How do metabolic diseases arise?

Many diseases arise from a metabolic problem and are divided into two types:

1. Diseases in which there is a deficiency of a certain compound in the body

Scurvy disease, for example, is caused by a deficiency of vitamin C; This vitamin is used in the process of building tissues in the body, especially connective tissues; Vitamin C deficiency disrupts the construction of connective tissues and consequently to tissue loosening, haemorrhages, skin, and bone problems and more.

Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) is essential for the formation, growth, and repair of bone, skin, and connective tissue (which binds other tissues and organs together and includes tendons, ligaments, and blood vessels). It is also essential for the normal function of blood vessels. Vitamin C helps maintain healthy teeth and gums. It helps the body absorb iron, which is needed to make red blood cells. Vitamin C also helps burns and wounds heal. Good sources of vitamin C include citrus fruits, tomatoes, potatoes, broccoli, strawberries, and sweet peppers.

Like vitamin E, vitamin C is an antioxidant: It protects cells against damage by free radicals, which are by-products of normal cell activity and which participate in chemical reactions within cells. Some of these reactions can cause cellular damage.

Rickets is caused by a deficiency in vitamin D. This vitamin is used in the bone-building process, and its deficiency disrupts their construction; The patients’ bones are soft, fragile, and subject to deities. Such metabolic diseases can usually be cured by the consumption of the missing compound.

2. Diseases in which the body is unable to break down a certain compound

These hereditary diseases are often caused by the genetic deficiency of a particular enzyme responsible for breaking down the relevant compound. Patients suffering from phenylketonuria, for example, are unable to break down the amino acid phenylalanine. This amino acid accumulates in different places in the body, especially in the brain, causing severe disruption.

Such metabolic diseases are not usually curable, since there is almost no way to make the body’s cells produce enzymes. The treatment of these diseases is based on avoiding the consumption of compounds that the body is unable to metabolize, or on artificially inserting the enzyme into the body.

Metabolic Diseases that may be found to be effective by CBD treatment

Diabetes Mellitus

The best-known metabolic disease; Diabetes mellitus, is characterized by a high concentration of glucose in the blood and sometimes also in urine. Diabetes is caused by difficulty in producing insulin in the pancreas. Diabetic patients suffer from two opposite end states a state of excess blood glucose (hyperglycemia), which is usually generated from an insufficient amount of insulin in the blood, and a condition of a minority of blood glucose (hypoglycemia) that is usually caused by too much insulin in the blood. In Israel, about 90% of patients with diabetes have type 2 diabetes, and about 10% of type 1 diabetes is the fourth most common cause of death.

Type 1 diabetes

Autoimmune disease is in which the body destroys the beta cells in the pancreas responsible for the production of insulin. It is estimated that this is a combination of hereditary (genetic) predisposition along with environmental circumstances. The specific environmental circumstances leading to the outbreak of the disease have not yet been properly clarified, although it is assumed that diet, toxins in the environment, and living in high mental stress are among the main causes of the disease.

About 10% of diabetics suffer from this type, which was also known as “juvenile diabetes” and “insulin-dependent diabetes.” The bulk of the performance is in patients under the age of 30, especially immediately before school and again in adolescence. It is customary to divide type 1 diabetes into two types that differ in the presence of proof of an autoimmune reaction (i.e. the reaction of the body’s defence systems against itself):

Type A1 There is evidence of antibodies against pancreatic beta-cell components.

Type B1 is found primarily in Hispanics and African-Americans. The immune system includes a humorous response (antibodies) and a cellular response (T cells). The reason why T cells (white blood cells) attack and destroy beta cells is not entirely clear and the development of the disease cannot be prevented. Therefore, type 1 diabetes is an incurable chronic disease, and its treatment requires continuous daily monitoring of the patient’s blood glucose level using a glucose meter (glucometer), and insulin injection using subcutaneous injections or an insulin pump.

CBD as a treatment of Diabetes

Type 1 diabetes has many symptoms ranging from gout syndrome, infectious skin, cardiovascular disease, kidney complications, vision loss, and nervous system damage. Diabetes is defined as an autoimmune disease, making CBD a natural and safe option in the treatment and regulation of various systems related to the disease.

This information led the researchers to experiment with mice that had experimental type 1 diabetes. In mice treated with CBD, the development of the disease was delayed. At the same time, a decrease in leukocytes (white cells) was found within the pancreas. Furthermore, the study showed not only a decrease in inflammatory activity in the pancreas but also a decrease in the frequency of diabetes symptoms itself. This is great news for the future of human studies and progress in the field.

In another 2016 study, the researchers showed that one of the pharmacological properties of CBD is increased insulin production in the pancreas. CBD may help diabetics reach sufficient insulin levels to break down excess blood glucose.

Read more…

• The Endocannabinoid System and plant-derived cannabinoids in diabetes and diabetic complications

• Experimental cannabidiol treatment reduces early pancreatic inflammation in type 1 diabetes

• Cannabinoids and endocannabinoids in metabolic disorders with a focus on diabetes

• Cannabinoid-mediated modulation of neuropathic pain and microglial accumulation in a model of murine type I diabetic peripheral neuropathic pain

• Cannabidiol arrests onset of autoimmune diabetes in NOD mice

• Neuroprotective and blood-retinal barrier-preserving effects of cannabidiol in experimental diabetes

• The Impact of Marijuana Use on Glucose, Insulin, and Insulin Resistance among US Adults

Diabetic Cardiomyopathy

Heart muscle disease is caused by diabetics. The disease can lead to the inability of the heart to pump the blood in the body effectively, a condition known as heart failure with the accumulation of fluid in the lungs or legs. Most cases of heart failure in diabetics are due to coronary heart disease and the use of the term diabetic cardiomyopathy takes place only in cases where there is no coronary heart disease.

CBD for the treatment of Diabetic Cardiomyopathy

The accumulated studies indicate the ability of cannabidiol to relieve and assist in cases of cardiac dysfunction by weakening cardiac fibrosis i.e. turning muscle cells into connective tissue (scar) cells. The antioxidant properties of CBD, the anti-anxiety, anti-inflammatory effect, and the prevention of beta-cell death caused by diabetes, all of these add to its action great effectiveness. The high safety profile of CBD and the lack of dependence that may develop as a result of continuous use of CBD indicates the properties of CBD in the treatment of complications and heart diseases caused by diabetes.

Cannabidiol attenuates cardiac dysfunction, oxidative stress, fibrosis, and inflammatory and cell death signalling pathways in diabetic cardiomyopathy

Retinopathy (Diabetic Retinopathy)

Diabetes is the main cause of blindness in the Western world. High sugar levels cause retinal destruction and degeneration in the structure of the blood vessels inside it. Recent studies show CBD can soothe and relieve inflammation and diseases in the retina of the eye.

Diabetic retinopathy: Role of inflammation and potential therapies for anti-inflammation

Neuropathic pain (damage to the hyphen nerves) as a result of diabetes

Damage to the cells of the nervous system is common in diabetics. Damage to the regularity of the bloodstream causes a feeling of physical disability, especially in the extremities. Symptoms can include chronic pain, tingling, numbness, temperature sensitivity, balance problems, and extreme sensitivity in contact with objects. CBD can relieve and assist pain sufferers in the peripheral nervous system thanks to its ability to reduce the formation of distorted proteins that accumulate on and around nervous system cells due to inefficient blood flow.

Beneficial effects of a Cannabis sativa extract treatment on diabetes-induced neuropathy and oxidative stress

Diabetic Nephropathy

A complication of diabetes causes a decrease in kidney function to a state of terminal renal failure. Since the endocannabinoid system [ECM] is involved in the homeostasis of energy and fats, it is possible to assume that it would also affect kidney function and indeed the destruction of the kidneys in diabetes is associated with the dysfunction of the ECM. An increase in the expression of the CB1 receptor and GPR55 receptor in the tubular cells close to the core in the kidney is caused by an increase in glucose and albumin concentrations. This is the diabetic status. CBD blocks the GPR55 receptor and this is probably one of the mechanisms of action that explains the medical effect of CBD on the kidney.

Metabolic Syndrome

Metabolic syndrome is a backlog of symptoms that increase the chances of developing type 2 diabetes or cardiovascular disease. Its characteristics are abdominal obesity, hypertension, high levels of triglycerides in the blood or low levels of HDL in the blood, and fasting hyperglycemia. How it happens: Adamity tissue releases a large amount of free fatty acids. In the liver, the free fatty acids cause increased glucose and triglycerides and increased secretion of VLDL (very-low-density lipoprotein). In this situation, there is a decrease in HDL and an increase in LDL.

Free fatty acids lower insulin sensitivity in muscles. An increase in glucose concentration and free fatty acid levels leads to increased secretion of insulin in the pancreas, leading to hyperinsulinemia that contributes to hypertension.

The risk factors for metabolic syndrome are:

A diet rich in empty carbohydrates (without minerals, vitamins, and active dietary fibre) causes an increase in the production of fatty acid and triglycerides in the liver, abdominal obesity, passive lifestyle without physical activity, age, diabetes, coronary heart disease, hypogonadism (lack of testosterone). Medications: glucocorticoids (anti-inflammatory steroids) and especially prolonged use. Sensitivity to metabolic syndrome will be in patients who also suffer from:

• Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

• Mental disorders such as ADHD and slashing (schizophrenia)

• Fibromyalgia patients

CBD as a treatment of Metabolic Syndrome

A healthy lifestyle and a change in dietary habits are an indispensable necessity in the treatment of the syndrome but so far it is still customary to treat medication for the disease – against each symptom individually. The drug Rimonabant which is a unique inhibitor of the CB1 receptor which has been tried as anti-appetite and obesity was taken off the shelves shortly after it was discovered that its side effects were numerous and severe and included depression and suicidality.

In contrast, CBD can suppress increased appetite without all the same side effects. As a result of the being CBD agonist of the PPARγ receptors, it helps differentiate adipocytes (fat cells). CBD has Immuno-modulatory effects and slows the development of atherosclerosis and cardiovascular and heart disease as a result of an increase in blood glucose levels.

CBD has also been found effective in treating ischemic heart disease that is from the known complications of metabolic syndrome.

The potential use of cannabidiol in the therapy of metabolic syndrome

Gout, Podagra Gout

Chronic arthritis resulting from metabolic disruption in the body manifests itself in an increase in uric acid levels in the blood, a condition called hyperuricemia. The damage to the patient is caused when over the years this acid accumulates in the joints, and then arthritis is formed there, or in the kidneys, where it forms stones. A variety of anecdotal reports indicate that CBD has a positive effect on patients with this disease, reducing inflammation and soothing pain.

Fibrosis

A pathological process of creating connective tissue in the organ or tissue as an attempt by the body to repair itself from damage caused by bruising, inflammation, and more. The main cell in this process is the fibroblast that is attracted to the site of the damage and begins the construction of connective tissue rich in collagen fibres, also called a scar.

Since the body cannot restore the tissue as it was, the new tissue will have a different texture and quality than the surrounding tissue, which has a considerably negative effect on the functioning of the affected organ. It can form between the organs in the form of adhesions that press on different organs and can cause, for example, intestinal blocking or fallopian tubes.

Fibrosis can occur at different places and organs in the body

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis is a disease in which lung tissue is replaced with connective tissue for an unknown reason. There is no cure for the disease and it ends with the need for a lung transplant. Cystic Fibrosis – The recurrent infections in the lung cause lung tissue destruction that is replaced with connective tissue. Medications for the treatment of the lungs are amiodarone, bleomycin, nitrofurantoin.

Alcohol or fatty liver hepatitis begins a process in which liver cells are replaced by connective tissue until cirrhosis develops. In myocardial infarction, connective tissue replaces necrotic heart muscle tissue. This tissue is inactive and if it is large enough heart failure develops. In harming the integrity of the skin, the connective tissue is formed at the site of the injury – a scar. Sometimes the scar is large and prominent.

Read more about CBD and its means of action in connective tissue regeneration:

Cannabinoids, inflammation, and fibrosis

Cannabidiol reduces airway inflammation and fibrosis in experimental allergic asthma

List of disorders and metabolic diseases

Betalippoproteinemia, ALD AectasiaHifondism, hypocholesterolemia, hyponatremia, hypocalcemia, hypercholesterolemia, hyperlipidemia, hyperphosphatemia, hyperkalemia, hypercalcemia, hemochromatosis, water poisoning, dehydration. Lack of MTHFR deficiency in alpha 1 antitrypsin, metabolic acidification. Type 1 glycogen retention disease, type 2 glycogen retention disease, Batten’s disease, Wilson’s disease, Neiman-Pick’s disease, Krava disease, heatstroke. Baras Syndrome. Cystic fibrosis. Cystic Fibrosis and amyloidosis. Porphyria. Family Mediterranean fever. Lactose sensitivity. Gout. Gilbert syndrome, Dobbin Johnson syndrome, metabolic syndrome, tumour breakdown syndrome, fish stench syndrome, Kriegler Najer syndrome, sub-absorption of fructose, sub-phosphorus in the blood.