CBD Archives - Amazing Health Advances

As Cannabis Users Age, Health Risks Appear to Grow

The AHA! Team — Wed, 13 Aug 2025 05:57:54 +0000

KFF Health News via News-Medical – “If you view cannabis as a medicine, you should be open to the idea that there are groups who probably shouldn’t use it and that there are potential adverse effects from it,” – “Because that is true of all medicines.” A cautionary tale Benjamin Han, a geriatrician and addiction medicine specialist at the University of California-San Diego, tells his students a cautionary tale about a 76-year-old patient who, like many older people, struggled with insomnia. “She had problems falling asleep, and she’d wake up in the middle of the night,” he said. “So her daughter brought her some sleep gummies” — edible cannabis candies. “She tried a gummy after dinner and waited half an hour,” Han said. Feeling no effects, she took another gummy, then one more — a total of four over several hours. Han advises patients who are trying cannabis to “start low; go slow,” beginning with products that contain just 1 or 2.5 milligrams of tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, the psychoactive ingredient that many cannabis products contain. Each of the four gummies this patient took, however, contained 10 milligrams. The woman started experiencing intense anxiety and heart palpitations. A young person might have shrugged off such symptoms, but this patient had high blood pressure and atrial fibrillation, a heart arrhythmia. Frightened, she went to an emergency room. Lab tests and a cardiac work-up determined the woman wasn’t having a heart attack, and the staff sent her home. Her only lingering symptom was embarrassment, Han said. But what if she’d grown dizzy or lightheaded and was hurt in a fall? He said he has had patients injured in falls or while driving after using cannabis. What if the cannabis had interacted with the prescription drugs she took? “As a geriatrician, it gives me pause,” Han said. “Our brains are more sensitive to psychoactive substances as we age.” Thirty-nine states and the District of Columbia now allow cannabis use for medical reasons, and in 24 of those states, as well as the district, recreational use is also legal. As older adults’ use climbs, “the benefits are still unclear,” Han said. “But we’re seeing more evidence of potential harms.” A wave of recent research points to reasons for concern for older users, with cannabis-related emergency room visits and hospitalizations rising, and a Canadian study finding an association between such acute care and subsequent dementia. Older people are more apt than younger ones to try cannabis for therapeutic reasons: to relieve chronic pain, insomnia, or mental health issues, though evidence of its effectiveness in addressing those conditions remains thin, experts said. In an analysis of national survey data published June 2 in the medical journal JAMA, Han and his colleagues reported that “current” cannabis use (defined as use within the previous month) had jumped among adults age 65 or older to 7% of respondents in 2023, from 4.8% in 2021. In 2005, he pointed out, fewer than 1% of older adults reported using cannabis in the previous year. What’s driving the increase? Experts cite the steady march of state legalization — use by older people is highest in those states — while surveys show that the perceived risk of cannabis use has declined. One national survey found that a growing proportion of American adults — 44% in 2021 — erroneously thought it safer to smoke cannabis daily than cigarettes. The authors of the study, in JAMA Network Open, noted that “these views do not reflect the existing science on cannabis and tobacco smoke.” The cannabis industry also markets its products to older adults. The Trulieve chain gives a 10% discount, both in stores and online, to those it calls “wisdom” customers, 55 or older. Rise Dispensaries ran a yearlong cannabis education and empowerment program for two senior centers in Paterson, New Jersey, including field trips to its dispensary. The industry has many satisfied older customers. Liz Logan, 67, a freelance writer in Bronxville, New York, had grappled with sleep problems and anxiety for years, but the conditions grew particularly debilitating two years ago, as her husband was dying of Parkinson’s disease. “I’d frequently be awake until 5 or 6 in the morning,” she said. “It makes you crazy.” Looking online for edible cannabis products, Logan found that gummies containing cannabidiol, known as CBD, alone didn’t help, but those with 10 milligrams of THC did the trick without noticeable side effects. “I don’t worry about sleep anymore,” she said. “I’ve solved a lifelong problem.” But studies in the United States and Canada, which legalized nonmedical cannabis use for adults nationally in 2018, show climbing rates of cannabis-related health care use among older people, both in outpatient settings and in hospitals. California In California, for instance, cannabis-related emergency room visits by those 65 or older rose, to 395 per 100,000 visits in 2019 from about 21 in 2005. In Ontario, acute care (meaning emergency visits or hospital admissions) resulting from cannabis use increased fivefold in middle-aged adults from 2008 to 2021, and more than 26 times among those 65 and up. “It’s not reflective of everyone who’s using cannabis,” cautioned Daniel Myran, an investigator at the Bruyère Health Research Institute in Ottawa and lead author of the Ontario study. “It’s capturing people with more severe patterns.” But since other studies have shown increased cardiac risk among some cannabis users with heart disease or diabetes, “there’s a number of warning signals,” he said. Cannabis use disorder For example, a disturbing proportion of older veterans who currently use cannabis screen positive for cannabis use disorder, a recent JAMA Network Open study found. As with other substance use disorders, such patients “can tolerate high amounts,” said the lead author, Vira Pravosud, a cannabis researcher at the Northern California Institute for Research and Education. “They continue using even if it interferes with their social or work or family obligations” and may experience withdrawal if they stop. Among 4,500 older veterans (with an average age of 73) seeking care at Department of Veterans Affairs health facilities, researchers found that more than 10% had reported cannabis use within the previous 30 days. Of those, 36% fit the criteria for mild, moderate, or severe cannabis use disorder, as established in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. VA patients differ from the general population, Pravosud noted. They are much more likely to report substance misuse and have “higher rates of chronic diseases and disabilities, and mental health conditions like PTSD” that could lead to self-medication, she said. Current VA policies don’t require clinicians to ask patients about cannabis use. Pravosud thinks that they should. Moreover, “there’s increasing evidence of a potential effect on memory and cognition,” said Myran, citing his team’s study of Ontario patients with cannabis-related conditions going to emergency departments or being admitted to hospitals. Comparisons Compared with others of the same age and sex who were seeking care for other reasons, research shows these patients (ages 45 to 105) had 1.5 times the risk of a dementia diagnosis within five years, and 3.9 times the risk of that for the general population. Even after adjusting for chronic health conditions and sociodemographic factors, those seeking acute care resulting from cannabis use had a 23% higher dementia risk than patients with noncannabis-related ailments, and a 72% higher risk than the general population. None of these studies were randomized clinical trials, the researchers pointed out; they were observational and could not ascertain causality. Some cannabis research doesn’t specify whether users are smoking, vaping, ingesting or rubbing topical cannabis on aching joints; other studies lack relevant demographic information. Safer modes of consumption “It’s very frustrating that we’re not able to provide more individual guidance on safer modes of consumption, and on amounts of use that seem lower-risk,” Myran said. “It just highlights that the rapid expansion of regular cannabis use in North America is outpacing our knowledge.” Still, given the health vulnerabilities of older people, and the far greater potency of current cannabis products compared with the weed of their youth, he and other researchers urge caution. “If you view cannabis as a medicine, you should be open to the idea that there are groups who probably shouldn’t use it and that there are potential adverse effects from it,” he said. “Because that is true of all medicines.” Source: KFF Health News To read the original article click here.

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Internationally, 80% of People Use Herbs as Their Healthcare

AHA Publisher — Fri, 17 Jun 2022 07:22:46 +0000

Al Sears, MD, CNS – In the United States, medicinal plants don’t get the respect they do in other parts of the world. Around the globe, about 80% of people use herbal remedies as a primary source of their healthcare.1In the U.S., that number drops down to less than 35%.2 It boils down to one thing: Big Pharma is firmly in control of your health care with its mass production of synthetic drugs. Because that’s where the big money is. You see, Big Pharma can’t get patents on herbs or other natural remedies. So they can’t profit from them. But They Found a Way Around That… They modify them — ever so slightly.. add artificial ingredients.. and manipulate molecules. And they come up with a new synthetic (fake) compound they can patent. The latest example comes from a biopharmaceutical company called Neuropathix. They’re manipulating CBD to turn it into a pain-relieving “analog drug.” Analog drugs are “substantially similar to controlled substances listed in federal or state drug schedules.” Oxycontin is the perfect example of this type of Big Pharma “designer drug.” The opioid epidemic that killed 500,000 people proves what a bad idea it is. The chemists at Neuropathix don’t deny the pain-relieving properties of CBD. But according to the company’s CEO, CBD in its natural form is not as easily absorbed as their analog drug. So, they synthesized cannabis compounds to develop a new molecule that they claim is roughly 5 times more water-soluble and therefore more absorbable than CBD. But they didn’t make it better. You see, you don’t need a pharmaceutical drug to get all of CBD’s benefits and bioavailability. It’s true that a lot of CBD users are only getting a small fraction of this healing herb’s benefits. That’s because most CBD doesn’t reach its intended destination – the cell receptors that make up the body’s endocannabinoid system. In fact, the most common kind of CBD delivery system – oil – doesn’t reach the cell membrane. That means you’re not getting all of the real benefits of CBD. But you can access all of CBD’s healing benefits – naturally – by choosing an oral CBD spray that uses nanotechnology to allow the CBD molecules to pass through your body’s cells. This delivery method gets 150% more CBD past your cell membranes.3 And because it’s not a pill or capsule, it avoids being broken down in the liver. And that means you get the full intended dose without having to resort to Big Pharma’s drug. 3 More Ways to Increase Bioavailability Look for an emulsified product. Some products emulsify their CBD using nanotechnology. This breaks CBD down into even smaller molecules. The smaller and more dispersed the molecules are, the more bioavailable they are, because they pass more easily through cell membranes and into the bloodstream than larger CBD particles.4 Take it with healthy fats. CBD is a fat-soluble compound, meaning it dissolves in fats. This breaks CBD down into smaller molecules that are more easily absorbed by the body. One way to increase CBD’s bioavailability is to mix it with a healthy high-fat snack or meal. A recent study found that people who took CBD with high-fat foods increased their absorption up to 14 times more than those who took it on an empty stomach.5 Look for full-spectrum CBD. Terpenes are fatty oils found in the essential oils of almost all plants. They occur naturally in hemp and are extracted along with CBD and other compounds to create full-spectrum CBD products. These compounds work together and amplify each other’s benefits, a synergy known as the “entourage effect.” Terpenes increase CBD bioavailability and enhance the therapeutic effects of cannabinoids. To Your Good Health, Al Sears, MD, CNS References: 1. Ekor M. The growing use of herbal medicines: issues relating to adverse reactions and challenges in monitoring safety. Frontiers in Pharmacology. 2014;4. doi:10.3389/fphar.2013.00177 2. Rashrash M, Schommer JC, Brown LM. Prevalence and Predictors of Herbal Medicine Use Among Adults in the United States. Journal of Patient Experience. 2017;4(3):108-113. doi:10.1177/2374373517706612 3. Cherniakov I, et al. “Piperine-pro-nanolipospheres as a novel oral delivery system of cannabinoids: Pharmacokinetic evaluation in healthy volunteers in comparison to buccal spray administration.” J Control Release. 2017;266:1-7. 4. Bruni N, et al. “Cannabinoid delivery systems for pain and inflammation treatment.” Molecules. 2018;23(10). 5. Birnbaum AK, et al. “Food effect on pharmacokinetics of cannabidiol oral capsules in adult patients with refractory epilepsy.” Epilepsia. 2019;60(8):1586-15 To read the original article click here.

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Can CBD Actually Help with Anxiety?

AHA Publisher — Wed, 06 Apr 2022 07:00:05 +0000

Dr. Caroline Leaf – In this podcast (episode #367) and blog, I talk to NED founders Ret and Adriaan about CBD, treating mental health issues holistically, natural remedies for anxiety and stress, and more. CBD is just one part of the hemp plant that has multiple health benefits. This is why the team at NED focuses on using only oil extracted from USDA Certified Organic hemp plants, grown by an independent farmer named Jonathan in Paonia, CO. (If you have a minute, do an image search for Paonia, Colorado—it is gorgeous!) This is one of the main reasons they are able to produce full-spectrum hemp oil from high quality hemp flowers that contain both cannabidiol (CBD) and its accompanying phytocannabinoids. Why is this so important? Focusing on the whole plant helps us better digest and use all the health benefits that the hemp plant offers by allowing the cannabinoids to bind to our extra-cellular receptors—it’s not just about CBD! These receptors are found throughout the body and help absorb naturally-occurring endocannabinoids in the body, which are important when it comes to regulating pain, moods, brain function and more. As often happens in life, sometimes these endocannabinoids don’t get produced, and we need to supplement with natural products to put our systems back into balance. If the endocannabinoid system is functioning well, it helps create homeostasis (or balance) throughout the brain and body at a base level. Cumulatively, this helps to prevent inflammation in the brain, foggy thinking, emotional burnout, lack of cognitive fluency and other brain issues. This is also the case with mental distress and anxiety. Many people have found that CBD products help them calm down and think more clearly in stressful situations by harmonizing the mind and helping balance the many systems of the brain and body. It is important to note here that CBD is not the same as weed/marijuana. Weed contains the active ingredient THC, which is what makes people feel high when they ingest or smoke it. CBD, on the other hand, is one of the two major cannabinoids in the hemp plant, and only contains trace amounts of THC from the extraction process—it is the plant that gets you “well”, rather than high. I personally use Ned’s CBD products to de-stress and improve my sleeping habits because they are chock full of premium CBD and a full spectrum of active cannabinoids, terpenes, flavonoids, and trichomes. Ned’s full spectrum hemp oil helps nourish and enhance the body’s endocannabinoid system to offer functional support for stress, sleep, inflammation and balance. I especially love Ned’s De-Stress Blend, which has so much more than just CBD. Like all their products, they designed this blend to help people feel better using what is available in the natural world. The 1:1 formula of their sleep blend uses CBD and CBG made from the world’s purest full spectrum hemp and features a botanical infusion of ashwagandha, cardamom and cinnamon, which have the following properties: CBG is known as “the mother of all cannabinoids” because of how effective it is at combatting anxiety and stress by inhibiting the re-uptake of GABA, the neurotransmitter responsible for stress regulation. Ashwagandha is an amazing Ayurvedic adaptogen that enhances your body’s resilience to stress. Cardamom and cinnamon make the blend taste delicious! Cinnamon is also a powerful prebiotic that supports your gut health, a key player in your mental health, while cardamom combats stress by helping reduce your blood pressure and cortisol levels. Another NED product I love is their Mellö Magnesium supplement blend with 3 forms of chelated magnesium, GABA, L-theanine, and over 70 trace minerals. This blend is specifically designed to support memory, mood, brain function, the stress response, nerve and muscle health and sleep. I love that it is a full spectrum magnesium supplement that blends three of the most bioavailable and absorbable forms of chelated magnesium to ensure the widest range of whole body benefits, because there is no point in taking a supplement that passes straight through you before your cells can use it. This blend includes magtein® magnesium l-threonate as well. This was developed and patented by MIT scientists for its unique ability to cross the blood-brain barrier and increase intracellular magnesium levels in nerve cells, or neurons, which helps support brain health. Of course, healing and restoring balance in the brain and body is not a quick-fix, one-supplement thing. It takes some time for homeostasis to be achieved, which is why I constantly emphasize that true mental self-care is a lifestyle. This will also look different for everyone, so be careful of thinking that if you take CBD for a week you will feel great because you had a friend who said it helped them immediately. You should always start with the smallest recommended dose of CBD and increase it only if you feel you need more, preferably with the guidance of a professional. You should also make sure you are not allergic to any of the ingredients in the CBD product you want to take. Regular blood tests and consultations with a medical professional can also help you figure out how much CBD is best for your body type and lifestyle, making it most effective. We need to recognize that CBD is not a panacea. It is just one tool in our holistic mental self-care toolkit, alongside detoxing the brain, eating well, spending time in nature, exercising regularly, building the brain, self-regulating our thinking, and the many other mind-management lifestyle techniques I talk about in my books, podcast and blog. To read the original article click here.

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Natural Antibiotic Alternative

AHA Publisher — Fri, 25 Mar 2022 07:00:05 +0000

Al Sears, MD, CNS – When we had strep throat as kids, my brothers, sister, and I were given a spoonful of penicillin then sent to bed. We stayed home from school for a couple days until we felt better. Today this simple sore throat can be deadly… Here’s why. Decades of misuse and overuse of antibiotics have caused us to lose our power to fight infections. In fact, drug-resistant infections of all kinds are expected to kill 10 million people by 2050.1 But, the problem is even worse than we thought. For decades, doctors have been fighting antibiotic-resistant infections by increasing the dosage of drugs they prescribe. This worked for a little while… But ultimately, these mega doses created bacteria with “higher overall fitness,” according to a recent study from the University of Manchester’s School of Biological Sciences. In other words, they’re reproducing at record speeds – which could result in even more resistant bacteria. If nothing changes, diseases and deaths from minor occurrences like cuts, diarrhea, and urinary tract infections could soon become the norm. The germ that caused my strep throat infection is called Streptococcus. The CDC reports that from 2013 to 2019 – just six years – infections from this bug have quadrupled!2 It’s time to step back and re-examine the natural cures our ancestors used for thousands of years. Concerned these natural cures won’t protect you from an infection? A recent study found herbal antibiotic remedies are just as effective in treating bacterial overgrowth as chemical antibiotics.3 One of the herbs I’ve been researching is CBD. So, I was relieved to see that a study published just this week revealed CBD can effectively kill antibiotic-resistant superbugs – specifically gram-negative bacteria. These bacteria are one of the most significant public health problems in the world. Gram-negative bacteria are responsible for food poisoning, pneumonia, urinary tract infections, meningitis, sepsis, gonorrhea, and gastroenteritis. This type of bacteria has existed for centuries. Even the bubonic plague in the 14th century was caused by gram-negative bacteria, resulting in an epidemic that wiped out 50% of Europe’s population. The CBD study, published in the journal Communications Biology, is being hailed as a medical breakthrough around the world. This research could lead to the first new antibiotic treatment in more than 60 years. Gram-negative bacteria have a tough extra outer membrane that acts as an additional line of defense. And this makes it harder for traditional antibiotic drugs to penetrate it. But the cannabidiol in CBD kills bacteria by breaking through this outer cell membrane. The study comes on the heels of research published in 2020. In this Danish study, scientists found combining CBD with traditional antibiotics makes antibiotic medications much more effective at destroying gram-positive bacteria, like staph and strep. When researchers treated the bacteria with this combination, three things happened: The bacteria could no longer divide normally. There was less cell division. The bacterial membrane became unstable. This one-two combination punch means that less of the antibiotic drug is needed to achieve the same effect. This will lead to fewer drug-resistant bacteria in the long run. Use Nature’s Answer To Wipe Out Superbugs Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics revealed moldy bread was used to heal infected wounds. And a 1,000-year-old recipe using garlic and wine still works today to cure staphylococcus infections or sties in the eyes. Here are two supplements I recommend to my patients… Curcumin: A recent study found that curcumin’s antibiotic action killed 100% of MRSA within two hours. E. coli was wiped out by 80%.4 And a South Korean study found that curcumin not only killed bacteria on the skin, but also created a barrier that prevented further infection from entering a wound.5It also acts against the inflammation caused by the infection. Curcumin reduces inflammation by blocking two inflammatory enzymes (COX-2 and LOX).6 When looking for a supplement, make sure you choose one with at least 90% of curcuminoids. Also, look for one that contains piperine, a black pepper extract that boosts absorption. I suggest taking between 500 mg to 1,000 mg a day. Echinacea: Before the introduction of Big Pharma’s antibiotics, echinacea was the preferred treatment for infections. It contains a complex mix of active substances with antimicrobial, antibiotic, and immune system boosting properties. A study published in the Journal of Biomedicine and Biotechnology revealed echinacea can kill many different kinds of bacteria, including Streptococcus pyogenes — the bacteria behind strep throat, toxic shock syndrome, and the flesh-eating disease called necrotizing fasciitis.7 I recommend 500 mg twice a day. I prefer liquid echinacea extract, which can have a powerful antiviral effect on the mucous membranes of the back of the throat. To Your Good Health, Al Sears, MD, CNS References: 1. Solly M. Drug-Resistant Infections Could Kill 10 Million People Annually by 2050. Smithsonian Magazine. 2. More People in the United States Dying from Antibiotic-Resistant Infections than Previously Estimated. Centers for Disease Control. Published 2019. 3. Chedid V, et al. “Herbal therapy is equivalent to rifaximin for the treatment of small intestinal bacterial overgrowth.” Glob Adv Health Med. 2014 May; 3(3): 16-24. 4. Poonam T, et al. “Bactericidal activity of Curcumin is sssociated with damaging of bacterial membrane.” PLoS One. 2015;10(3): e0121313. 5. Mun SH, et al. “Synergistic antibacterial effect of curcumin against methicillinresistant Staphylococcus aureus.” Phytomedicine. 2013 Jun 15;20(8-9):714-8 6. Rao CV. “Regulation of COX and LOX by curcumin.” Adv Exp Med Biol. 2007;595:213-26. 7. Hudson JB. “Applications of the phytomedicine Echinacea purpurea (Purple Coneflower) in infectious diseases.” J Biomed Biotechnol. 2012;2012:769896. To read the original article click here.

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Cannabis Compound Inhibits SARS-CoV-2 Replication in Human Lung Cells

AHA Publisher — Mon, 22 Mar 2021 07:00:34 +0000

Sally Robertson, B.Sc. via New-Medical – Researchers in the United States have conducted a study showing that a cannabis plant compound inhibited infection with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in human lung cells. SARS-CoV-2 is the agent responsible for the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic that continues to sweep the globe posing a threat to global public health and the worldwide economy. Marsha Rosner from the University of Chicago in Illinois and colleagues found that cannabidiol (CBD) and its metabolite 7-OH-CBD potently blocked SARS-CoV-2 replication in lung epithelial cells. The CBD inhibited viral gene expression and reversed many of the effects the virus has on host gene transcription. The compound also induced the expression of interferons – cell signaling proteins that are produced by host cells as an early response to viral invasion. Furthermore, the incidence of SARS-CoV-2 infection was up to an order of magnitude lower in a cohort of patients who had been taking CBD, compared with matched patients who had not been taking CBD. “This study highlights CBD, and its active metabolite, 7-OH-CBD, as potential preventative agents and therapeutic treatments for SARS-CoV-2 at early stages of infection,” says Rosner and the team. A pre-print version of the research paper is available on the bioRxiv* server, while the article undergoes peer review. Rapid Spread of SARS-CoV-2 Highlights the Need for New Treatments Since the COVID-19 outbreak first began in Wuhan, China, in late December 2019, the rapid spread of SARS-CoV-2 has led to more than 119.5 million infections and caused more than 2.64 million deaths. Although recently-approved vaccines are now being rolled out in many countries, the virus is still spreading rapidly. Rosner and colleagues say this highlights the need for alternative approaches, particularly among populations with limited access to vaccines. However, “to date, few therapies have been identified that block SARS-CoV-2 replication and viral production,” write the researchers. More About SARS-CoV-2 and CBD The SARS-CoV-2 virus primarily enters host cells through the binding of a surface viral protein called spike to the human host cell receptor angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2). The viral genome is then translated into two large polypeptides that are cleaved by the viral proteases MPro and PLPro to produce the proteins required for viral replication, assembly, and budding. Rosner and colleagues say that, although limited, some studies have reported that certain cannabinoids have antiviral effects against hepatitis C virus and other viruses. Furthermore, an oral solution of CBD is already approved by the US food and Drug Administration for the treatment of epilepsy. What Did the Current Study Involve? To test the effect of CBD on SARS-CoV-2 replication, the researchers pretreated A549 human lung carcinoma cells expressing ACE-2 (A549-ACE2) with 0-10μM CBD for 2 hours before infecting them with SARS-CoV-2. Analysis of the cells 48 hours later showed that CBD had potently inhibited viral replication in the cells. Since CBD is often consumed as part of a Cannabis sativa extract, the team investigated whether other cannabinoids could also inhibit SARS-CoV-2 infection, especially those with closely related structures. Remarkably, the only agent that potently inhibited viral replication was CBD; limited or no antiviral activity was exhibited by the other structurally similar cannabinoids tested. Furthermore, the CBD metabolite 7-OH-CBD, the active ingredient in the CBD treatment of epilepsy, also effectively inhibited SARS-CoV-2 replication in the A549-ACE2 cells. CBD Effectively Eliminated Viral RNA Expression When the researchers assessed whether CBD might prevent proteolytic cleavage by Mpro or PLpro, they found CBD had no effect on the activity of either protease. This led the team to hypothesize that CBD targets host cell processes. Consistent with this hypothesis, RNA sequencing of infected A549-ACE2 cells treated with CBD for 24 hours revealed significant suppression of SARS-CoV-2-induced changes in gene expression. The CBD effectively eliminated viral RNA expression, including RNA coding for the spike protein. Both SARS-CoV-2 and CBD triggered significant changes in cellular gene expression, including the expression of several transcription factors. Further analysis of host cell RNA showed that the virus-induced changes were almost completely reversed, but rather than the cells returning to a normal cell state, the CBD+virus-infected cells resembled those treated with CBD alone. What About Interferon Signaling? Given that infection with SARS-CoV-2 is known to suppress the interferon signaling pathway, the researchers tested whether CBD could suppress viral infection by introducing this pathway. Some genes were induced by CBD in both the absence and presence of SARS-CoV-2, including genes that encode interferon receptors and mediators of the interferon signaling pathway. In addition, CBD effectively reversed the viral induction of cytokines that can trigger a deadly hyperinflammatory response called the “cytokine storm” during the later stages of infection. “Thus, CBD has the potential not only to act as an antiviral agent at early stages of infection but also to protect the host against an overactive immune system at later stages,” says Rosner and the team. SARS-CoV-2 Incidence Was Lower in Patients Who Took CBD Finally, the team assessed the incidence of SARS-CoV-2 infection among 82 patients who had been prescribed CBD prior to SARS-C0V-2 testing and matched patients who had not been prescribed CBD. Strikingly, the incidence of SARS-CoV-2 was only 1.2% among the patients prescribed CBD, compared with 12.2% among the matched patients who had not been taking CBD. “The substantial reduction in SARS-CoV-2 infection risk of approximately an order of magnitude in patients who took FDA-approved CBD highlights the potential efficacy of this drug in combating SARS-CoV2 infection,” says Rosner and colleagues. “We advocate carefully designed placebo-controlled clinical trials with known concentrations and highly-characterized formulations in order to define CBD’s role in preventing and treating early SARS-CoV-2 infection,” they conclude. *Important Notice bioRxiv publishes preliminary scientific reports that are not peer-reviewed and, therefore, should not be regarded as conclusive, guide clinical practice/health-related behavior, or treated as established information. To read the original article click here.

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Novel Way to Protect Your Lungs

AHA Publisher — Fri, 15 Jan 2021 08:00:50 +0000

Al Sears, MD, CNS – The recovery rate from Covid-19 is about 99.75%. Fortunately, most people who have had it won’t have any long-lasting damage. Unfortunately, in about 5% percent of critical cases, the virus triggers an overreaction of the immune system in what is known as a “cytokine storm.” This leads to inflammation that can damage the walls and lining of the air sacs in your lungs. The result is acute respiratory distress syndrome – or ARDS. But there’s a novel way you can protect your lungs. A new study published in the Journal of Cellular and Molecular Medicine found that CBD can reduce – and even reverse – this lung damage by normalizing levels of an inflammation-causing peptide called apelin. Apelin is made by cells in the blood, brain, heart, fat and lung tissue. It plays a major role in regulating your blood pressure, while also keeping inflammation down. When you’re infected with coronavirus, your levels of this peptide plummet. But researchers say that even when levels were close to zero in patients with ARDS, treatment with CBD increased apelin blood levels by 20 times – and restored lung function back to normal levels. The study authors found that using CBD also:1 Relaxed cells lining blood vessels Reduced excessive lung inflammation Increased oxygen levels Repaired damage to the lungs, including scarring and swelling This study backs up an earlier study that found CBD helps open bronchial passes allowing patients with COPD to breathe more easily and avoid low blood oxygen levels.2 Heal Your Lungs With the Right Kind of CBD When it comes to CBD, you want to get the greatest – and fastest – benefit. And that means increasing its bioavailability. Like most medications and supplements, it’s best to take CBD with a meal because it increases the absorption. And the more CBD you absorb in your bloodstream, the more potent the effect. You know CBD can be taken a lot of different ways: in tinctures, capsules, vaping, balms, edibles and more. Each method has benefits, but some allow for more CBD to be directly absorbed than others. For example, eating or swallowing CBD requires digestion, which means some of the CBD gets broken down by your liver before circulating into your bloodstream. Tinctures, on the other hand, get absorbed more quickly into your bloodstream under your tongue. I’ve found that an oral spray that uses nanotechnology is the most bioavailable. That’s because it’s a quicker, more direct route to the bloodstream, and it avoids the liver’s “first pass” effect, which lowers CBD bioavailability. In fact, nanotechnology gets 1,500% more CBD past your cell membranes.3 When you’re having trouble with your lungs, that’s pretty important. To get maximum benefit, spray the liquid under your tongue, hold it without talking for 60 seconds and then swallow. 3 More Ways to Increase Bioavailability Look for an emulsified product. Some products emulsify their CBD using nanotechnology. This breaks CBD down into even smaller molecules. The smaller and more dispersed the molecules are, the more bioavailable they are, because they pass more easily through cell membranes and into the bloodstream than larger CBD particles.4 Take it with healthy fats. CBD is a fat-soluble compound, meaning it dissolves in fats. This breaks CBD down into smaller molecules that are more easily absorbed by the body. One way to increase CBD’s bioavailability is to mix it with a healthy high-fat snack or meal. A recent study found that people who took CBD with high-fat foods increased their absorption up to 14 times more than those who took it on an empty stomach.5 Look for full-spectrum CBD. Terpenes are fatty oils found in the essential oils of almost all plants. They occur naturally in hemp and are extracted along with CBD and other compounds to create full-spectrum CBD products. These compounds work together and amplify each other’s benefits, a synergy known as the “entourage effect.” Terpenes increase CBD bioavailability and enhance the therapeutic effects of cannabinoids. Note: There is one method of taking CBD I don’t recommend and that’s vaping. That’s especially true if you already have lung damage. It’s true that there aren’t a lot of studies. But with so many other safe, effective and fast ways to get your CBD, why take the risk? To Your Good Health, Al Sears, MD, CNS 1. Khodadadi H, et al. “Cannabidiol modulates cytokine storm in acute respiratory distress syndrome induced by simulated viral infection using synthetic RNA.” Cannabis Cannabinoid Res. 2020; 5(3): 197–201. 2. Makwana R, et al. “The effect of phytocannabinoids on airway hyper-responsiveness, airway inflammation, and cough.” J Pharmacol Exp Ther. 2015 Apr;353(1):169-80. 3. Cherniakov I, et al. “Piperine-pro-nanolipospheres as a novel oral delivery system of cannabinoids: Pharmacokinetic evaluation in healthy volunteers in comparison to buccal spray administration.” J Control Release.2017;266:1-7. 4. Bruni N, et al. “Cannabinoid delivery systems for pain and inflammation treatment.” Molecules. 2018;23(10). 5. Birnbaum AK, et al. “Food effect on pharmacokinetics of cannabidiol oral capsules in adult patients with refractory epilepsy.” Epilepsia. 2019;60(8):1586-1592. To read the original article click here. For more articles from Al Sears, MD click here.

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CBD, THC Use During Early Pregnancy Can Disrupt Fetal Development

AHA Publisher — Sat, 16 Nov 2019 08:00:13 +0000

University of North Carolina School of Medicine via Newswise – UNC School of Medicine researchers are the first to show in animal models that components of marijuana, including its cannabinoids THC and CBD, can cause brain and facial birth defects if used during the first trimester of pregnancy. Newswise — CHAPEL HILL, NC – A new study published in Scientific Reports, a Nature Research journal, shows how a one-time exposure during early pregnancy to cannabinoids (CBs) – both synthetic and natural – can cause growth issues in a developing embryo. This is the first research to show such a connection in mammals. The study was performed in mice, which are very accurate models for the development that occurs during early pregnancy, according to the study’s senior author, Scott Parnell, PhD, assistant professor of cell biology and physiology in the UNC School of Medicine. “The development of the embryo in this time period is very similar across all vertebrates,” said Parnell, a member of the UNC Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies. “In this study we also test a synthetic cannabinoid in zebrafish that yielded similar growth deformations as the natural CBs. Having the same results across animal models reinforces our findings.” In this study, the brain and facial developmental effects caused by one-time exposure to CBs – CBD and THC (the primary ingredients of marijuana) – are very similar to what is seen in fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS). Parnell and colleagues also found that when CBs and alcohol were used together, the likelihood of these birth defects more than doubled. They went on to show that these drugs may be causing defects by interacting on a basic cellular level and disrupting signaling between molecules and cells that control growth and development. “The interaction between alcohol and CBs we witnessed is very concerning,” said the study’s first author, Eric Fish, PhD, research associate in the UNC School of Medicine Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies. “Previous studies have shown that CBs and alcohol are frequently used together, and for pregnant women we’re learning that could be very dangerous to a developing child.” In the study CBs, and CBs with alcohol, were given in varying amounts on day eight of pregnancy, which is comparable to the third and fourth weeks of pregnancy in humans. This time period is when alcohol and CB exposure is especially damaging to a developing embryo, and is before some women know they are pregnant. The CBD amounts administered were within what is considered a therapeutic range for humans. The THC concentration administered was similar to levels reached by a person smoking marijuana. “It is concerning how little we know about the use of marijuana, its CBs, and products like CBD oil during pregnancy,” Parnell said. “We know that there is no safe period to drink alcohol during a pregnancy, and I think this research shows the same is likely true of marijuana use.” With the results of these one-time exposures, Parnell and Fish are planning to now test smaller, multiple exposures throughout a pregnancy that better mimics real-life usage in human pregnancy. To read the original article click here.

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