The search for a vaccine for the new coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, or indeed a medicinal drug to cure it, has taken researchers down both traditional and less traditional avenues.
They have looked at existing drug candidates, such as remdesivir, which was original developed to treat Ebola. In Germany, the first clinical trials for a coronavirus vaccine are based on a candidate developed for cancer immunology.
There’s a study out of France that suggests nicotine — typically ingested via the often-lethal pastime of smoking — may protect people against the novel coronavirus, itself a potentially fatal lung infection.
And, now, research is emerging out of Canada that certain strains of the psychoactive drug cannabis may also increase resistance to the coronavirus. In fact, if the study can be verified, it would appear that cannabis works in a similar way to nicotine.
“The results on COVID-19 came from our studies on arthritis, Crohn’s disease, cancer and others,” says Dr. Igor Kovalchuck, a professor of Biological Sciences at the University of Lethbridge, in an email to DW.
Read more: Cannabis in Thailand: How far will the green gold rush go?
Blocking gateways
As with the research into nicotine’s effect on the coronavirus, it is thought that some strains of cannabis reduce the virus’ ability to enter the lungs, where it takes hold, reproduces and spreads.
In a paper on preprints.org, where scientists can publish non-peer-reviewed results, Kovalchuck and colleagues write that their specially developed strains of cannabis effectively stop the virus from entering the human body.
The coronavirus needs a “receptor” to enter a human host. That receptor is known as an “angiotensin-converting enzyme II,” or ACE2.
ACE2 is found in lung tissue, in oral and nasal mucus, in the kidneys, testes, and gastrointestinal tracts, they write.
And the theory is that by modulating ACE2 levels in those “gateways” to the human host, it may be possible to lower our susceptibility, or vulnerability, to the virus. It could basically reduce our risk of infection.
“If there’s no ACE2 on tissues, the virus will not enter,” says Kovalchuck.
Dr. Igor Kovalchuk, cannabis researcher at the University of Lethbridge, Alberta, and co-founder of Inplanta Biotechnology
No common or garden cannabis
Some in the science community say medicinal cannabis may help to treat a range of conditions from nausea to dementia. But medicinal cannabis is not the same as what you might call recreational cannabis.
Those more “common or garden varieties” of cannabis — or street cannabis — are known for their Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) content. That’s the main psychoactive…
Source: https://mmpconnect.com/coronavirus-the-tide-is-coming-for-medicinal-cannabis/
