The endocannabinoid system, which is the body’s system of natural cannabinoids, receptors that metabolize cannabinoids of any source, and enzymes that control that interaction, is one of the few body-wide systems that has direct interaction with both neurological and physiological disorders. A quick review of the Cornerstone blog yields a wealth of evidence of the endocannabinoid system influencing everything from general pain, to sleep, to neurological malfunction, to immune system regulation, psychological health, and much more. In February 2016, specifically, we wrote about the possibility of cannabinoids/cannabis being used to treat migraine headaches: Soothing Migraine Headaches with Cannabis Anecdotally, this study confirmed that medical cannabis patients experience relief from migraines in a large sample (121 people). However, at the time, little was understood about the potential cause of relief, as well as the ramifications of cannabinoid signaling on other body functions and systems. In July, the International Cannabis Research Symposium Journal published more information shedding light on additional research surrounding cannabinoids and migraines, as well as on the potential interaction with kynurenine, a receptor antagonist (blocker) related to glutamate, one of the main neurotransmitters in the central nervous system, which includes the brain. To review, migraine headaches affect roughly 16% of the population at different stages of life! This has yielded an estimated 18.4 billion euro cost to European healthcare a year, not to mention extreme decrease in quality of life for patients suffering from migraines. While researchers are still trying to pin down what exactly causes migraines, we can…
21 Aug
