All posts tagged: stress

Snacking Reduces Stress?

January 6, 2020 Animal Model, Stress

Snacking Causes Long Term Attention of HPA Axis Stress Responses and Enhancement of Brain FosB/delta FosB Expression in Rats

In Summary

Researchers have found that snacking or consuming palatable foods reduces the amount of perceived stress that an individual experiences. Although this is well-known to most people intuitively, and common knowledge in anecdote, the physiological explanation for this finding has not been thoroughly investigated. In this review, it is clear that food interacts with the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and stress response, including markers of neuronal plasticity. The area that regulates stress and reward are both attenuated by palatable food, such as a sucrose drink. The dampening effect of the sucrose on the HPA axis and neuronal plasticity markers continued to be seen weeks after cessation of the sucrose, suggesting that snacking can have longterm effects on stress and the reward pathway.

This has interesting implications for a medication like cannabis, which includes elements that can either stimulate or reduce appetite. If consumers of cannabis are also snacking while they consume, this may cloud an accurate understanding of the stress-relieving aspects of cannabis

The paper is also stored HERE inside the CED Foundation Archive.

View this review (yellow link) or download: http://bit.ly/2ZlHQvJ

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Pre-clinical Evidence for Analgesic Effects of Cannabis Doesn’t Match Human Trial Results

October 18, 2019 Adult, Adverse Effects, Anxiety, Arthritis, Behavior change, Cannabis, Cannabis Science, Dr Caplan, Future Medicine, Impairment, Muscle Pain, Neuropathy, Pain, Stigma, Stress

Current evidence of cannabinoid-based analgesia obtained in preclinical and human experimental settings

In Summary:

Pre-clinical animal models of pain provide a wealth of data supporting the pain-relief capabilities of cannabis; however, reproducing this data in human clinical trials has proved difficult. Data from the animal pre-clinical trials point to cannabinoids reducing stress responses and pain-evoked stress, desensitizing pain receptors, and increased pain sensitivity in animals that lack cannabinoid receptors. However, human trials present conflicting results: several studies have shown dose-dependent relationships, and in the current review this was experienced by many participants, wherein lower and medium doses provided pain relief, but higher doses triggered increased sensitivity to pain. Controlled studies may show a lack of impressive pain relief effects, personal reports of pain relief associated with cannabis use are nearly universal in retrospective reports. This suggests that there may be an important effect on well-being or mood, rather merely sensory pain. Furthermore, the relieving effects of cannabis appear to impact men and women differently.

Dr. Caplan and the #MDTake:

Additionally, much of pain relief is subjective, in both sensation, description, and inside the study environment. The description of pain varies from person to person, and researchers may be asking the wrong questions to the right people or the right questions to the wrong people. In fact, a growing perspective is that this mismatch may be more common and more pronounced than previously recognized. The makeup of pain is also quite complicated. For instance, a limb might hurt, but if there is swelling or tenderness nearby, those may amplify the discomfort. How can we take the full picture into account in the form of helpful data points? What of the emotional or psychological impacts of pain? Is it even possible that such things can be fully understood, let alone measured reliably? Assuming that emotional phenomenon or stress/suffering can be conveyed to research scientists, how can we ever hope to compare one person’s experience to another’s? For example, one would imagine that frustration associated with the pain experienced by a venerable world war veteran, who has previously endured tremendous and complex pains and associated psychological trauma may be quite different from someone who has never experienced a particular pain before.

View this review (yellow link) or download:

Current evidence of cannabinoid-based analgesia obtained in preclinical and human experimental settingsDownload

This paper is also stored here: http://bit.ly/2P1v7MI inside the CED Foundation Archive

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Adolescent Cannabis Use Linked to Sleep Disturbances

September 9, 2019 Adolescents, Adverse Effects, Behavior change, Cannabis Dependence, Cannabis Science, Case Study, Cognition, Gender, Impairment, Legislation, Mental Health, Pediatrics, Sleep, Social Equity, Stigma, Stress

Sleep Disturbances, Psychosocial Difficulties and Health Risk Behavior

Summary info:

A Dutch study investigated sleep disturbances in adolescents. Sleep disruption was linked to cannabis use, psychosocial difficulties, health risk behavior, and increased suicidality. Additionally, gender disparity in results suggests that girls may be more susceptible to sleep disturbances than boys , a result consistent with past recognition of some gender discrepancies in cannabis activity. These results highlight the importance of discouraging haphazard cannabis use, during adolescence, and the need for further gender-focused research surrounding sleep habits and cannabis use.

Dr Caplan, CED Foundation, and the #MDTake:

There are a few important issues that converge in this review. Generally, the question of adolescents’ use, (as an alternative way of describing the question of effects on a developing brain.) Also, this paper raises valuable questions about how cannabis may be interacting with sleep hygiene, for better or for worse. Psychosocial impact and risky behaviors are very complex topics to engage, even with a fairly large population sample of (n=16,781.) There are lots of intercorrelated topics assessed, analyzed, and discussed in the review, and it is all-too-easy to want to find causal patterns that are not apparent, again for better or worse, unless one chooses to construe the results or interpretation with causation in mind. Realistically, it is very likely to find overlap in a population of adolescents who have psychosocial difficulties, engage in risky behaviors, have increased risk of suicidality, and consume cannabis. To point to one of the components, arbitrarily, as the primary cause of the others is to unnecessarily and unjustly oversimplify a complex set of circumstances. The essential tenet, different genders seem to react differently with cannabis, is an excellent take-away, and also that we have much more still to learn.

View this review (yellow link) or download:

Sleep Disturbances, Psychosocial Difficulties and Health Risk BehaviorDownload

This paper is also stored here: http://bit.ly/314TsEC inside the CED Foundation Archive

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California veterinarians & Cannabis

August 5, 2019 Animal Model, Anxiety, Arthritis, Business of Cannabis, California, Cannabinoids, Cannabis, Cannabis News, History, Law, Legislation, Los Angeles, Pets, Regulation, Stress, Veterinarians

Vets in CA can now discuss the use of cannabis for patients and their pets legally and soon, prescribe cannabis medication. Although there is still more much research to be done, adults can already legally buy products, so involving professional vets can help keep pets safe http://bit.ly/33dmbIK

Flavonoids as Pain Relief

August 5, 2019 Anxiety, Blood-Levels, Cannabinoids, Cannabis, Cannabis Education, Cannabis Science, CBD, Flavonoids, Future Medicine, History, Muscle Pain, Opiates, Pain, Science, Stress

Forget CBD; flavonoids found in cannabis have been found to be 30 times more effective painkillers than aspirin, targeting inflammation at the source and making them great alternatives for pain killers. If produced on a larger scale, they could help get away from the opioid crisis.

http://bit.ly/2TbAxoG

Here, a folder w/ hundreds more specific reviews of the medical benefits of flavonoids: http://bit.ly/2XugfvI

Video: Do-It-Yourself Cannabis Tinctures

July 17, 2019 Alcohol, Anti-inflammatory properties, Antibiotic, Antioxidant, Anxiety, Arthritis, Autism, Autoimmunity, Behavior change, Bipolar Disorder, Business of Cannabis, Cannabinoids, Cannabis, Cannabis Education, Cannabis News, Case Study, CBD, CBN, CED Clinic, CED In The News, Cognition, Colon Cancer, Cooking, Cultivation, Cultivation / Growing / Horticulture, Depression, Dermatology / Skin, Diabetes, DIY, Dosing, Dr Caplan, Edibles, Epilepsy, Extraction, Farming, Fibromyalgia, Flavonoids, Future Medicine, Gastrointestinal Effects, Hemp, History, IBS, Insomnia, Male Fertility, Memory, Mental Health, Mood, Muscle Pain, Nausea, Neuropathy, Obesity, OCD, Opiates, Oral Health, Pain, Pediatrics, Processing, Products, Prostate Cancer, Psychosis, PTSD, Schizophrenia, Seizure / Epilepsy, Sleep, Sleep Apnea, Stigma, Stress, Taste, THC, Topical, Video

One of the terrific realities of modern Cannabis is that it is possible, and often quite simple, to make effective products at home. With suitable education and access to testing facilities, the soil, nutrients, and plant growth can be supported at home, lab-tested for make-up and potency, as well as safety-checked for potential microscopic contaminants, and ultimately, individualized medicine can be created right at home!

Here is a sample instructional for just one way that cannabis tincture can be made at home. There are countless others and hopefully, many that are yet to be discovered!

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Cannabinoids Treat Chronic Gastrointestinal Disorders

July 16, 2019 Adverse Effects, Anti-inflammatory properties, Autoimmunity, Blood-Levels, Cannabinoids, Cannabis, Cannabis Science, Case Study, CB1, CB2, CBD, Future Medicine, Gastrointestinal Effects, IBS, Nabilone, Nausea, Neuropathy, Oral Health, Pain, Stigma, Stress, Synthetic Cannabinoids, THC

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:

Nabilone administration in refractory chronic diarrhea- a case seriesDownload

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

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Supplementing Antipsychotics with CBD Enhances Psychotic Symptom Treatment

July 10, 2019 Adverse Effects, Anxiety, Cannabinoids, Cannabis, Cannabis Dependence, Cannabis Science, Cannabis Use Disorder (CUD), CBD, Cognition, Mental Health, Parkinson's Disease, Placebo-Controlled, Psychosis, Schizophrenia, Science, Stress, THC

Cannabidiol (CBD) as an Adjunctive Therapy in Schizophrenia: A Multicenter Randomized Controlled Trial

Most schizophrenia medications function by blocking the action of the dopamine D2 receptor and effectively treat positive psychotic symptoms, such as delusions or hallucinations, but fail to treat negative psychotic symptoms, such as lack of motivation or the lack of an ability to feel pleasure. Anecdotal evidence has pointed toward the potential for CBD to attenuate psychotic symptoms in conjunction with normally prescribed antipsychotics; additionally, CBD is not hypothesized to act on the D2 receptor, suggesting that it may afford unique advantages over anti-psychotics.

Researchers interested in further exploring this conducted the first known placebo-controlled CBD trial among schizophrenia patients. Although results did not suggest a potential for CBD to treat negative psychotic symptoms, in conjunction with antipsychotics, the CBD group experienced marked lower levels of positive psychotic symptoms. Both the placebo and CBD groups experienced equal levels of treatment-induced adverse events, suggesting that CBD is well-tolerated.

These results suggest that CBD may be effective in treating not only schizophrenia but also psychotic symptoms associated with Parkinson’s disease and THC-induced psychosis.

Additional Point: CBD has shown to act in a neuroprotective manner and reduce the psychoactive effects of THC, making it a viable option for patients who have experienced negative side effects with THC.

View this review (yellow link) or download:

Cannabidiol (CBD) as an Adjunctive Therapy in Schizophrenia- A Multicenter Randomized Controlled Trial Download

This paper is also stored here: http://bit.ly/2WztI04 inside the CED Foundation Archive

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Video: Cannabinoids, Internal States, and Anxiety

July 9, 2019 Adolescents, Adverse Effects, Anxiety, Behavior change, Cannabinoids, Cannabis, Cannabis Education, Cannabis Science, Cannabis Use Disorder (CUD), CBD, CED Clinic, CED In The News, Cognition, Depression, Dr Caplan, Future Medicine, History, Mental Health, Mood, Occasional Use, Placebo-Controlled, Science, Stigma, Stress, THC, Video

A new literature review summarizing the recent findings relating to cannabis and anxiety.

Researchers conclude that CBD and low-dose THC can cause relaxation and decrease anxiety and self-spun thoughts. Some studies show that high-dose THC can cause psychotic symptoms; however, studies also show that CBD can protect against those THC-induced symptoms. Therefore, using cannabis extracts with THC and CBD could be a safe way to reduce anxiety.

View this review (yellow link) or download:

Cannabinoids, interoception, and anxiety Download

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

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Stress Increases the Probability of Drug Abuse

July 6, 2019 Abuse, Adolescents, Alcohol, Anxiety, Behavior change, Cannabis, Cannabis Dependence, Cannabis Education, Cannabis Science, Case Study, Depression, Heavy Use, History, Illicit Drug Use, Mental Health, Occasional Use, Social Justice, Stigma, Stress, THC

The Effects of Trait Emotional Intelligence on Adolescent Substance Use- Findings From a Hungarian Representative Survey

A recent study has revealed that teenagers who have a difficult time managing stress and appear to lack empathy were more likely to abuse tobacco, alcohol, and cannabis.

The studies initial goal was to determine if emotional intelligence could predict future drug abuse, but found that those with more empathy and interpersonal competencies were less likely to engage in substance abuse. This study provides data that may help to develop targeted drug prevention programs in order to lessen adolescent drug abuse or the development of any future substance abuse disorders.

Highlighted in this study was the possible inaccuracy of the conclusions as the results may have been skewed by teenagers merely providing what they thought was a socially acceptable answer. Despite the fact that the majority of states have legalized the use of medical marijuana a stigma against cannabis use remains.

Stigma has and continues to stand in the way of medical research. If the consumption of cannabis were less frowned upon then perhaps more observational studies, studies that relied on self-reporting use, or even appropriate medical treatment, would be improved. The more information that can be gathered, the more accurate the research that can be conducted. In order to fully understand all the benefits and limitations of cannabinoids, although this also applies to tobacco and alcohol consumption, the uninformed stigma must also be eroded.