THE ROLE OF CANNABIDIOL IN THE INFLAMMATORY PROCESS AND ITS PROPERTIES AS AN ALTERNATIVE THERAPY – A REVIEW (META-ANALYSIS)

Abstract Cannabis has been used as a medicinal plant for thousands of years in Asia. Numerous physical, psychological, and emotional benefits have been attributed to cannabis since its first reported use in 2,600 BC in a Chinese pharmacopoeia. Recent years have seen a resurgence in interest in the therapeutic potential of compounds derived from these plants, mainly the non-psychoactive compound cannabidiol (CBD). In this way, we seek to evaluate, through this present study, what has been published about CBD in the Pubmed / Medline database in the last two years (2019/2020) in relation to anxiety, depression, panic attack and dementia, as well as therapeutic dosages, results with significant values, side effects and others reported in the studies found.  The results were distributed in 4 tables. In the first, the types of publication were reported; in the second, the proposal for evaluation; in the third, the results with significance evaluated; and in the fourth the doses used. Although the majority of studies found are in the form of a review (55.3%), several studies in humans have shown promising results with the use of CBD in therapies. The treatments for anxiety and stress with CBD were the most evident accounting for 37.8% of the total studies found in table 2. The relationship of CBD in metabolic processes as inflammatory markers, activator of specific nuclear receptors and protein modulations was the second most evident item na tabela 2 with 11,1%. Cognitive processes and depression appear comes in sequence with 8.9% both. The results of significance values found in this study demonstrated a good acceptance in the treatment with CBD regarding anxiety and stress. With 70.6% of positive results in table 3, CBD appears as a promising option in the treatment of anxiety, stress and similar behaviors. Regarding depression, the results were slightly lower. With 66.6% positive results, depression can also be treated with CBD as an alternative therapy option. In dose used CBD administration are extremely diverse. The doses ranged from 25mg to 800mg depending on the time of administration and also the purpose of the therapy. Although the results presented in this study are promising, we need more information to be able to position ourselves on the efficiency of CBD in proposed treatments

Mitochondrial Metabolism, Dysfunctions in Senescence Cell and the Possible Interventions through Herbal Medicines

The mitochondria are the cell`s powerhouse. They are considered ubiquitous organelles of all eukaryotic cells, being responsible for the cell’s life and death cycle. Through stimuli in the environment in which they live, mitochondria can modulate their own biogenesis as well as signal retrograde to the nucleus to modify the structure of their proteins. Since the mitochondrial genome contains only 37 genes, much of the encoding of its proteins depends on the nuclear genome. Thus, the communication between mitochondria and the nucleus seems to be a target of science in understanding the pathologies associated with this organelle. Some medicinal herbs have been shown to influence mitochondrial biogenesis, such as Gynostemma pentaphyllun (GP) and berberine, which increase the phosphorylation of proteins AMPactivated protein kinase (AMPK). Just as GP and berberine phosphorylate AMPK in signaling for mitochondrial biogenesis, the sesquiterpene beta-caryophyllene (BCP) demonstrated positive results in reorganizing mitochondrial transcription factors, being an agonist of the peroxisome proliferatoractivated alpha receptor (PPAR-?). Another plant derivative, the non-psychoactive cannabinoid known as cannabidiol (CBD), has been showing control in the metabolism of calcium in the mitochondrial matrix. In this review, we seek to get a closer look at the biochemical mechanisms of action of some of these plants, as well as their synergies in the results of different treatments. In the view of oriental medicines, the use of associated medicinal herbs has always been part of their treatment protocols. However, the effectiveness of these treatments in relation to plant synergy can be observed in future clinical trials for better understanding

Transfer characteristics of a thermosensory synapse in Caenorhabditis elegans

Caenorhabditis elegans is a compact, attractive system for neural circuit analysis. An understanding of the functional dynamics of neural computation requires physiological analyses. We undertook the characterization of transfer at a central synapse in C. elegans by combining optical stimulation of targeted neurons with electrophysiological recordings. We show that the synapse between AFD and AIY, the first stage in the thermotactic circuit, exhibits excitatory, tonic, and graded release. We measured the linear range of the input-output curve and estimate the static synaptic gain as 0.056 (<0.1). Release showed no obvious facilitation or depression. Transmission at this synapse is peptidergic. The AFD/AIY synapse thus seems to have evolved for reliable transmission of a scaled-down temperature signal from AFD, enabling AIY to monitor and integrate temperature with other sensory input. Combining optogenetics with electrophysiology is a powerful way to analyze C. elegans’ neural function

Neighborhood Socioeconomic Deprivation and Mortality: NIH-AARP Diet and Health Study

Residing in deprived areas may increase risk of mortality beyond that explained by a person's own SES-related factors and lifestyle. The aim of this study was to examine the relation between neighborhood socioeconomic deprivation and all-cause, cancer- and cardiovascular disease (CVD)-specific mortality for men and women after accounting for education and other important person-level risk factors.In the longitudinal NIH-AARP Study, we analyzed data from healthy participants, ages 50-71 years at study baseline (1995-1996). Deaths (n = 33831) were identified through December 2005. Information on census tracts was obtained from the 2000 US Census. Cox models estimated hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for quintiles of neighborhood deprivation.Participants in the highest quintile of deprivation had elevated risks for overall mortality (HR(men) = 1.17, 95% CI: 1.10, 1.24; HR(women) = 1.13, 95% CI: 1.05, 1.22) and marginally increased risk for cancer deaths (HR(men) = 1.09, 95% CI: 1.00, 1.20; HR(women) = 1.09, 95% CI: 0.99, 1.22). CVD mortality associations appeared stronger in men (HR = 1.33, 95% CI: 1.19, 1.49) than women (HR = 1.18, 95% CI: 1.01, 1.38). There was no evidence of an effect modification by education.Higher neighborhood deprivation was associated with modest increases in all-cause, cancer- and CVD-mortality after accounting for many established risk factors

Meat and Components of Meat and the Risk of Bladder Cancer in the NIH-AARP Diet and Health Study

BACKGROUND: Meat could be involved in bladder carcinogenesis via multiple potentially carcinogenic meat-related compounds related to cooking and processing, including nitrate, nitrite, heterocyclic amines (HCAs), and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). The authors comprehensively investigated the association between meat and meat components and bladder cancer. METHODS: During 7 years of follow-up, 854 transitional cell bladder-cancer cases were identified among 300,933 men and women who had completed a validated food-frequency questionnaire in the large prospective NIH-AARP Diet and Health Study. The authors estimated intake of nitrate and nitrite from processed meat and HCAs and PAHs from cooked meat by using quantitative databases of measured values. Total dietary nitrate and nitrite were calculated based on literature values. RESULTS: The hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for red meat (HR for fifth quintile compared with first quintile, 1.22; 95% CI, 0.96-1.54; Ptrend = .07) and the HCA 2-amino-1 methyl-6-phenylimidazo(4,5-b)pyridine (PhIP) (HR, 1.19; 95% CI, 0.95-1.48; Ptrend = .06) conferred a borderline statistically significant increased risk of bladder cancer. Positive associations were observed in the top quintile for total dietary nitrite (HR, 1.28; 95% CI, 1.02-1.61; Ptrend = .06) and nitrate plus nitrite intake from processed meat (HR, 1.29; 95% CI, 1.00-1.67; Ptrend = .11). CONCLUSIONS: These findings provided modest support for an increased risk of bladder cancer with total dietary nitrite and nitrate plus nitrite from processed meat. Results also suggested a positive association between red meat and PhIP and bladder carcinogenesis

Diesel Exhaust Exposure and Cause-Specific Mortality in the Diesel Exhaust in Miners Study II (DEMS II) Cohort

BACKGROUND: With the exception of lung cancer, the health effects associated with diesel exhaust for other cancers and nonmalignant health outcomes are not well understood. OBJECTIVES: We extended the mortality follow-up of the Diesel Exhaust in Miners Study, a cohort study of 12,315 workers, by 18 y (ending 31 December 2015), more than doubling the number of observed deaths to n = 4,887, to evaluate associations between mortality and diesel exhaust exposure. METHODS: Quantitative estimates of historical exposure to respirable elemental carbon (REC), a surrogate for diesel exhaust, were created for all jobs, by year and facility, using measurements collected from each mine, as well as historical measurements. Standardized mortality ratios (SMRs) and hazard ratios (HRs) were estimated for the entire cohort and by worker location (surface, underground). RESULTS: We observed an excess of death for cancers of the lung, trachea, and bronchus (n = 409; SMR = 1:24; 95% CI: 1.13, 1.37). Among workers who ever worked underground, where the majority of diesel exposure occurred, excess deaths were evident for lung, trachea, and bronchus cancers (n = 266; SMR = 1:26; 95% CI: 1.11, 1.42). Several nonmalignant diseases were associated with excess mortality among workers ever-employed underground, including ischemic heart disease (SMR = 1:08; 95% CI: 1.00, 1.16), cerebrovascular disease (SMR = 1:22; 95% CI: 1.04, 1.43), and nonmalignant diseases of the respiratory system (SMR = 1:13; 95% CI: 1.01, 1.26). Continuous 15-y lagged cumulative REC exposure <1,280 lg/m3-y was associated with increased lung cancer risk (HR = 1:93; 95% CI: 1.24, 3.03), but the risk declined at the highest exposures (HR = 1:29; 95% CI: 0.74, 2.26). We also observed a significant trend in non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) risk with increasing 20-y lagged cumulative REC (HRTertile3 vs: Tertile1 = 3:12; 95% CI: 1.00, 9.79; p-trend = 0:031). DISCUSSION: Increased risks of lung cancer mortality observed in the original study were sustained. Observed associations between diesel exposure and risk of death from NHL and the excesses in deaths for diseases of the respiratory and cardiovascular system, including ischemic heart disease and cerebrovascular disease, warrant further study and provide evidence of the potential widespread public health impact of diesel exposure

Risk of renal cell carcinoma in relation to blood telomere length in a population-based case–control study

Background: There are few known risk factors for renal cell carcinoma (RCC). Two small hospital-based case–control studies suggested an association between short blood telomere length (TL) and increased RCC risk. Methods: We conducted a large population-based case–control study in two metropolitan regions of the United States comparing relative TL in DNA derived from peripheral blood samples from 891 RCC cases and 894 controls. Odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals were estimated using unconditional logistic regression in both unadjusted and adjusted models. Results: Median TL was 0.85 for both cases and controls (P=0.40), and no differences in RCC risk by quartiles of TL were observed. Results of analyses stratified by age, sex, race, tumour stage, and time from RCC diagnosis to blood collection were similarly null. In multivariate analyses among controls, increasing age and history of hypertension were associated with shorter TL (P<0.001 and P=0.07, respectively), and African Americans had longer TL than Caucasians (P<0.001). Conclusion: These data do not support the hypothesis that blood TL is associated with RCC. This population-based case–control study is, to our knowledge, the largest investigation to date of TL and RCC

Situating Speech: A Rhetorical Approach to Political Strategy

Ideas are increasingly acknowledged as factors in explaining political behaviour. But often they are treated as inert resources rather than dynamic instances of action in themselves. The latter, I propose, requires reflection on the character of speech – as the medium of ideas – in responding to and refiguring a prevailing situation. I undertake such reflection by setting out a rhetorical approach to political strategy. Building upon ‘interpretive’ advances in political science I shift the focus from stable cognitive frames to the dynamics of argumentation where ideas work expressively. I then explore the rhetorical aspect of strategising with attention to the way speech serves to orient audiences by creatively re-appropriating a situation. That approach is shown to be consistent with a ‘dialectical’ political sociology that emphasises the interaction of structure and agency. Finally, I sketch a method for undertaking rhetorical analysis and indicate how it might be applied to a concrete example

Risk of testicular germ-cell tumours in relation to childhood physical activity

The US Servicemen's Testicular Tumor Environmental and Endocrine Determinants (STEED) case–control study of testicular germ-cell tumours (TGCTs) enrolled participants and their mothers in 2002–2005. Hours of sports or vigorous childhood physical activity per week were ascertained for three time periods; 1st–5th grades, 6th–8th grades and 9th–12th grades. Son- and mother-reports were analysed separately and included 539 control son–mother pairs and 499 case son–mother pairs. Odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals were produced. The analysis of the sons' responses found no relationship between childhood physical activity and TGCT, while the mothers' analysis found an inverse association, which was solely due to nonseminoma. Future studies should seek to validate responses further using recorded information sources such as school records