"The Antimicrobial Activities of Phytocannabinoids"

Novel antimicrobial drugs are urgently needed to counteract the increasing occurrence of bacterial resistance. 

Extracts of Cannabis sativa have been used for the treatment of several diseases since ancient times. 

It has been demonstrated that several cannabinoids show potent antimicrobial activity against primarily Gram-positive bacteria including methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). As first in vivo efficacy has been demonstrated recently, it is time to discuss whether cannabinoids are promising antimicrobial drug candidates or overhyped intoxicants with benefits.

The worldwide spread of bacterial resistance against market antibiotics has been identified as one of the major threats to public health by scientists and healthcare authorities. Thus, new antibacterial strategies and antibacterial compounds are urgently needed to counteract the increasing occurrence of antibiotic-resistant and, especially, multidrug-resistant (MDR) pathogens, to keep the live-saving advantages toward bacterial pathogens. 

In 2017, the World Health Organization (WHO) emphasized the crucial need for antimicrobial drug development against a group of 13 different genii, families, and specific species of pathogenic bacteria.The real problem is that the vast majority of these prioritized bacterial pathogens are drug-resistant Gram-negative bacteria.

However, antimicrobial resistances are also increasing in Gram-positive bacteria and, among the high priority pathogens, the Gram-positive pathogen Staphylococcus aureus is the leading cause of both healthcare and community-associated infections worldwide, and a major cause for morbidity as well as mortality.

"CBD Improves Blood Flow to Brain’s Hippocampus"

Cannabidiol (CBD) increases cerebral blood flow to areas of the brain associated with memory processing, specifically the hippocampus. The findings identify a potential mechanism for the use of CBD to treat disorders associated with altered memory processing, including Alzheimer’s disease, PTSD, and schizophrenia.

A single dose of cannabidiol (CBD) helped increase blood flow to the hippocampus, an important area of the brain associated with memory and emotion, finds a new study led by UCL researchers.

Researchers say the findings could be an important discovery for conditions which affect memory, such as Alzheimer’s disease and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and could help better target therapies.

In the study, published in the Journal of Psychopharmacology, researchers set out to investigate how CBD influences cerebral blood flow in different regions on the brain involved in memory processing.

Lead author, Dr Michael Bloomfield (UCL Psychiatry) said: “Cannabidiol is one of the main constituents of cannabis and is gaining interest for its therapeutic potential.

"Using CBD to Treat the Symptoms of Alzheimer’s & Other Forms of Dementia"

Worldwide, 50 million people are living with Alzheimer's and other dementias.

Alzheimer’s disease is a degenerative brain disease and the most common form of dementia. 

Dementia its an overall term that describes a group of symptoms.

Dementia is a general term for loss of memory, language, problem-solving and other thinking abilities that are severe enough to interfere with daily life. Alzheimer's is the most common cause of dementia.

The dementia-related conditions that can be helped by CBD include: Alzheimer’s disease, Vascular Dementia, Dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB), Parkinson’s disease, Frontotemporal dementia and Huntington’s disease.

According to researchers at California’s Salk Institute, their 2017 study has found evidence that cannabinoids such as CBD could help remove dementia from, and increase connections between, brain cells. Those results were validated by other laboratories. 

There are three ways CBD can work to improve health outcomes for persons with dementia: by reducing inflammation, by reducing oxygen buildup, and by working as a brain stimulant and neuroprotectant. From a user’s perspective, CBD may reduce stress and anxiety in the individual with dementia as well as reduce the decline of memory and other brain functions.

"Safety and efficacy of cannabidiol in children and adults with treatment resistant Lennox-Gastaut syndrome or Dravet syndrome"

Since 2014, patients with severe treatment-resistant epilepsies (TREs) have been receiving add-on cannabidiol (CBD) in an ongoing, expanded access program (EAP), which closely reflects clinical practice.

Researchers conducted an interim analysis of long-term efficacy and tolerability in patients with Lennox-Gastaut syndrome (LGS) or Dravet syndrome (DS) who received CBD treatment through December 2016.

The Study...

Children and adults with LGS/DS taking stable doses of antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) at baseline were included from 25 EAP sites across the United States.

During the 4-week baseline period, parents/caregivers kept diaries of all countable seizure types. Patients received a pharmaceutical formulation of highly purified CBD in oral solution at 2-10 mg/kg/day, titrated until tolerability limit or a maximum dose of 25-50 mg/kg/day.

"CBD and Epilepsy"

Epilepsy is a common neurologic disorder, it is estimated that ∼50 million people are affected worldwide. 

About one third of those patients are drug resistant, defined as failure to stop all seizures despite adequate trials of at least 2 appropriate medications.

CBD (cannabidiol) has been shown to be an effective treatment for epilepsy, particularly in reducing the frequency and severity of seizures in people with certain types of epilepsy.

In 2018, the FDA approved a CBD-based medication called Epidiolex for the treatment of two rare forms of childhood epilepsy, Lennox-Gastaut syndrome and Dravet syndrome. Clinical trials showed that Epidiolex significantly reduced the number of seizures in patients with these conditions.

CBD works by interacting with the body's endocannabinoid system, which plays a role in regulating various bodily functions, including mood, pain, and sleep. It is thought that CBD may help to reduce seizures by interacting with certain receptors in the brain and nervous system.

There has been an enormous interest in developing antiepileptic drugs with novel mechanisms of action. This review discusses the evidence supporting the anticonvulsant properties of cannabis in humans, focusing on cannabidiol.