Cannabis can reduce COVID-19 complications, mitigate fibrosis - study
A study found that 3 of the strains tested were able to inhibit cytokine storms and mitigate future risks of developing pulmonary fibrosis.
By Idan Zonshine, Jerusalem Post, January 27, 2021
A worker touches a cannabis plant at a growing facility for the Tikun Olam company near the northern city of Safed (photo credit: REUTERS/NIR ELIAS)
A new study out of Canada has found further evidence that certain strains of cannabis could inhibit severe cases of respiratory inflammation known as "cytokine storms," one of the most dangerous complications known to occur as a result of COVID-19.
The
joint study was performed by Pathway Research Inc. along with teams
from the University of Calgary and the University of Lethbridge, and was
published last week in Aging medical journal.
During
the study, the researchers induced inflammations within 3D-printed skin
tissue samples and tested 7 different strains of Cannabis Sativa on
them, which were selected out of 200 strains which were initially
analyzed.
The
study found that 3 of the tested strains were able to inhibit cytokine
storms and mitigate future risks of developing pulmonary fibrosis
(permanent scarring of the lungs).
Cytokine
storms occur when the body overproduces immune cells and their
activating compounds (cytokines), causing dangerously high blood
pressure, lung damage, respiratory distress syndrome and organ failure.
This
is a common occurrence in some patients where the immune system's
response to COVID-19 is extreme and goes into overdrive to fight the
virus.
Accumulating
evidence shows that many COVID-19 patients die because of the increase
in the production of the inflammatory cytokine molecules, rather than
the virus itself.
University of Lethbridge’s Department of Biological Sciences Dr.
Igor Kovalchuk, said he was "not surprised" by the study's results.
“Before
Covid, we have studied the anti-inflammatory effect of over 100
cultivars (preselected from nearly 800), and identified a couple dozen
with strong potential, and even filed several patents on them for use
with RA, MS, intestinal, and skin inflammation, and oral inflammation,”
he said.
Dr.
Kovalchuck recommended that the whole plant be ingested, preferably by
smoking, as many terpenes get lost in evaporation process.
“As
to specific chemicals, our analysis shows that CBD or THC alone do not
have the same effect,” says Kovalchuck. “We strongly believe in the
full-spectrum, entourage-based effects. Likely, there are secondary
(minor cannabinoids) and terpenes that contribute, and we write in the
paper, that one of such terpenes could be caryophyllene.”
In
August, a small study by Israeli cannabis R&D firms CannaSoul and
Eybna found that that certain cannabis terpenes could significantly
inhibit inflammatory activity.
Back
in April, the two R&D organizations announced their intentions to
collaborate on the research and delve into the use of the inhalable
compound NT-VRL with concern to the treatment of viral infections.
Their
hypothesis was formulated based on previous research conducted around
the 2002 SARS outbreak, which found terpenes to be effective antiviral
agents and more notably certain formulations of terpenes were found to
reduce the severity of the respiratory disease.
Zachary Keyser contributed to this article.
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Wishing them much success with curing the complications caused by Covid-19
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