Therapeutic potential of cannabis or its derivatives :
cannabinoid = CB
The first traces of a medicinal use of cannabis derivatives are found in Chinese and Egyptian texts dating from several hundred years BC.
PhytoCBs have been used for millennia to treat pain, spasms, nausea, insomnia, or lack of appetite .
Pain treatment PhytoCBs and endoCBs have been shown to be very effective ( sometimes more than opiates ) in animal models of acute , inflammatory, neuropathic and hyperalgesic pain, and the analgesic potency of CB1 agonists has also been observed in 'male.
These properties suggest the therapeutic potential of the pharmacological agents CB and endoCB in the treatment of disorders as important as obesity or anorexia . Moreover, the well-known anti-emetic characteristics of CBs add to their " appetite-stimulating" ordemanding effects and explain the encouraging results obtained with CB1 agonists used in the treatment of the particularly devastating side effects of cancer chemotherapies and loss of blood. of weight accompanying HIV infection .
Treatment of motor disorders At the level of the basal ganglia, the stimulation of CB1 receptors would reduce the symptoms of dopaminergic hyperactivity linked to numerous neuropsychiatric diseases. Thus, CBs would be of therapeutic interest in the treatment of tics accompanying Tourette's syndrome , in the reduction of dyskinesias induced by levodopa treatment of parkinsonians and in certain forms of tremors and dystonias .
Finally, note the significant results obtained in the treatment of tremors and spasms in patients with multiple sclerosis , as well as in an autoimmune animal model of multiple sclerosis. Treatment of cerebral ischemia There is no appropriate treatment for cerebral accidents of traumatic or ischemic origin. A proposed strategy would consist in countering the main secondary mechanism, glutamatergic excitotoxicity, by acting on endogenous neuroprotective and reparative pathways. The ability of endoCBs to reduce glutamate release would play an important role in the strong neuroprotective potency of phytoCBs and endoCBs observed in animal models.
Treatment of gliomas:
This is one of the most promising therapeutic potentialities of CB , since gliomas have until now been diseases with a very reserved prognosis. CBs participate in the control of cell fate, survival or death, via the induction of ceramide synthesis. It is known that high and sustained concentrations of ceramide induce cellular self-destruction , whereas high but brief concentrations, on the contrary, promote the regulation of metabolic functions. However, in several types of gliomas , the activation of CB receptors leads to chronically high concentrations of ceramide and therefore to the cell death of these tumor cells . This effect is specific to gliomas, even sustained activation of astrocytic or neuronal CB receptors leading to acute (and not chronic) elevations of ceramide, thus having no apoptotic effect on these cells.
Findings :
The study of the endocannabinoid system is fascinating for its own interest, which goes far beyond the effects of exogenous cannabinoids, but also for the history of its study. This has indeed been punctuated by twists and turns, which have often faulted scientific logic, but which have resulted in the identification of an extremely complex endocannabinoid system . Recent progress made in understanding the cellular and molecular effects of endocannabinoids, as well as in the development of pharmacological agents selective for their different synthesis and degradation pathways, suggest that these molecules act in an extremely fine manner on multiple transduction pathways. signal and information. The endocannabinoid system therefore appears to be a formidable field of research for the development of new therapies.
source: https://www.norml.fr/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/2004-SYSTEME-ENDOCANNABINOIDE.pdf
