There is ample evidence of the therapeutic success of the use of cannabinoids for indications such as epilepsy or pain therapy, not only as an adjunct but as a first-line therapy.
However, there is still insufficient data to develop safe cannabinoid-based drugs, which is why a research group led by the neurobiologist Tibor harkany, from MedUni Vienna’s Division of Molecular Neurosciences, has just published a study in Science about.
Contradictory phenomenon
Tibor Harkany, neurobiologist and head of the Division of Molecular Neurosciences at MedUni Vienna Brain Research Center, signals a contradictory phenomenon:
We know that cannabis could be used for many diseases and, to some extent, we also know how it works. But the fact that there are so many products on the market also gives the impression that it helps with everything and nothing. But in fact, cannabis is not a miracle plant, it has very specific uses and we urgently need a series of scientific, evidence-based clinical trials on this topic.
The clinical effects of cannabis-based medications are mainly due to the activation of the endogenous cannabinoid receptors CB1 and CB2. The most abundant substances in the cannabis plant are delta-9-tetrahydridrocannabiol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD), the latter has no psychoactive effects. From anecdotal observations to now including international clinical trials, analgesic, anxiolytic, antiepileptic, antipsychotic, sedative, and neuroprotective effects have been attributed to CBD. Currently, CBD is approved in some countries for the treatment of refractory epilepsy and spastic paralysis.
In Austria, the CBD-containing drug Sativex is approved for the treatment of multiple sclerosis and spasms and Epidiolex is approved for the treatment of certain genetic forms of epilepsy. Dronabinol is also given as a complementary medication for chronic pain and in the treatment of cancer.
The psychiatrist Siegfried Kasper, head emeritus of the Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy at MedUni Vienna, who has extensive experience in clinical studies of this type and collaborates with Harkany on several projects in the interest of translational research, has noted:
It is very important for both the university of the sector and the pharmaceutical companies to initiate basic and translational studies that allow us to better understand the specific effects of cannabinoids. There would be a great future if we could standardize the ways of applying cannabis components and then conduct research with standardized extracts in clinical trials.