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Hep C and Cannabis Controversy
by berlynn, Apr 05, 2004 12:00AM
>Subject: Info About Hep C and Cannabis (letter for your Doc)
>To: ***@****
>
>The Lifevine Foundation
>2442 NW Market St. #508
>Seattle, WA 98107
>206-551-5559
>
>Practicing Physicians
>Medical Professionals
>State of Washington
>
>Dear Concerned Physician,
>
>The patient presenting this letter to you has been diagnosed with
>Hepatitis C. The Lifevine Foundation is a non-profit public education
>and legal assistance provider for medical marijuana patients and
>their physicians. We urge you to consider the following information
>when determining whether this patient will potentially benefit from
>the use of cannabis.
>
>Patients with even mild cases of Hepatitis C often experience
>nonspecific and intermittent symptoms such as nausea and vomiting,
>poor appetite, fatigue, depression, muscle and joint pains, weight
>loss, and mild right-upper-quadrant discomfort or tenderness. These
>symptoms may become more pronounced and chronic as the disease
>progresses.
>
>As you are probably aware, drug therapy for Hepatitis C usually
>consists of the use of combination therapy with alpha interferon and
>ribavirin in those patients where such therapy is indicated. Common
>side effects of treatment (occurring in more than 10 percent of
>patients) include: nausea and vomiting, depression, irritability,
>weight loss, fatigue, muscle aches, headaches, and low-grade fever.
>Substance abuse relapse is often a common result of the therapy due
>to the psychological side effects. Flare-ups of pre-existing
>auto-immune diseases such as rheumatoid ar
>auto-immune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, ulcerative colitis
>and Crohn's Disease are common. Marijuana can mitigate the majority
>of these side effects as well as offering effective help to those
>patients where alpha-interferon treatment is not indicated.
>
>Marijuana (Cannabis) is a powerful antiemetic2, 15, 18 that has been
>shown to be particularly effective controlling nausea and stimulating
>the appetites of immune surpressed patients such as those with HIV or
>undergoing chemotherapy. Cannabis has anti-depressant and
>anti-anxiety properties. It is an anti-inflammatory 3, 4, 6, 9, 10,
>14, 18, 19 and immuno-modulating, 7, 8, 11, 12, agent that can help
>minimize portal inflammation and slow the progression of both
>cirrhosis and Hepatocellular carcinoma. The cannabinoids have been
>shown to be powerful anti-inflammatories and anti-oxidants. They have
>also been shown to have anti-neoplastic activity, at least in gliomas
>(a form of brain cancer). Cannabinoids both slow programmed cell
>death (apoptosis) in normal cells while accelerating apoptosis in
>cancer cells. Cannabis has the added advantage of easing, or even
>completely eliminating, the muscle pains and cramping 1, 2, 5, 17,
>18, 21 that patients often experience. Marijuana is an effective
>analgesic.2, 3, 9, 14,15, 16, 20, 21 Cannabis has also been
>demonstrated as effective with rheumatoid arthritis, MS, and Crohn's.
>4, 7, 8, 20, it can aid in the prevention of inflammation associated
>with flare-ups of these conditions should they be present in your
>patient. Recent studies published this year (2002) have shown that
>cannabinoid receptors throughout the digestive tract act to reduce
>immune-reactivity and to surpress the vagal drive of the digestive
>system, slowing the digestive process, allowing more nutrients to be
>absorbed at a slower rate, thus putting less stress on the liver 1
>
>The Washington State Medical Quality Assurance Board has included
>Hepatitis C as a debilitating medical condition that could
>potentially benefit from the use of medical marijuana. Please review
>the following reference data. The minimal side effects of cannabis
>will be discussed following the data.
>
>Published Reference Data (Studies relevant to Hepatitis C, short
>synopsis - complete articles are available. Other references are
>located following the conclusion of this report.)
>
>1. Adami, Frati, Bertini, Kulkarni-Narla, Brown, de Caro, Coruzzi,
>and Soldani, "Gastric antisecretory role and immunohistochemical
>localization of cannabinoid receptors in the rat stomach" British
>Journal of Pharmacology Vol. 135, 2002, The study found cannabinoid
>receptors throughout the gastrointestinal organs of rats.
>"Immunoreactivity to the CB1 receptor was co-localized with that of
>the cholinergic marker choline acetyltransferase in neural elements
>innervating smooth muscle, mucosa and submucosal blood vessels of rat
>stomach fundus, corpus and antrum. These results indicate that
>gastric antisecretory effects of cannabinoids in the rat are mediated
>by suppression of vagal drive to the stomach through activation of
>CB1 receptors, located on pre- and postganglionic cholinergic
>pathways."
>
>2. Baron and Folan, "Ulcerative Colitis and Marijuana", Annals of
>Internal Medicine, Vol. 112, No.6, p 47, 1990, "The symptoms of
>ulcerative colitis were repeatedly relieved by smoked cannabis."
>
>3. Beltramo and Piomelli, "Functional role of high-affinity
>anandamide transport as revealed by selective inhibition." Science,
>Vol.277, No. 5329, pp1094, 1997, "Cannabinoid and non-cannabinoid
>compounds in marijuana reduce pain and inflammation."
>
>4. BW Healthwire, January 1998, "Pre-clinical studies show CT-3
>reduces chronic and acute inflammation and reduces destruction of
>joints." Atlantic Pharmaceuticals was evaluating CT-3, a cannabinoid
>derivative. The company reported "In recent studies, the agent was
>found to reduce inflammation and prevent the destruction of joint
>tissue."
>
>5. Egli, Elsohly, Henn and Spiess. International Journal of Clinical
>Pharmacology, Vol. 34, No. 10, pp46-452, 1988, "The effect of orally
>and rectally administered delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol on spasticity"
>"THC was shown to relieve muscle spasms in human patients."
>
>6. Formukong, Evans, and Evans "Analgesic and anti-inflammatory
>activity of constituents of cannabis sativa l" Inflammation, Vol. 12
>No. 4, pp361-371, 1988, "Cannabidol is more effective than aspirin in
>reducing inflammation" (Cannabidol or CBD, is one of the scores of
>cannibinoids found in marijuana other than THC)
>
>7. Friedman, H.; Klein, T.W.; Newton, C.; and Daaka, Y., "Marijuana
>receptors and immunomodulation." Advances in Experimental Medicine
>and Biology 373: pp103-113, 1995, "The study suggested that the
>immunosuppressive effects of cannabinoids might be useful clinically;
>for example, in treating multiple sclerosis.
>
>8. Grotenhermen Dr. Franjo, IACM-Bulletin of 25 June 2000, (IACM):
>"We know from animal studies that THC inhibits the production of Th-1
>cytokines such as IL-1, IL-2, and IFN-gamma and stimulates the
>production of Th-2 cytokines such as IL-4, IL-10, and TGF-beta. This
>would give reason for a causal therapeutic use of THC in certain
>autoimmune diseases that appear to be Th-1 mediated such as Crohn's
>disease, a form of chronic intestinal inflammation, and rheumatoid
>arthritis."
>
>9. Holdcroft, et al