Cannabis offers hope to bowel disease sufferers

Patients suffering from inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) could help relieve some of the symptoms through the use of cannabis-derived drugs, researchers have claimed.

A study, published in the journal ‘Gastroenterology’, investigated the possibility that cannabis-derived drugs could help to heal the gut lining, which is damaged during the course of diseases such as Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis.

The diseases, which are often referred to under the umbrella term of IBD, can cause inflammation in different areas of the gastrointestinal tract.

The inflammation can cause pain, urgent diarrhoea, severe tiredness and weight loss. It is most commonly diagnosed in young adults between the age of 15 and 25 and affects between 90,000 and 180,000 people in the UK.

Researchers at the University of Bath investigated claims from IBD sufferers who use cannabis that their symptoms were alleviated following cannabis use.

Investigating the claims, Dr Karen Wright and Professor Steve Ward, from the University of Bath, along with colleagues at the Royal United Hospital, studied the interaction of cannabis with specific molecules, known as receptors, found on the surface of cells in the gut.

The team discovered that one type of receptor, known as CBI, present in healthy people, decreases in favour of another receptor, known as CB2, which increases in IBD sufferers as their disease progresses. Both receptors are known to be activated by the presence of molecules found in cannabis, and the researchers believe that the presence of the CB2 receptor only during the disease-state may be linked to its known role in suppression of the immune system, meaning it is part of the body’s natural mechanisms that attempt to restore the normal healthy state of the gut.

The team believes that this would make it an ideal candidate for the development of new cannabis-derived drugs to help IBD patients. The researchers also found that the CB1 receptor helps to promote wound healing in the lining of the gut.

Commenting on the findings, Dr Wright said: “This gives us the first evidence that very selective cannabis-derived treatments may be useful as future therapeutic strategies in the treatment of Crohn’s and ulcerative colitis.

“This is because some extracts from cannabis, known as cannabinoids, closely resemble molecules that occur naturally in our body and by developing treatments that target this system, we can help the body recover from some of the effects of these diseases.”

However, Dr Wright added: “The research shows that whilst cannabis use may have some benefits for patients with IBD, the psychoactive effects and the legal implications associated with herbal cannabis use make it unsuitable as a treatment. Targeting drug development to components of the in-built cannabinoid system could be the way forward.”

(KMcA/SP)