Therapeutic Cannabis Against CINV - Nausea from Chemotherapy
- CINV - nausea and vomiting induced by chemotherapy
- Both synthetic and natural CINV cannabinoids have been shown to act
- Medical cannabis has the advantage over pharmaceuticals in particular in fewer adverse side effects
When laws for cannabis treatment first appeared on the scene in the 1990s, it was mainly about protecting patients who were being treated for cancer. Even then, medical cannabis was used by many patients undergoing chemotherapy in the vast majority of cases it causes unbearable nausea and vomiting.
Efficiencymedicinal cannabisagainst nauseaonly unofficial evidence from the patients at that time, but today we have a chance to look at what official studies are saying about this issue and how actually therapeutic cannabinoidsagainst nausea.
Chemotherapy nausea, CINV
"Totally devastating." Thus, most patients describe the effects of chemotherapy causing chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting.nausea and vomitig - CINV). Therefore, this is not normal nausea, but acruel and extensive nausea occurring in the time window about 6-24 hours after the chemotherapy session.
How in how to proceed if all the above mentioned drugs fail? You doIndeed, tuace is no exception, and doctors have to do with the questions of patients who are not only being helped by drugs, but many say they cause lethargy, narcotics or even delusions.
With therapeutichowever, cannabinoids are beginning to change . It was believed that CINV works well for example synthetic cannabinoidssuch as dronabinol or nabilone (do not confuse with synthetic cannabis such as the infamous K2 or Spice). Specifically, it is slightly modified, syntethically produced molecules kTHC anabinoid, currently approved for CINV.
Medical Cannabis Research Against Nausea (CINV)
Dronabinol and nabilone were recognized for the first time as CINV drugs by the US federal government in 1985. Since then, more than 30 clinical trials have been conducted, the results of which demonstrate the absolute superiority of cannabinoids compared to commonly used pharmaceuticals.
Until 1996 they werereactions involving 1,366 patients are observed and evaluated. Studies were conducted for both dronabinol and nabilone, with effects compared with placebo and conventional drugs. In all cases it turned out that cannabinoids are by far the best choice for patients.
Of course, some of the patients also reported the euphoria associated with THC while other cannabinoid doses have caused feelings of anxiety, low pressure, or even hallucinations. For these reasons, several patients have even withdrawn from the studies, but today we know that these effects occur mainly in patients with low tolerance. (More in the article "Cannabis for Beginners")
If we look at dosage of anticancer drugselse, we can see that usually only 1-2mg of nabilone and 5mg of dronabinol suffice before and after chemotherapy. For example, s cannabis eatables enriched with natural cannabinoids it is quite a small dose that is not a problem to achieve the so-called "homemade".
However, compared to conventional pharmaceuticals, this is still a highly controversial treatment, preventing many patients and doctors from deciding to start this type of treatment. In addition, pharmaceuticals are more researched compared to cannabinoids, which is unfortunately another reason for restraint.
How does synthetic cannabis treat nausea?
Synthetic THC such as the aforementioned nabilon is able to disrupt the process associated with serotonin and dopamine binding, which are commonly associated with CINV. In addition, cannabinoids also affect the so-called "dorsal vagal complex", the area of the brain responsible for regulating nausea and vomiting.
Natural cannabisagainst nausea
According to National Cancer Institute the effect of inhaled, natural cannabis has so far been studied in just ten studies. In some cases, natural cannabis has been used where synthetic has failed.
The fact is allit remains that natural cannabis can be used against nausea in general and does not necessarily involve nausea caused by chemotherapy. In most cases it was the use of varieties with at least medium THC. However, in 2012, a mouse-focused study was conductedeffects of CBD,which was very promising.
Thanks to these results and also the impressive effects on the patients themselves todayCBD uses nausea much more often. However, more data on dosing, interaction with other drugs and differences in CINV effects and other types of nausea are still needed to clarify.
Still, thatThere are now many results of studies on the impressive effects of medical cannabis, cannabis treatment is still not a global standard and remains a controversy wrap.