November 11, 2022

Increased White Matter Coherence Following Three and Six Months of Medical Cannabis Treatment

Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research

We are pleased to announce that a set of findings from our longitudinal, observational study of medical cannabis use have been published in Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research! Patients interested in treating at least one medical condition with commercially available MC products of their choosing were assessed for white matter coherence via diffusion tensor imaging before initiating MC use (baseline n=37; female=25, male=12) and following three (n=31) and six (n=22) months of treatment. Results show that MC treatment was associated with increased white matter coherence, which contrasts with prior research examining recreational cannabis consumers, likely related to inherent differences between recreational consumers and MC patients (e.g., product choice, age of onset). In addition, increased CBD exposure was associated with reduced mean diffusivity following 6 months of treatment, extending evidence from preclinical research indicating that CBD may be neuroprotective against demyelination.

August 3, 2021

Assessing Cannabis Use Disorder in Medical Cannabis Patients: Interim Analyses from an Observational, Longitudinal Study

Cannabis

MIND is excited to share an advance online print of our article, which will soon be published in Cannabis, the official journal of the Research Society on Marijuana (RSMJ). Findings suggest that medical cannabis (MC) patients, who were followed over 12 months of MC treatment exhibit increased scores on the Cannabis Use Disorders Screening Test - Revised (CUDIT-R) relative to baseline (pre-treatment); however, increased CUDIT-R scores appear to be attributable to expected increases in frequency of MC use, rather than increases in more problematic symptoms/behaviors associated with cannabis use disorder (CUD). Further, increased CUDIT-R scores were related to higher THC exposure, but were not related to frequency of MC use overall or exposure to CBD. Importantly, preliminary analyses suggest that CUDIT-R may not be reliable or valid when used in MC patients. Accordingly, new metrics for assessing CUD in those who use cannabis for medical purposes are needed.

November 4, 2020

Urinary Tetrahydrocannabinol After 4 Weeks of a Full-Spectrum, High-Cannabidiol Treatment in an Open-Label Clinical Trial

JAMA Psychiatry

We are excited to share that a set of findings from the open label phase of our clinical trial assessing a full-spectrum, high-CBD/low-THC product were recently published in JAMA Psychiatry! These findings show that 50% of individuals enrolled in the clinical trial tested positive for THC on a urinary drug assay after using the the sublingual solution for four weeks. Positive THC findings occurred in some individuals although the study product contains far less THC than is allowable for hemp-based products in the US. More research is needed to understand which variables may contribute to positive findings in some individuals, but not others. 

November 2, 2022

Clinical and cognitive improvement following full-spectrum, high-cannabidiol treatment for anxiety: open-label data from a two-stage, phase 2 clinical trial

Communications Medicine

Findings from our open-label, phase two clinical trial assessing the impact of a full-spectrum, high cannabidiol treatment for anxiety on clinical state and cognition are out in Communications Medicine! 14 patients with moderate to severe anxiety administered 1mL t.i.d. of a high-CBD sublingual solution for four weeks. Patients reported reduced anxiety as well as improvements in mood, sleep, and quality of life along with infrequent endorsements of minor side effects like sleepiness/fatigue, increased energy, and dry mouth . Definitive assessment of the impact of this novel treatment on clinical symptoms and cognition will be ascertained in the ongoing double-blind, placebo-controlled stage.

July 15, 2021

An Observational, Longitudinal Study of Cognition in Medical Cannabis Patients over the Course of 12 Months of Treatment: Preliminary Results

Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society

We are pleased to announce that JINS has just published data from MIND's longitudinal study. This publication represents the first study to directly assess the longitudinal impact of medical cannabis (MC) on cognition and clinical variables in “real world” MC patients, who were assessed prior to initiating MC use and followed over the course of 1 year of treatment. Findings revealed that MC patients demonstrated significant improvements on measures of executive function and clinical state, while verbal learning/ memory performance generally remained stable relative to baseline. Improved cognitive performance was not correlated with MC use; however, clinical improvement was associated with higher CBD use.

Click below to read more, and don't forget to also check out some of the other interesting papers published in this JINS special issue, Clarifying the Complexities of Cannabis and Cognition, which was edited by Dr. Gruber and two of our IDEAA collaborators, Drs. Lisdahl and Filbey!

January 22, 2018

The Grass Might Be Greener: Medical Marijuana Patients Exhibit Altered Brain Activity and Improved Executive Function after 3 Months of Treatment

Frontiers in Pharmacology

We are pleased to announce that Frontiers has just published our second paper from the MIND program. This marks the first neuroimaging study in medical cannabis patients, and documents potential normalization of brain activity during the Multi-Source Interference Task (MSIT), a measure of executive function, after three months of medical cannabis treatment.

September 1, 2022

A survey of medical cannabis use during perimenopause and postmenopause

Menopause

We are delighted to share our findings from our survey of menopause-related symptomatology and medical cannabis (MC) use in the September edition of Menopause, the journal of the North American Menopause Society. A total of 258 participants (131 perimenopausal and 127 postmenopausal) completed assessments of menopause-related symptomatology and cannabis use, including modes of use, type of use, and menopause-related symptoms addressed by MC use.

Results suggest that many individuals are currently using MC as an adjunctive treatment for menopause-related symptoms, particularly sleep disturbance and mood/anxiety.

March 25, 2021

No pain, all gain? Interim analyses from a longitudinal, observational study examining the impact of medical cannabis treatment on chronic pain and related symptoms

Experimental and Clinical Psychopharmacology

We are happy to announce that our newest paper was just published in the Journal of Experimental and Clinical Psychopharmacology!  We recently completed analyses of medical cannabis (MC) patients who report chronic pain as their primary indication for MC use and compared them to a pilot sample of treatment-as-usual (TAU) patients who do not use MC. Results revealed that after initiation of MC use, MC patients generally exhibited lower self-reported pain ratings, which were accompanied by improvements on measures of clinical state, quality of life, and sleep - a pattern not observed in the TAU group. Among MC patients , increased THC exposure was related to pain-related improvement, while CBD exposure was related to improved mood. 

October 13, 2016

Splendor in the grass? A pilot study assessing the impact of medical marijuana on executive function

Frontiers in Pharmacology

The first publication from the MIND program was published today in Frontiers in Pharmacology! After 3 months of medical cannabis treatment, medical cannabis patients demonstrated improvements in clinical state,  cognition, quality of life and other health-related measures. Decreased use of conventional pharmaceutical medications was also noted among study patients. Click below to read more.