01-07-2017, 11:12 AM
Pain relief without the high
Date: January 4, 2017 Source: Leiden, Universiteit Summary: Researchers have set 'gold standards' for developing new painkillers based on the medicinal effects of cannabis, but without some of its side effects. <p class="">Researchers at Leiden University led by Mario van der Stelt (Leiden Institute for Chemistry) have set gold standards for developing new painkillers based on the medicinal effects of cannabis.
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Medicinal marijuana
Medicinal marijuana is in frequent use as a painkiller, but its psycho-active side-effects are a major disadvantage. The pharmaceutical industry is desperately seeking a synthetic form of cannabis that inhibits inflammation and pain, but without the high. Leiden researchers have now brought the development of such drugs a step closer. In an article in Nature Communications they set out 'gold standards' for the use of reference substances, to improve trials with synthetic cannabis.
Many of the clinical trials carried out to date with with synthetic cannabis have failed, with no measurable effect being recorded in patients. One of the causes of these failures can be found in the pre-clinical lab, during testing with animals. Substances are often used in these tests whose biochemical and molecular-pharmaceutical effects have never been properly characterised. As a result, there have been a lot of contradictory publications on research findings, the results of which cannot be reproduced. This is having a major effect on the allocation of research funding, the use of animal testing and the exposure of patients to non-active substances.
International and public-private collaboration
Marjolein Soethoudt, a PhD candidate in Van der Stelt's research group, studied together with 12 international academic groups,..... <a data-ipb="nomediaparse" href="https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/01/170104103916.htm">https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/01/170104103916.htm</a>
Date: January 4, 2017 Source: Leiden, Universiteit Summary: Researchers have set 'gold standards' for developing new painkillers based on the medicinal effects of cannabis, but without some of its side effects. <p class="">Researchers at Leiden University led by Mario van der Stelt (Leiden Institute for Chemistry) have set gold standards for developing new painkillers based on the medicinal effects of cannabis.
<p class="">
Medicinal marijuana
Medicinal marijuana is in frequent use as a painkiller, but its psycho-active side-effects are a major disadvantage. The pharmaceutical industry is desperately seeking a synthetic form of cannabis that inhibits inflammation and pain, but without the high. Leiden researchers have now brought the development of such drugs a step closer. In an article in Nature Communications they set out 'gold standards' for the use of reference substances, to improve trials with synthetic cannabis.
Many of the clinical trials carried out to date with with synthetic cannabis have failed, with no measurable effect being recorded in patients. One of the causes of these failures can be found in the pre-clinical lab, during testing with animals. Substances are often used in these tests whose biochemical and molecular-pharmaceutical effects have never been properly characterised. As a result, there have been a lot of contradictory publications on research findings, the results of which cannot be reproduced. This is having a major effect on the allocation of research funding, the use of animal testing and the exposure of patients to non-active substances.
International and public-private collaboration
Marjolein Soethoudt, a PhD candidate in Van der Stelt's research group, studied together with 12 international academic groups,..... <a data-ipb="nomediaparse" href="https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/01/170104103916.htm">https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/01/170104103916.htm</a>