"GPR55 The third Cannabinoid Receptor (CB3)"

Finding the CB3 receptor could mean huge medical advancements for cannabis medicine.Originally called GPR55 after the gene that encodes it, the CB3 receptor is an exciting discovery for science. It is now clear this receptor is part of the Endocannabinoid System and interacts with endocannabinoids and phtyocannabinoids like THC and CBD.

Every animal, have an Endocannabinoid System. Cannabinoid receptors are found throughout the body. But where has CB3 been hiding? Well, turns out it hasn’t exactly been hiding. It’s more like researchers didn’t connect it to endocannbinoid activity before now.

Firstly, the two most researched receptors are CB1 and CB2. While CB1 receptors are prominent in the central nervous system, and CB2 receptors typically reside in the immune system. CB3 receptors were incognito, previously identified as GPR55. At first, science didn’t know that this receptor even accepted cannabinoids.

The CB3 receptor stayed hidden from scientists because it’s so unlike the other cannabinoid receptors. It only shares 13% of amino acid identity with them. It simply doesn’t look like it would react with cannabis, so scientists on the hunt for new cannabinoid receptors passed over it for years. This designation means that while the receptor had been found, science doesn’t yet know what activated that receptor.

When CB3 was first discovered in 1999, many doubted it was a cannabis receptor. It wasn’t until real proof came along years later that medical researchers accepted that GPR55 was indeed the 3rd Cannabinoid Receptor.

"Use of CBD in the Treatment of Epilepsy: Efficacy and Security in Clinical Trials"

CBD has received a great scientific interest thanks to its medical applications. 

In recent years, the scientific community has shown interest in this compound also due to its good safety profile and neuroprotective properties  in several neurodegenerative diseases.

CBD also generating interest due to its therapeutic properties such as antidepressant, antipsychotic, analgesic, and antitumor. 


In addition, it has been shown that CBD can significantly reduce two important forms of anxiety, namely obsessive-compulsive disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder.

CBD shows anti-inflammatory properties in several experimental studies, modulating some pro-inflammatory cytokines and tumor necrosis factor as well as regulation of cell cycle and immune cells’ functions

Moreover, for a long time, the CBD has been investigated for its anticonvulsant effects. Several studies confirmed its efficacy in the treatment of epileptic seizures, especially in pediatric age. In 2016, the first results of  clinical trials showed beneficial effects of CBD in treatment-resistant seizure disorders, including Lennox-Gastaut Syndrome (LGS) and Dravet syndromes (DS).

The purpose of this paper wich published in  12 April 2019 from the 'Molecules Open Access Journals' is to evaluate the use of CBD, in addition to common anti-epileptic drugs, in the severe treatment-resistant epilepsy through an overview of recent literature and clinical trials aimed to study the effects of the CBD treatment in different forms of epilepsy. 

The results of scientific studies obtained so far the use of CBD in clinical applications could represent hope for patients who are resistant to all conventional anti-epileptic drugs.

"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.

“Thanks To Cannabis Ava Is Pharma-Free.”

Vera Twomey is the mother of Ava, a little girl who developed Dravet’s Syndrome at four months old. For the first seven years of her life, Ava suffered up to 400 seizures a month until 2016 when Vera turned to cannabis for help. That decision changed their lives. Today, Ava is “pharma-free.”

-Ava’s Story: A Sick Child Saved by Cannabis

Nine years ago, Ava Barry was born a happy healthy baby girl, but at around four months she began to have seizures. Her terrified parents immediately brought her to their local hospital in Cork, south of Ireland, where the doctors began the process of trying to figure out what was wrong while simultaneously prescribing a mix of liquid medications to control the seizures, which could last up to 45 minutes.

"Beyond the CB1 & CB2... The Therapeutic Promise of TRPV1 & GPR55 Receptors"

If you’re familiar with cannabis science, you know about CB1 and CB2, the receptors located throughout the body that are triggered by cannabinoids like tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD). 
It’s via these receptors that THC and CBD are able to bring about some of the therapeutic effects that cannabis is known for.

While CB1 and CB2 get the most attention—likely because we know the most about them—there are other receptors in the body that also respond to cannabinoids, like TRPV1 and GPR55. These receptors are influenced by THC and CBD, as well as anandamide and 2-arachidonoylglycerol (2-AG), endocannabinoids made by our bodies.

"Research on the TRPV1 and GPR55 receptors shows cannabinoids may hold promise in treating cancer and Dravet syndrome".

We’re beginning to gain a better understanding of TRPV1 and GPR55. Both hold much therapeutic promise, and CBD may be one of the ways to unlock this potential.