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| Marijuana Appetite Boost Lacking in Cancer Study |
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Posted by FoM on May 13, 2001 at 09:42:55 PT Marijuana is known for giving smokers the munchies Source: Reuters Online 
Marijuana is known for giving smokers the munchies, but hopes that medicine based on marijuana would help cancer patients regain lost appetites have largely been dashed, the Mayo Clinic said on Saturday. A standard treatment from Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. was more effective than a marijuana derivative and the two worked no better in combination, the study showed. Lack of appetite strikes more than half advanced cancer patients, Dr. Aminah Jatoi, of the renowned Rochester, Minnesota-based Mayo Clinic, told a conference. ``This is a problem.'' But marijuana is not the cure, it seems. ``It's disappointing,'' she added of the results. Marijuana medicine from Roxane Laboratories, a division of privately held Boehringer Ingelheim, had only a bit more effect than a placebo, she told a briefing on the sidelines of the American Society of Clinical Oncology's annual conference. Appetites improved in 73 percent of patients taking a standard medicine for cancer-related anorexia, megestrol acetate from Bristol-Myers, against 47 percent taking dronabinol, the marijuana derivative. Patients taking a combination showed no improvement over the standard treatment alone, and in many studies 40 percent of patients responded to placebos alone, Jatoi said, throwing more doubt on marijuana's power. A double blind study, in which neither subjects nor researchers know who was taking what medicine, followed three groups of more than 150 patients each suffering from various types of cancer. Men taking the traditional medicine were more likely to suffer from impotence, however, and the marijuana derivative, given in a dose based in part on recommendations from the maker, had none of the effects for which the drug is known. ``We were concerned that we might see muddled thinking,'' Jatoi said, ``but we didn't.'' Summary: Marijuana is known for giving smokers the munchies, but hopes that medicine based on marijuana would help cancer patients regain lost appetites have largely been dashed, the Mayo Clinic said on Saturday. Source: Reuters Unlimited Related Articles: Marijuana Munchies May Hold a Key to Obesity Straight Dope on the Munchies Marijuana-Like Substance in Brain Trigger Appetite Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help |
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Comment #7 posted by Kevin Hebert on May 14, 2001 at 09:58:31 PT:
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| The only thing this article shows is that real, natural cannabis needs to be legalized as medicine, because the fake stuff isn't working. What garbage. [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #6 posted by John Markes on May 14, 2001 at 08:44:04 PT |
| It is more than unfortunate that the researchers at Mayo fail to mention that Megestrol Acetate, while it has a known and proven effect on appietite, it is also a very dangerous negative partitioning agent. It was found in the studies of Megestrol that all of the calories consumed while taking the drug were stored as fat. No lean body tissue was gained and know extention of life was found to occur. In fact the fat gained is stored disproportionately, resulting in a condition called Lipodystrophy. This has resulted in the need for many patients to have plastic surgery to correct the problem. It was also unfortunate that they used a pill based form called Marinol as their "Marijuana derivative." How does a patient keep a slow-to-digest pill down while nauseated or throwing up. There is a simple process available to make cannibinoids quickly available in a water-soluble pill. Of course there is always the cannibis plant itself, free to grow, though illegal. Studies have proven its effectiveness, but an independent university study has shown that the legalization/regulation and useage of medical marijuana threatens 20 percent of the pharmacutical markets' profits. How sad that researchers sacrifice their integrity for pharmacutical sponsors profits. This waste of human lives is no different than the Aztecs ripping out the living hearts of people to ensure the sun rose the next day. [ Post Comment ] |
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Comment #5 posted by lookinside on May 13, 2001 at 12:17:02 PT:
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| they don't realize that after 70 years of lying, their credibility is slightly suspect... [ Post Comment ] |
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Comment #4 posted by Ethan Russo, MD on May 13, 2001 at 12:01:42 PT:
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| Note carefully, this was information presented at a conference. It is unlikely it will even generate a new publication, and if it were published, there would be a collective yawn in the scientific community. As Observer has already ably demonstrated (thanks for the plug!), it is clear that cannabis is more effective than Marinol. The Journal of Cannabis Therapeutics vol.1, #1 has an excellent article by Musty and Rossi examining the results of state-sponsored studies (heretofore suppressed!) demonstrating marked benefit of cannabis on appetite in cancer. The next issue 1(3-4) has an in-depth examination by McPartland (and me) of all the other players in herbal cannabis: 6 other cannabinoids, more than a dozen terpenoids in the essential oil, and a few odd flavonoids and a phytosterol, all of which contribute important anti-inflammatory, anti-emetic and other useful effects. As we suggest, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. This is herbal synergy at work. The current article, in contrast, is more guilt by association than anything else. It provides little light in the current murk. [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #3 posted by FoM on May 13, 2001 at 11:19:44 PT |
| I spend my free time learning about HCV these days and I posted this article on my ezboard. Smoking in my opinion is less toxic to the liver then many FDA approved drugs. Observer I posted the little page I made about Dr. Russo's book. Handbook of Psychotropic Herbs Serious Liver Injury - FDA - May 2001 [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #2 posted by observer on May 13, 2001 at 10:32:59 PT |
| Is some information missing here ... like the route of administraton? The obvious problems of oral administration when vomiting apply. They were mum on this so I would assume they are using Marinol (pills). Pills are hard to keep down when puking. Also, "dronabinol [Marinol], the marijuana derivative" isn't the same as an extract made from whole cannabis (taken orally), much less than smoked whole cannabis. It is not "the" derivatave, it is a derivative of cannabis. There are others. As pharmaceutical scientist Ethan Russo states, ``Cannabis is a mixture of myriad cannabinoids and essential oils that may contribute to its physiological effects. In addition, ratios of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD) are critical in observed medicinal activity.'' This study will be trumpeted as "proof" of marijuana's ineffectiveness, which, I suspect, is the whole point. We see this in breathless proclamations like: "But marijuana is not the cure, it seems," and: " Marijuana is known for giving smokers the munchies, but hopes . . . have largely been dashed." This is not to say that researchers can't eventually figure out how the combinations of cannabinoids in whole (smoked) cannabis work. Also, you'd think they might try giving patients the (monkey) Tween-80+ethanol+THC injections. (Or are those monkey studies so off base you'd never ethically do that to a person?) That would seem a patently obvious thing to try for vomiting. Aren't front-line treatments like compazine given by injection? (Which leads me to wonder, did the study "compare" injecton versus oral administration? For vomiting?!) Also, did the study compare the effectiveness of different agents, over time? For what length? Some of the treatments work at first, then fail after a short period. Did the study take this into account? [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #1 posted by J.R. Bob Dobbs on May 13, 2001 at 10:10:24 PT |
| >>A standard treatment from Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. was more effective than a marijuana derivative and the two worked no better in combination, the study showed... But marijuana is not the cure, it seems. ``It's disappointing,'' she added of the results.<< No. Saying "marijuana is not the cure" when you're using a marijuana derivative is what is disappointing. Obviously, whole smoked cannabis works for a lot of people for this, as many reputable scientific studies show. What's also disappointing is that this seems like another excuse to continue to arrest people for cannabis. When whole smoked cannabis is available without a prescription, the drug companies won't have the financial incentive to try to make a "derivative" which they can patent and profit from... so they need to continue prohibiting sick people from trying to feel better naturally, until they can come up with some artificial substitute which makes the GOVERNMENT happy! Oh, and it should work on the patient, too...but obviously the government is who they're trying to please first and foremost! [ Post Comment ] |
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