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+--- Thread: Cannabis shows potential in sleep apnea treatment (/Thread-Cannabis-shows-potential-in-sleep-apnea-treatment)
Cannabis shows potential in sleep apnea treatment - zonk - 07-30-2012
I was reading about sleep apnea at Wikipedia and surprised to read "Cannabis shows potential in sleep apnea" under Alternative treatments and this is the source for the information
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12071539
Functional role for cannabinoids in respiratory stability during sleep.
Carley DW, Paviovic S, Janelidze M, Radulovacki M.
Department of Medicine, University of Illinois at Chicago, 60612, USA.
Abstract
STUDY OBJECTIVES:
Serotonin, acting in the peripheral nervous system, can exacerbate sleep-related apnea, and systemically administered serotonin antagonists reduce sleep-disordered respiration in rats and bulldogs. Because cannabinoid receptor agonists are known to inhibit the excitatory effects of serotonin on nodose ganglion cells, we examined the effects of endogenous (oleamide) and exogenous (delta9-tetrahydrocannabinol; delta9THC) cannabimimetic agents on sleep-related apnea.
DESIGN:
Sleep architecture, respiratory pattern, and apnea expression in rats were assessed by polysomnography. A repeated measures, within-subjects, fully nested crossover design was used in which each animal was recorded on exactly 12 occasions.
PARTICIPANTS:
Eleven adult male Sprague-Dawley rats were instrumented for chronic polysomnography.
INTERVENTIONS:
Animals were recorded following intraperitoneal injection of various doses of delta9THC, oleamide, and serotonin, alone and in combination.
MEASUREMENTS AND RESULTS:
Our data show that delta9THC and oleamide each stabilized respiration during all sleep stages. With delta9THC, apnea index decreased by 42% (F=2.63; p=0.04) and 58% (F=2.68; p=0.04) in NREM and REM sleep, respectively. Oleamide produced equivalent apnea suppression. This observation suggests an important role for endocannabinoids in maintaining autonomic stability during sleep. Oleamide and delta9THC blocked serotonin-induced exacerbation of sleep apnea (p<0.05 for each), suggesting that inhibitory coupling between cannabinoids and serotonin receptors in the peripheral nervous system may act on apnea expression.
CONCLUSIONS:
This study demonstrates potent suppression of sleep-related apnea by both exogenous and endogenous cannabinoids. These findings are of relevance to the pathogenesis and pharmacological treatment of sleep-related breathing disorders.
RE: Cannabis shows potential in sleep apnea treatment - cbramsey - 07-30-2012
Smoke 'em if you got 'em!!!!!
RE: Cannabis shows potential in sleep apnea treatment - Itsadryheat - 07-30-2012
Except I think you have to smoke A Lot! Looks like a little weed boosts serotonin, you want the opposite effect.
See belowA Little Marijuana Helps, but Lots May Hurt
By Brandon KeimEmail Author October 24, 2007 | 10:07 am | Categories: Brains and Behavior, Health
A moderate dose of medical marijuana can soothe your hurts, both mental and physical — but getting flat-out toasted may actually make the pain worse.
So conclude two recently-published studies, one published in The Journal of Neuroscience by McGill University researchers and the other published in Anesthesiology by researchers from the University of California. But just how strong are these findings?
In the University of California study, doctors shot capsaicin — the pepper spray compound — under the skin of 15 healthy volunteers, then got them high. After 45 minutes, those who smoked only a moderate dose said their pain was much better. Those who smoked a lot said their pain was worse (though, as the BBC so dutifully reports, "They did, however, feel "higher" than counterparts who had taken moderate doses.")
At McGill University, low doses of marijuana increased levels of serotonin — a mood-regulating neurotransmitter — in rats, but high doses made their serotonin levels plummet.
The verdict? Both studies are limited but intriguing. The University of
California study needs to be conducted on a far larger group of subjects suffering from the sort of pain — back pain, migraines — that marijuana is used to treat in real life. However, serotonin and pain thresholds have been linked. If too much marijuana actually decreases serotonin, as shown in McGill’s rats, it makes sense that pain, both physical and mental, would worsen.
RE: Cannabis shows potential in sleep apnea treatment - mjbearit - 07-30-2012
Okay, well for some reason it makes me throw up so....next?
RE: Cannabis shows potential in sleep apnea treatment - archangle - 07-30-2012
OK, is this something that works against central apnea, or does it work for obstructive apnea?
I'm trying to figure out how it would work against obstructive apneas, which usually get blamed on "mechanical" problems in the tissues of your airway and your muscles relaxing in your sleep. Does it somehow keep parts of your nervous system active that keep muscles active to keep your airways open?
RE: Cannabis shows potential in sleep apnea treatment - Sleepster - 07-30-2012
There's also no discussion of the effects of continued use of cannabis. It could be that initially the AHI goes down, but then with continued consumption of the drug, the AHI eventually returns to what it was.
I say this because the body is known to adjust to the effects of this drug. With continued use its effects fade.
RE: Cannabis shows potential in sleep apnea treatment - PollCat - 07-30-2012
I seem to recall that my cannabis use while serving in the Army always made me sleepy. But that might have been caused by the fact we only smoked it at night, while driving around Hampton Roads.
I doubt I had ever heard of sleep apnea back in those days.