All posts tagged: IBS

Psychiatric Disorders Reduce Survival Among Immune-Mediated Inflammatory Disease Patients

Psychiatric comorbidity increases mortality in immune-mediated inflammatory diseases

Summary Information:

A new study finds that a diagnosis of depression, anxiety, and/or bipolar disorder increases mortality rates for patients of one of three immune-mediated inflammatory diseases (IMID):

1) multiple sclerosis (MS), or

2) inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), or

3) rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

Depression and bipolar disorder can cause poor health behaviors in patients, as depression, bipolar disorder, and anxiety disorders are “associated with increased inflammation and immune dysregulation.” Suicide risk and attempts are increased among IMID patients with mental illness, compared with IMID patients who are not also suffering from one of these additional battles. Given that cannabis has shown promise in treating both inflammation and a range of psychiatric disorders, there is reason to be optimistic for further cannabis research to uncover multifunctional treatment options.  

Dr Caplan and the #MDTake:

Clinically, it’s rare to see medical patients who have only one concern. Sure, there are some who are hoping that cannabis will help them to treat seizures, headaches, anxiety, sleep troubles, or terrible back pain, but more often, it is a combination of several troubles that each add to a cumulative tipping point.

Naturally, very few individual systems act alone. When a body part is injured, sleeping (or not sleeping) effects the course of illness. Similarly, feeling less anxious, or improving sleep, may make symptoms of a struggle with consistent headaches seem more tolerable. Even when there aren’t direct connections between symptoms, a treatment which implements a systemic treatment can have multiplied benefits.

Many patients have found that cannabis offers them a way to attack more than one problem, with a single actor. Some with Diabetes are finding that some formulations are not only helping them reduce blood sugar levels, but also reducing appetite. Similarly, some patients with ADD are turning to cannabis options which may help them focus, without their ability to get to sleep at night.

To a related note, many elderly patients are treated with too many medications. Modern Western medical treatment often compels patients into silos of treatments by isolated specialists, who are not always monitoring the patient as a being beyond individual organ systems. Medications, such as cannabis, which have the opportunity to treat more than one system, without multiplying the risk of potential drug-drug interactions presents a much safer approach to care

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This paper is also stored here:  http://bit.ly/2MRDfiP       inside the CED Foundation Archive

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Benjamin Caplan, MDPsychiatric Disorders Reduce Survival Among Immune-Mediated Inflammatory Disease Patients
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Cannabinoids Treat Chronic Gastrointestinal Disorders

Title: Nabilone administration in refractory chronic diarrhea- a case series

A new study reveals the efficacy of treating chronic gastrointestinal disorders with cannabinoids, such as Nabilone. Researchers followed case studies in which patients were given nabilone which greatly reduced symptoms of chronic diarrhea and weight gain, over a period of three months.

The cannabinoid treatment also reduced the abdominal pain felt by patients and improved their overall quality of life. Considering the favorable safety profile of cannabinoids and the effectiveness demonstrated in the patients, cannabinoids were deemed an appropriate and clinically beneficial method for the treatment of chronic gastrointestinal disorders, such as chronic diarrhea. 

Highlighted by this article are the many symptoms cannabis used to treat before the prohibition of cannabis and the scheduling of the medication under the Controlled Substances Act. Cannabis has been used in eastern medicine, for thousands of years, and used to be a prevalent medication in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and has just recently been re-recognized as an option to treat anorexia associated with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), nausea and vomiting due to chemotherapy, and various sleep disorders. Cannabis was once a well-recognized medication, but it has been mercilessly slandered by politicians. The rise and fall of cannabis have largely been politically driven pushes, and the plant and its effects deserve further study to examine the scope and efficacy of its therapeutic benefits. 

View this review (yellow link) or download:

This paper is also stored here:     http://bit.ly/2jP1ocV    inside the CED Foundation Archive

To explore related information, click the keywords below:

Benjamin Caplan, MDCannabinoids Treat Chronic Gastrointestinal Disorders
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Video: Cannabinoids and autoimmune diseases: A systematic review

This literature review summarizes the findings on the role of cannabis in treating autoimmune diseases. Cannabis has anti-inflammatory properties when treating rheumatoid arthritis, scleroderma, type 1 diabetes, IBD, neuropathic pain, and fibromyalgia. Below is a video adaptation of “Cannabinoids in Rheumatoid Arthritis.” 

View this review (yellow link) or download:

This paper is also stored here:  http://bit.ly/2Y1paV5       inside the CED Foundation Archive

To explore related information, click the keywords below:

Benjamin Caplan, MDVideo: Cannabinoids and autoimmune diseases: A systematic review
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Video: The Endocannabinoid System’s Intriguing Role in Gut Health

A 2018 literature review summarizes the findings on cannabis and gut health. The endocannabinoid system plays a key role in gut motility, obesity, and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Targeting the endocannabinoid system with CBD oil or other cannabinoids seems to reduce colonic inflammation and relieve stress, at a microscopic level, inside the gastrointestinal tract. Watch our video adaptation of the effects of cannabis on IBD:

View this review (yellow link) or download:

This paper is also stored here:    http://bit.ly/2IQCNy1     inside the CED Foundation Archive

To explore related information, click the keywords below:

Benjamin Caplan, MDVideo: The Endocannabinoid System’s Intriguing Role in Gut Health
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Illinois Lawmakers Approve Making Medical Pot Permanent

On Sunday, the Illinois Senate approved legislation that makes Illinois’ 2013 medical marijuana program permanent. The bill also expands the qualifying conditions for patients to be eligible for a prescription for medicinal cannabis, including migraines, irritable bowel syndrome, Crohn’s disease and anorexia nervosa. http://bit.ly/2Kplo0q

Benjamin Caplan, MDIllinois Lawmakers Approve Making Medical Pot Permanent
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