Buckingham, United Kingdom: The administration of the organic cannabinoid tetrahydrocannabivarin (THCV) is associated with positive metabolic effects that may potentially be beneficial to subjects with adult-onset diabetes, according to preclinical data published in the scientific journal Nutrition & Diabetes.

Investigators at the University of Buckingham in United Kingdom and the Institute for Biomolecular Chemistry in Italy assessed the effects of THCV administration on dietary-induced and genetically modified obese mice. Authors reported that although THCV administration did not significantly affect food intake or body weight gain in either of the models, it did produce several metabolically beneficial effects, including improved glucose tolerance, improved liver triglyceride levels, and increased insulin sensitivity.

Researchers concluded: "Based on these data, it can be suggested that THCV may be useful for the treatment of the metabolic syndrome and/or type 2 diabetes (adult onset diabetes), either alone or in combination with existing treatments. Given the reported benefits of another non-THC cannabinoid, CBD in type 1 diabetes, a CBD/THCV combination may be beneficial for different types of diabetes mellitus."

In May, Harvard Medical School researchers published observational data in The American Journal of Medicine reporting that subjects who regularly consume cannabis possessed favorable indices related to diabetic control as compared to occasional consumers or non-users of the substance. Separate observational trial data published in 2012 in the British Medical Journal previously reported that adults with a history of marijuana use had a lower prevalence of type 2 diabetes and possess a lower risk of contracting the disease than did those with no history of cannabis consumption.

For more information, please contact Paul Armentano, NORML Deputy Director, at: paul@norml.org. Full text of the study, "The cannabinoid delat-9-tetrahydrocannabivarin (THCV) ameliorates insulin sensitivity in two mouse models of obesity," appears in Nutrition & Diabetes.

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