines: July Roundup

CBD for neuroinflammation
 

Researchers from the Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, US, have explored the effects of chronic CBD administration in a mouse model of CLN1 disease – which exhibits neuroinflammation, neurodegeneration, and spontaneous seizures. Affected mice were administered CBD for six months and observed for any changes in pathological markers of disease and number of seizures. Results showed that CBD exerts positive effects on the neuroimmune response in the mouse model of CLN1 disease. However, the amount of CBD administered – 100 mg/kg – was not sufficient to prevent seizures and did not increase neuron survival. The authors emphasized that a higher dose may achieve positive anti-seizure effects and anti-neurodegeneration effects – but further investigations are sorely needed.

Nabiximols – safe but not particularly effective?
 

Nabiximols is currently approved to treat spasticity in multiple sclerosis patients. In a recent study, researchers examined the safety and efficacy of nabiximols in post-stroke patients with spasticity. The authors focused particularly on cardiovascular safety given that cannabinoids may slightly increase the risk of cardiovascular events. Overall, despite minor side-effects like dizziness and confusion, nabiximols was well tolerated and deemed safe for post-stroke patients. Safety: pass. Unfortunately, the results also showed that spasticity did not improve with treatment. Efficacy: fail. That said, the authors highlighted the small sample size of only 34 patients and short treatment time of one month as major limitations (presumably to both findings).

Marijuana misinformation
 

Could online information be misleading patients and cannabis users? According to a recent study: probably. A group of researchers from the Federal University of Minas Gerais, Brazil, analyzed 176 websites after Googling the term “medical cannabis.” Fifty two percent were news websites with pain, multiple sclerosis, and epilepsy being the most frequently mentioned therapeutic areas. Information was often incomplete – only 22 percent of the webpages reported potential side-effects. Overall, results demonstrated that online information is not always aligned with science-based evidence and could raise unrealistic expectations, potentially leading to patients self-medicating using cannabis-based products. 

Cannabinoids for Alzheimer’s?
 

The prevalence of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) – and the limited treatment options – inspired a team of researchers to examine the potential beneficial effects of cannabinoid microdoses to improve memory and brain functions of a patient with mild AD (main symptoms of memory deficit, spatial and temporal disorientation, and limited daily activity). Specifically, the patient was given microdoses of cannabis extract over a period of 22 months, and then assessed with the Mini-Mental State Examination and Alzheimer’s Disease Assessment Scale-Cognitive Subscale. The outcome? Apparently, both the patient and caregiver reported an improved quality of life, with reduced mood swings and improved memory and cognition. Good news, but the authors (unsurprisingly) stressed that placebo-controlled clinical trials are needed to confirm the findings.

A risky game
 

Concerns over cannabis use in adolescence have been raised repeatedly and, although there is extensive research examining the effects of cannabis use on adolescents, there are few studies comparing the impact of cannabis use in adults versus in adolescents. As such, a group of UK-based researchers set out to examine the differences – specifically exploring cannabis use disorder (CUD), depression, anxiety, and psychotic-like symptoms in adolescent and adult cannabis users and age-matched controls. 

Adjusting for covariates, results demonstrated that adolescent users were more likely to have severe CUD than adult users. Cannabis users also reported greater psychotic-like symptoms than controls and, generally, adolescents reported greater psychotic-like symptoms than adults. Finally, although cannabis use was not directly linked with depression or anxiety, further analysis suggested that users with severe CUD had higher depression and anxiety levels than cannabis users without severe CUD. Similarly, a separate Finnish study found that early-onset cannabis use is linked to an increased risk of adverse mental health effects for adolescents with psychotic-like experiences (PLE). The authors of both studies suggested that more research is needed to examine the relationship between psychotic-like symptoms and cannabis use in adolescents, as well as the risk of CUD in adolescent users.

Cannabis curbs complications 
 

According to a recent study, cannabis may reduce complications of thoracolumbar spinal fusion (TLF) surgery in patients with adult spinal deformity (ASD). Analyzing data from over 700 patients, the researchers compared 90-day complication, 90-day readmission, as well as two-year revision rates between baseline cannabis users and non-users. “Compared to patients with ASD who underwent TLF without baseline cannabis use, patients with isolated baseline cannabis use were found to have no increase in odds of incurring 90-day surgical complications or readmissions or revisions two years postoperatively, though reduced odds of experiencing 90-day medical complications were observed,” the authors concluded. However, they highlighted the need for further randomized-controlled studies to confirm the results.