With public viewpoints in the United States changing positively regarding the use of medical cannabis, researchers are studying how this controlled and regulated drug can work for treating a variety of diseases. In particular, one disease being studied now is myasthenia gravis (MG). Researchers are finding marijuana for myasthenia gravis is useful to treat a wide range of symptoms that come with the disease. If you’d like to buy the Marijuana Strains for Myasthenia Gravis, use marijuana delivery to your home.
Can Cannabis Help Myasthenia Gravis?
Humans have used cannabis as a medicine for thousands of years. However, it became illegal during the 20th century and is just beginning to regain its reputation as a healing herb. Proponents claim that cannabis can help with a wide range of physical and psychological complaints. One of these is myasthenia gravis.
It appears that cannabis could help myasthenia gravis by regulating activity in the nervous system. It does this by producing compounds known as cannabinoids, including THC and CBD. Both THC and CBD have beneficial properties. They influence a physiological system known as the endocannabinoid system (ECS) to produce various effects on the body and mind.
However, THC and CBD both affect the ECS in very different ways. THC primarily binds with receptors called CB1 receptors, which are prominent in the brain and nervous system. CBD, on the other hand, exerts most of its effects on CB2 receptors, which are highly concentrated in immune cells.
How and Why Marijuana Is an Effective Treatment for Myasthenia Gravis
Medical weed, like anticholinesterase agents, can inhibit acetylcholinesterase, the enzyme that’s responsible for acetylcholine degradation. By hindering acetylcholinesterase, there’s more time for acetylcholine to interact with its receptor before its turnover or breakdown. This can help overcome the blocked receptor that causes muscle contractions.
Multiple cannabinoids have been shown to be effective at increasing the levels of acetylcholine and slowing the turnover of acetylcholine. One study published in Molecular Pharmaceutics found that THC, the primary cannabinoid in pot, hindered acetylcholinesterase completely and raised the neurotransmitter levels. Other studies reported by Lycæum showed CBD’s and THC’s effectiveness at reducing the turnover rate of acetylcholine.
The pharmacological effects of CBDs are due to their CBD receptor activation. The effects of CBDs on neurotransmitter transporters and enzymes appear to be caused by a mechanism other than CBD receptor activation — however, researchers don’t completely understand the exact method yet.
Cannabis and Myasthenia Gravis Symptoms
MG causes severe weakness in a variety of body parts. It can be a more generalized or localized disease that causes rapid fatigue and weakness.
Prevents myasthenia crisis.Cannabis can help with the severe form of MG, known as myasthenia crisis. It relaxes your muscles, so you’re able to avoid an overexertion-related myasthenia crisis.
Treats pain and stress.Marijuana also relieves the stress and pain the condition causes and how they exacerbate MG. Marijuana dispensaries sell edibles and concentrates to avoid stressing the respiratory system. You don’t have to inhale them for MG treatment. It also makes it possible for you to use the treatment more discreetly.
Helps with depression symptoms.Many people who are suffering from a chronic medical disease develop depression, which can be extremely debilitating, keeping you from reaching out to those you need the most for help.
Symptoms of depression may include:
- Magnified sadness
- A lack of joy
- Loss of interest in daily life
- Feelings of isolation and emptiness
- Loss of appetite
- Difficulty in making decisions
- Sleep disturbances — insomnia or oversleeping
- Suicidal thoughts
- Gloominess
Since your body and mind are closely connected, depression can worsen your MG. It’s important to work at overcoming your depression to improve your overall quality of life and health.
Helps improve speech.A dose of THC-A cannabis can lead to rapid improvement in speech for MG sufferers.
Helps wean usage of other medications. Cannabis oil helps you deal with the symptoms of autoimmune diseases. After trying cannabis oil, one patient was able to wean her prednisone medication to 5 mg from 10 mg every other day within a few weeks. She experienced no withdrawal symptoms and was able to completely stop using prednisone after two months.
Helps improve quality of life.The same patient noted above was also able to live a good quality of life free of harmful steroid medications and adverse side effects. Cannabis oil also helped the patient’s other body parts, such as her bones, skin, eyes, hormones and PMS pain.
MG is a chronic disease, but it’s manageable. Medical weed is a solution free of side effects for pain and muscle tension related to this condition.
Best Strains of Marijuana to Use to Treat Myasthenia Gravis
Various cannabis strains help with different MG symptoms like pain, fatigue, stress, muscle tension and depression. Below are only some of the many strains that will provide you with relief from your MG symptoms. Speak to your budtender or medical marijuana doctor about which strain or strains will provide you with the most benefits.
- Blue Dream (hybrid): Blue Dream helps treat the pain, stress and depression that are often associated with MG.
- Green Crack (Sativa): Green Crack is a good strain for relieving not only pain and depression, but it also works well for fatigue.
- Sour Diesel (Sativa): Another helpful strain for stress relief. Works well on depression and fatigue.
- Mr. Nice (Indica):This strain works well for muscle tension. It’s a very relaxing strain.
- Tessa (Indica):A great strain for anything muscle-related.
- Granddaddy Purple (Indica): Beneficial for pain, stress and lack of appetite.
- Cheese (hybrid): Another great strain if depression is affecting your appetite.
Find these and many other helpful medical marijuana strains to tackle your symptoms of MG and improve your quality of life. Search for a medical marijuana dispensary or doctor to get your prescription.
What is Myasthenia Gravis?
MG is an autoimmune disease that makes your muscles weak. Its name was originated from Latin and Greek words that mean “grave muscle weakness.” However, in many cases, the disease isn’t as “grave” as the name suggests, and most patients with MG can live normal lives.
The myasthenia gravis condition results from an insufficient amount of acetylcholine receptors on your postsynaptic membrane. This results in muscle weakness. Both acquired and congenital forms of MG occur in cats, dogs and humans.
MG is a disorder of the space between your muscles and nerves known as the neuromuscular junction. The nerve responds to an electrical signal and releases neurotransmitters crossing this area to activate your muscle movements.
Because MG is an autoimmune disorder, it causes your immune system to attack itself. Because of this, your receptors to acetylcholine neurotransmitters are reduced in function and number. Since your muscle doesn’t receive the appropriate signals when you have MG, you experience weakness in your muscles.
History of Myasthenia Gravis
The journal Neuromuscular Disorder, reported by the National Institutes of Health, provides an early timeline of the history of MG. MG was first recognized by a 17th-century Oxford physician named Thomas Willis, who considered it as a distinct clinical entity.
In 1877, a London physician, Samuel Wilks, wrote the first modern description. Around the end of the 19th century, primary diseases of the muscles and diseases caused by muscle denervation were studied by English, German and French physicians.
Samuel Goldflam of Warsaw and Wilhelm Erb of Heidelberg published the first full descriptions of the disorder. Willis’ account and the 19th-century MG literature reveal the influence of German neuropathologists and physicians in the early comprehension of the disease. Doctors described the development of etiology, pathology and therapy of the condition in the first half of the 20th century.
Symptoms of Myasthenia Gravis
Although MG can affect any skeletal muscle, the muscles that control your eyelid and eye movement, swallowing and facial expression are most affected. The disorder may come on suddenly, and its symptoms are often not recognized immediately as MG.
Often, weakness of your eye muscles is the first noticeable symptom. Sometimes, slurred speech and difficulty swallowing may be the first symptoms to emerge. Each individual is unique in the degree of their muscle weakness in MG, and it can range from ocular myasthenia — localized form limited to the muscles of your eye — to a generalized or severe form where it affects many of your muscles, including the muscles that control your breathing.
While there is currently no cure for MG, treatment can help relieve signs and symptoms, such as:
- Weakness of arm or leg muscles
- Double vision
- Drooping eyelids
- Difficulties with speech
- Chewing
- Swallowing
- Breathing
The disease incidence is usually around three to 30 cases per million per year and continues to rise as a result of increased awareness.
There are factors that can trigger or worsen MG exacerbations, including:
- Surgery
- Emotional stress
- Bright sunlight
- Current illness (e.g., viral infection)
- Immunization
- Menstruation
- Medication (e.g., ciprofloxacin, aminoglycosides, procaine, chloroquine, lithium, procainamide, beta-blockers and statins)
Your physician will arrive at an MG diagnosis through asking you about your symptoms and conducting a physical and neurological exam. Specific tests your doctor may perform include:
- Checking for muscle weakness
- Testing your reflexes
- Looking at your muscle tone
- Studying your muscle coordination
- Examining your eye movement
- Testing your body sensations
- Monitoring your motor functions, such as touching your finger to your nose
- Conducting imaging tests of the chest, such as CT scans or an MRI, to check for a tumor
- Performing a repetitive nerve stimulation test
- Testing your blood for antibodies correlated with MG
- Conducting a tensilon test
- Testing your lung function
Your physician may perform a single fiber electromyography, or EMG, if other tests fail to lead to a myasthenia gravis diagnosis. The EMG is considered to be one of the most sensitive tests for MG and can be beneficial in diagnosing even mild cases of MG.
Effects of Myasthenia Gravis
Although MG complications are treatable, some could be life-threatening.
Complications associated with MG may include:
- A life-threatening condition, known as myasthenic crisis, that can affect your breathing. This requires immediate treatment so you can breathe on your own.
- Thymus tumors, although not typically cancerous, occur in approximately 15 percent of individuals with MG.
- An overactive or underactive thyroid and lupus, rheumatoid arthritis and other autoimmune disorders.
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