Cannabis Treatment for Rheumatoid Arthritis

Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune disease that affects the joints. The symptoms are pain, inflammation and stiffness. Doctors treat RA by reducing pain, inflammation and slowing down joint damage.(Source)

A study in 1998-2002 found that illicit cannabis in the U.K. greatly reduced rheumatoid arthritis pain. The survey found that 100% of the RA sufferers found cannabis reduced symptoms “much better” (72%) or “a little better” (28%).(Source) A study in 2006 with the Cannabis Medicine Savitex showed significant improvement in pain and reduced disease activity.(Source) A 2005 survey of medical cannabis patients in Australia showed that 25% used it to treat rheumatoid arthritis.(Source)

Cannabis helps treat rheumatoid arthritis because of it's ability to reduce joint pain, inflammation and increase immunity. The endocannabinoid system affects receptors in the nervous that target joint tissue and immune cells.(Source) Cannabinoids affect the activity of the COX-2 enzymes which contribute to inflammation from arthritis.(Source) Cannabinoids also have immunosupressive properties which curtail inflammatory molecules called cytokines.(Source)

Souce:

http://www.niams.nih.gov/Health_Info/Rheumatic_Disease/rheumatoid_arthritis_ff.asp

http://rheumatology.oxfordjournals.org/content/45/6/781.1.full

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16282192

http://www.harmreductionjournal.com/content/2/1/18

http://www.arthritistoday.org/arthritis-treatment/natural-and-alternative-treatments/remedies-and-therapies/medical-marijuana.php

http://www.researchgate.net/publication/51088411_Evaluation_of_the_cyclooxygenase_inhibiting_effects_of_six_major_cannabinoids_isolated_from_Cannabis_sativa

http://www.cannabis-med.org/data/pdf/2001-03-04-5.pdf

CBD Helps with Intervertebral Disc Degeneration

  

Intervetebral Disc Degeneration

On December 17^th, 2014 a study was published on how cannabis can benefit Intervertebral Disc Degeneration. This study was a small sample done on mice. The results coincide with other findings that cannabis helps with inflammation in cartilage such as rheumatoid arthritis.(Source)

 Intervertebral discs are in between the vertebrae of the spine. The discs are a cartilage joint that allows movement in the spine. They serve a crucial purpose to absorb shock and act as a ligament to hold the vertebrae together.(Source)

  Disc degeneration is caused from inflammation, metabolism of cells and neo-innervation. Cannabidiol CBD has shown to have anti-inflammatory properties, reducing metabolism of bone cells and a nerve protect-ant. This new study is the first to explore the use of CBD in helping disc degeneration. The results concluded that the higher dosage of CBD showed improvement in the Invertebral Discs.(Source)

Source:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4269422/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intervertebral_disc

http://norml.org/library/item/rheumatoid-arthritis