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Marijuana use: Stroke, heart failure risk + Future resveratrol treatment of diabetes

#1
C C Offline
Marijuana use associated with increased risk of stroke, heart failure: As marijuana legalization spreads, better understanding of side effects is needed
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/20...142318.htm

RELEASE: Using marijuana raises the risk of stroke and heart failure even after accounting for demographic factors, other health conditions and lifestyle risk factors such as smoking and alcohol use, according to research scheduled for presentation at the American College of Cardiology's 66th Annual Scientific Session.

Coming at a time when marijuana, medically known as cannabis, is on track to become legal for medical or recreational use in more than half of U.S. states, this study sheds new light on how the drug affects cardiovascular health. While previous marijuana research has focused mostly on pulmonary and psychiatric complications, the new study is one of only a handful to investigate cardiovascular outcomes.

"Like all other drugs, whether they're prescribed or not prescribed, we want to know the effects and side effects of this drug," said Aditi Kalla, MD, Cardiology Fellow at the Einstein Medical Center in Philadelphia and the study's lead author. "It's important for physicians to know these effects so we can better educate patients, such as those who are inquiring about the safety of cannabis or even asking for a prescription for cannabis."

The study drew data from the Nationwide Inpatient Sample, which includes the health records of patients admitted at more than 1,000 hospitals comprising about 20 percent of U.S. medical centers. Researchers extracted records from young and middle-aged patients -- age 18-55 years -- who were discharged from hospitals in 2009 and 2010, when marijuana use was illegal in most states.

Marijuana use was diagnosed in about 1.5 percent (316,000) of more than 20 million health records included in the analysis. Comparing cardiovascular disease rates in these patients to disease rates in patients not reporting marijuana use, researchers found marijuana use was associated with a significantly increased risk for stroke, heart failure, coronary artery disease and sudden cardiac death.

Marijuana use was also linked with a variety of factors known to increase cardiovascular risk, such as obesity, high blood pressure, smoking and alcohol use. After researchers adjusted the analysis to account for these factors, marijuana use was independently associated with a 26 percent increase in the risk of stroke and a 10 percent increase in the risk of developing heart failure.

"Even when we corrected for known risk factors, we still found a higher rate of both stroke and heart failure in these patients, so that leads us to believe that there is something else going on besides just obesity or diet-related cardiovascular side effects," Kalla said. "More research will be needed to understand the pathophysiology behind this effect."

Research in cell cultures shows that heart muscle cells have cannabis receptors relevant to contractility, or squeezing ability, suggesting that those receptors might be one mechanism through which marijuana use could affect the cardiovascular system. It is possible that other compounds could be developed to counteract that mechanism and reduce cardiovascular risk, Kalla said.

Because the study was based on hospital discharge records, the findings may not be reflective of the general population. The study was also limited by the researchers' inability to account for quantity or frequency of marijuana use, purpose of use (recreational or medical), or delivery mechanism (smoking or ingestion).

Kalla suggested that the growing trend toward legalization of marijuana could mean that patients and doctors will become more comfortable speaking openly about marijuana use, which could allow for better data collection and further insights into the drug's effects and side effects.



Research may provide solutions for the future treatment of diabetes: A new therapy to treat the effects of diabetes could reside in feces from resveratrol-fed donors
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/20...132321.htm

RELEASE: Jason Dyck has long believed in the beneficial properties of resveratrol -- a powerful antioxidant produced by some plants to protect against environmental stresses. The professor of pediatrics at the University of Alberta has spent years studying the natural compound, exploring its potential benefits for exercise performance, reduced blood pressure and heart health. Now his work is revealing resveratrol's potential for the treatment of diabetes.

Although studies in obese patients treated with resveratrol have shown to be effective at lowering blood sugar levels, the amount of resveratrol found circulating in the blood is very low, leaving scientists questioning how resveratrol is working. In a new study published in the journal Diabetes, researchers at the U of A examined the impact of resveratrol on the community of bacteria, or microbiome, in the gut of obese mice. The team found that feeding resveratrol to obese mice over a period of 6 weeks altered the makeup of the bacteria in their intestines, improving glucose tolerance.

To expand upon the findings, the scientists conducted a second experiment in which they fed healthy mice resveratrol for 8 weeks. From those mice, they collected fecal waste for the purpose of fecal transplant into obese mice with insulin resistance. The results from these fecal transplants were striking, with more dramatic and rapid effects than giving the mice resveratrol orally.

"Whatever was in this fecal material was more potent and efficacious than the resveratrol itself," says Dyck, also a member of the Alberta Diabetes Institute. "We performed fecal transplants in pre-diabetic obese mice and within two weeks their blood sugar levels were almost back to normal."

Dyck says his team was initially unsure if the fecal transplant was altering the gut microbiome in the mice or if it was producing a metabolite that was behind the effect. However, he is now convinced that the dramatic change is actually the result of an unknown metabolite in the fecal matter.

"I believe that there's something else in the mix that's causing this improvement in glucose homeostasis in obese mice," says Dyck. "We're trying to isolate this unknown compound, with the hopes of using it as a potential treatment for impaired glucose homeostasis in obesity."

"To me, this is very exciting," he adds. "If there's a small molecule in the fecal material that we can identify, we may be able to rapidly advance this into human testing."

The team believes the findings could open the door to new therapies for diabetes patients in the future. Dyck though says it is already clear that their work is far from done.

"It's going to take a herculean effort to find what that molecule is" says Dyck. "Maybe it's one, maybe it's a combination of four or five, or maybe even a hundred. We don't know, but we intend to find out."
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#2
elte Offline
(Mar 10, 2017 02:27 AM)C C Wrote: Marijuana use associated with increased risk of stroke, heart failure: As marijuana legalization spreads, better understanding of side effects is needed
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/20...142318.htm

RELEASE: Using marijuana raises the risk of stroke and heart failure even after accounting for demographic factors, other health conditions and lifestyle risk factors such as smoking and alcohol use, according to research scheduled for presentation at the American College of Cardiology's 66th Annual Scientific Session.

Coming at a time when marijuana, medically known as cannabis, is on track to become legal for medical or recreational use in more than half of U.S. states, this study sheds new light on how the drug affects cardiovascular health. While previous marijuana research has focused mostly on pulmonary and psychiatric complications, the new study is one of only a handful to investigate cardiovascular outcomes.

"Like all other drugs, whether they're prescribed or not prescribed, we want to know the effects and side effects of this drug," said Aditi Kalla, MD, Cardiology Fellow at the Einstein Medical Center in Philadelphia and the study's lead author. "It's important for physicians to know these effects so we can better educate patients, such as those who are inquiring about the safety of cannabis or even asking for a prescription for cannabis."

The study drew data from the Nationwide Inpatient Sample, which includes the health records of patients admitted at more than 1,000 hospitals comprising about 20 percent of U.S. medical centers. Researchers extracted records from young and middle-aged patients -- age 18-55 years -- who were discharged from hospitals in 2009 and 2010, when marijuana use was illegal in most states.

Marijuana use was diagnosed in about 1.5 percent (316,000) of more than 20 million health records included in the analysis. Comparing cardiovascular disease rates in these patients to disease rates in patients not reporting marijuana use, researchers found marijuana use was associated with a significantly increased risk for stroke, heart failure, coronary artery disease and sudden cardiac death.

Marijuana use was also linked with a variety of factors known to increase cardiovascular risk, such as obesity, high blood pressure, smoking and alcohol use. After researchers adjusted the analysis to account for these factors, marijuana use was independently associated with a 26 percent increase in the risk of stroke and a 10 percent increase in the risk of developing heart failure.

"Even when we corrected for known risk factors, we still found a higher rate of both stroke and heart failure in these patients, so that leads us to believe that there is something else going on besides just obesity or diet-related cardiovascular side effects," Kalla said. "More research will be needed to understand the pathophysiology behind this effect."

Research in cell cultures shows that heart muscle cells have cannabis receptors relevant to contractility, or squeezing ability, suggesting that those receptors might be one mechanism through which marijuana use could affect the cardiovascular system. It is possible that other compounds could be developed to counteract that mechanism and reduce cardiovascular risk, Kalla said.

Because the study was based on hospital discharge records, the findings may not be reflective of the general population. The study was also limited by the researchers' inability to account for quantity or frequency of marijuana use, purpose of use (recreational or medical), or delivery mechanism (smoking or ingestion).

Kalla suggested that the growing trend toward legalization of marijuana could mean that patients and doctors will become more comfortable speaking openly about marijuana use, which could allow for better data collection and further insights into the drug's effects and side effects.




Research may provide solutions for the future treatment of diabetes: A new therapy to treat the effects of diabetes could reside in feces from resveratrol-fed donors
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/20...132321.htm

RELEASE: Jason Dyck has long believed in the beneficial properties of resveratrol -- a powerful antioxidant produced by some plants to protect against environmental stresses. The professor of pediatrics at the University of Alberta has spent years studying the natural compound, exploring its potential benefits for exercise performance, reduced blood pressure and heart health. Now his work is revealing resveratrol's potential for the treatment of diabetes.

Although studies in obese patients treated with resveratrol have shown to be effective at lowering blood sugar levels, the amount of resveratrol found circulating in the blood is very low, leaving scientists questioning how resveratrol is working. In a new study published in the journal Diabetes, researchers at the U of A examined the impact of resveratrol on the community of bacteria, or microbiome, in the gut of obese mice. The team found that feeding resveratrol to obese mice over a period of 6 weeks altered the makeup of the bacteria in their intestines, improving glucose tolerance.

To expand upon the findings, the scientists conducted a second experiment in which they fed healthy mice resveratrol for 8 weeks. From those mice, they collected fecal waste for the purpose of fecal transplant into obese mice with insulin resistance. The results from these fecal transplants were striking, with more dramatic and rapid effects than giving the mice resveratrol orally.

"Whatever was in this fecal material was more potent and efficacious than the resveratrol itself," says Dyck, also a member of the Alberta Diabetes Institute. "We performed fecal transplants in pre-diabetic obese mice and within two weeks their blood sugar levels were almost back to normal."

Dyck says his team was initially unsure if the fecal transplant was altering the gut microbiome in the mice or if it was producing a metabolite that was behind the effect. However, he is now convinced that the dramatic change is actually the result of an unknown metabolite in the fecal matter.

"I believe that there's something else in the mix that's causing this improvement in glucose homeostasis in obese mice," says Dyck. "We're trying to isolate this unknown compound, with the hopes of using it as a potential treatment for impaired glucose homeostasis in obesity."

"To me, this is very exciting," he adds. "If there's a small molecule in the fecal material that we can identify, we may be able to rapidly advance this into human testing."

The team believes the findings could open the door to new therapies for diabetes patients in the future. Dyck though says it is already clear that their work is far from done.

"It's going to take a herculean effort to find what that molecule is" says Dyck. "Maybe it's one, maybe it's a combination of four or five, or maybe even a hundred. We don't know, but we intend to find out."

The red grapes instead of the green ones take priority in my food shopping.
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#3
RainbowUnicorn Offline
(Mar 10, 2017 02:27 AM)C C Wrote: Marijuana use associated with increased risk of stroke, heart failure: As marijuana legalization spreads, better understanding of side effects is needed
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/20...142318.htm

RELEASE: Using marijuana raises the risk of stroke and heart failure even after accounting for demographic factors, other health conditions and lifestyle risk factors such as smoking and alcohol use, according to research scheduled for presentation at the American College of Cardiology's 66th Annual Scientific Session.

Coming at a time when marijuana, medically known as cannabis, is on track to become legal for medical or recreational use in more than half of U.S. states, this study sheds new light on how the drug affects cardiovascular health. While previous marijuana research has focused mostly on pulmonary and psychiatric complications, the new study is one of only a handful to investigate cardiovascular outcomes.

"Like all other drugs, whether they're prescribed or not prescribed, we want to know the effects and side effects of this drug," said Aditi Kalla, MD, Cardiology Fellow at the Einstein Medical Center in Philadelphia and the study's lead author. "It's important for physicians to know these effects so we can better educate patients, such as those who are inquiring about the safety of cannabis or even asking for a prescription for cannabis."

How does one quantify symptomatic outcome of an illegal substance from criminals as qualitative medical data ?

is Marijuana use higher in lower income populations which in the USA have less access to health care ?

is marrijuana use quantified equally to alcahol use as a frequency verses quantity ?

is dependency & adiction removed or included in the data set & how does that efect te deviation range ?

what is an acceptable profesional occupation sample group ?
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