Circulating endocannabinoids and genetic polymorphisms as predictors of posttraumatic stress disorder symptom severity : heterogeneity in a community-based cohort Terri A. deRoon-Cassini, Carisa L. Bergner, Samantha A. Chesney, Nicholas R. Schumann, Tara Sander Lee, Karen J. Brasel and Cecilia J. Hillard Translational Psychiatry, 2022, 12, 48, 1-12. Doi : 10.1038/s41398-022-01808-1 The endocannabinoid signaling system (ECSS) regulates fear and anxiety. While ECSS hypoactivity can contribute to symptoms of established post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), the role of the ECSS in PTSD development following trauma is unknown. A prospective, longitudinal cohort study of 170 individuals (47% non-Hispanic Caucasian and 70% male) treated at a level 1 trauma [...]
Lire la suiteThe Genetic Structure of Marijuana and Hemp Jason Sawler, Jake M. Stout, Kyle M. Gardner, Darryl Hudson, John Vidmar, Laura Butler, Jonathan E. Page, Sean Myles PLoS ONE, 2015, 10, (8), e0133292. doi : 10.1371/journal.pone.0133292 Abstract Despite its cultivation as a source of food, fibre and medicine, and its global status as the most used illicit drug, the genus Cannabis has an inconclusive taxonomic organization and evolutionary history. Drug types of Cannabis (marijuana), which contain high amounts of the psychoactive cannabinoid Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), are used for medical purposes and as a recreational drug. Hemp types are grown for the production of seed and fibre, and contain [...]
Lire la suiteUse of Genetically Informed Methods to Clarify the Nature of the Association Between Cannabis Use and Risk for Schizophrenia Nathan A. Gillespie, Kenneth S. Kendler JAMA Psychiatry, Published online November 4, 2020 Cohort studies and meta-analyses have documented a robust association between cannabis use, heavy use, and misuse with future risk of schizophrenia.1-3 Despite adjusting for covariates, including current psychotic symptoms, other psychopathology, and social integration,(1) the ability of these models to determine the degree to which cannabis causes schizophrenia is limited and dependent on their ability to capture all relevant confounders. When evaluating efforts to reduce cannabis use as a means of [...]
Lire la suiteWhat Can We Learn About Schizophrenia From Studying the Human Model, Drug-Induced Psychosis ? Robin M. Murray, Alessandra Paparelli, Paul D. Morrison, Arianna Marconi, and Marta Di Forti American Journal of Medical Genetics, Part B, 2013, 162B, 661–670. Doi : 10.1002/ajmg.b.32177 When drug-induced psychoses were first identified in the mid- 20th century, schizophrenia was considered a discrete disease with a likely genetic cause. Consequently, drug-induced psychoses were not considered central to understanding schizophrenia as they were thought to be phenocopies rather than examples of the illness secondary to a particular known cause. However, now that we know that schizophrenia is a clinical syndrome with [...]
Lire la suiteMedicinal cannabis for psychiatric disorders: a clinically-focused systematic review Jerome Sarris, Justin Sinclair, Diana Karamacoska, Maggie Davidson and Joseph Firth BMC Psychiatry, 2020, 20, 24, 1-14. Doi : 10.1186/s12888-019-2409-8 Abstract Background : Medicinal cannabis has received increased research attention over recent years due to loosening global regulatory changes. Medicinal cannabis has been reported to have potential efficacy in reducing pain, muscle spasticity, chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting, and intractable childhood epilepsy. Yet its potential application in the field of psychiatry is lesser known. Methods : The first clinically-focused systematic review on the emerging medical application of cannabis across all major psychiatric disorders was conducted. Current evidence regarding [...]
Lire la suiteCannabis Systematics at the Levels of Family, Genus, and Species John M. McPartland Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research, 2018, Volume 3.1, 203- Doi : 10.1089/can.2018.0039 Abstract New concepts are reviewed in Cannabis systematics, including phylogenetics and nomenclature. The family Cannabaceae now includes Cannabis, Humulus, and eight genera formerly in the Celtidaceae. Grouping Cannabis, Humulus, and Celtis actually goes back 250 years. Print fossil of the extinct genus Dorofeevia (=Humularia) reveals that Cannabis lost a sibling perhaps 20 million years ago (mya). Cannabis print fossils are rare (n = 3 worldwide), making it difficult to determine when and where she evolved. A molecular clock analysis with chloroplast [...]
Lire la suiteAcute effects of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) on resting state brain function and their modulation by COMT genotype Matthijs G. Bossong, Hendrika H. van Hell, Chris D. Schubart, Wesley van Saane, Tabitha A. Iseger, Gerry Jager, Matthias J.P. van Osch, J. Martijn Jansma, René S. Kahn, Marco P. Boks, Nick F. Ramsey European Neuropsychopharmacology, 2019, 13, 56, 1–11 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.euroneuro.2019.03.010 Abstract Cannabis produces a broad range of acute, dose-dependent psychotropic effects. Only a limited number of neuroimaging studies have mapped these effects by examining the impact of cannabis on resting state brain neurophysiology. Moreover, how genetic variation influences the acute effects of cannabis on resting state brain function [...]
Lire la suiteAn Overview of Galenic Preparation Methods for Medicinal Cannabis Luigi Romano and Arno Hazekamp Current Bioactive Compounds, 2018, 14, DOI: 10.2174/1573407214666180612080412 Abstract : In recent years, the Cannabis plant (Cannabis sativa L.) has been rediscovered as a source of new medicines around the world. Despite the fact that a number of registered medicines have been developed on the basis of purified cannabis components, there is a rapid increasing acceptance and use of cannabis in its herbal form. Licensed producers of high quality cannabis plants now operate in various countries including The Netherlands, Canada, Israel, and Australia, and in many US states. The legal availability of [...]
Lire la suitePhytochemical and genetic analyses of ancient cannabis from Central Asia Ethan B. Russo, Hong-En Jiang, Xiao Li, Alan Sutton, Andrea Carboni, Francesca del Bianco, Giuseppe Mandolino, David J. Potter, You-Xing Zhao, Subir Bera, Yong-Bing Zhang, En Guo Lu, David K. Ferguson, Francis Hueber, Liang-Cheng Zhao, Chang-Jiang Liu, Yu-Fei Wang and Cheng-Sen Li Journal of Experimental Botany, 2008, Vol. 59, No. 15, pp. 4171–4182, doi:10.1093/jxb/ern260 Abstract The Yanghai Tombs near Turpan, Xinjiang-Uighur Autonomous Region, China have recently been excavated to reveal the 2700-year-old grave of a Caucasoid shaman whose accoutrements included a large cache of cannabis, superbly preserved by climatic and burial conditions. A multidisciplinary international [...]
Lire la suiteFamilial abnormalities of endocannabinoid signaling in schizophrenia Dagmar Koethe, Franziska Pahlisch, Martin Hellmich , Cathrin Rohleder , Juliane K. Mueller, Andreas Meyer-Lindenberg , E. Fuller Torrey, Daniele Piomelli and F. Markus Leweke, THE WORLD JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL PSYCHIATRY, 2018 https://doi.org/10.1080/15622975.2018.1449966 ABSTRACT Objectives : Epidemiological and experimental evidence suggests that the endocannabinoid system plays a pathophysiological role in schizophrenia. This is reflected by elevated cerebrospinal levels of the endocannabinoid anandamide in schizophrenia and its initial prodromal states. Methods : We analyzed plasma concentrations of anandamide, 2-arachidonoyl-sn-glycerol, palmitoylethanolamide and oleoylethanolamide from 25 twin pairs discordant for schizophrenia, six discordant for bipolar disorder and eight healthy twin pairs to [...]
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