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Israeli researcher develops cannabis compound with unique anti-cancer action
(David Brinn, Israel21c, June 12, 2005)
Whether or not the potential medical benefits of marijuana outweigh the dangers is a long-debated issue and currently a political hot potato. . . . A recent Israeli breakthrough adds a new twist: a 25-year old Hebrew University doctoral student has developed a derivative of the cannabis plant which has been shown to be effective in arresting cancerous growths in laboratory and animal tests. . . . Kogan's accomplishment involved developing new compounds - known as quinonoid cannabinoids - that her research has shown to parallel in their activity a group of anti-cancer drugs, the best known of which is daunomycin. . . . "Quinonoid cannabinoids are derived from hashish - but when they go through an oxidation process, they takes on the chemical structure of anti-cancer drugs like daunomycin," Kogan told ISRAEL21c. . . . However, while daunomycin is toxic to the heart, Kogan, with Dr. Ronen Beeri and Dr. Gergana Marincheva of Hadassah University Hospital, Ein Kerem, found that the quinonoid cannabinoids are much less cardiotoxic. . . . The combination of the development of quinonoid compounds that display anticancer activity, but are less toxic, is a major therapeutic accomplishment, according the Kaye Prize board. . . . All of the compounds synthesized by Kogan inhibited cancer cell growth in cell culture, and one of them was found to markedly reduce the volume of tumors in studies on mice. The cannabinoid quinones were found to act through a rather unique pathway of cancer cell destruction - by specific inhibition of topoisomerase II, an enzyme that participates in cell replication. . . . "We synthesized the compound, and went into the lab to research what it does to cancer cells and discovered it was able to kill cancer cells in vitro," said Kogan. . . . "We then injected cancer cells into mice, they were administered the cannabinoids. We measured the tumor diameters and found that they were half as big as the tumors in the mice in the control group." . . . Additionally, the most active compound in the series developed by Kogan, as well as some other cannabinoids, were found by Kogan and Prof. Ruth Galilli of the Hebrew University to have anti-angiogenic properties. Angiogenesis, the process of new blood vessel formation, is crucial for tumor growth, and much effort has been invested by researchers in the development of compounds with anti-angiogenic activity. . . . "Basically, we found that our compound attacked tumors from two directions. It can kill cancer cells themselves - by inhibiting tan enzyme that participates in cell replication. And from the other sides, we saw that the compound arrested blood cell formation. When someone has a tumor, it needs an oxygen supply and nutrients to grow - with out it, the tumor won't develop by itself. The compound was able to inhibit these angiogenic properties," said Kogan. . . . According to Kogan, the fact that the compounds have anti-cancer properties and are more selective and potent than standard chemotherapy drugs, increases their potential for use in new anti-cancer drugs. . . . "Almost every pharmaceutical in the world uses the active ingredients in cannabis as a basis for existing drugs and those under development," Mechoulam told Globes. . . . Kogan's prize comes amid the backdrop of the Supreme Court decision last week allows for terminally ill patients who smoke marijuana to alleviate pain to be prosecuted for violating federal drug laws, even if their own state laws allow them to use marijuana for medical purposes.

posted by LoZo 6:53 AM