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8 papers
This review describes compounds in medicinal mushrooms and how they work in lab and animal studies. It lists many possible effects, such as immune changes, anti-inflammatory and anticancer actions, and names key molecules like polysaccharides (β-glucans), terpenes, and fungal proteins. Most evidence so far comes from in vitro or animal…
THCV is a cannabis compound that does not cause the “high” linked to THC. In animal studies it lowered appetite, increased feelings of fullness, and raised energy use, and some small studies in people with type 2 diabetes found lower fasting blood sugar versus placebo. Researchers say these findings make…
This 2021 review looks at plant-derived cannabinoids as possible treatments for epilepsy. It focuses on four compounds — CBD, CBDV, Δ9-THCV and CBG — and reviews what is known about how they might work in the brain and what animal and human studies have shown. The authors say there is…
Polysaccharide-K (PSK, also called Krestin) is a mushroom extract widely used as an additive in cancer treatment in Asia, especially Japan. Studies over about 40 years report anti-tumor effects in laboratory experiments and in living organisms for several cancer types, but researchers say the exact ways PSK works are not…
Researchers reviewed about 300 studies and closely read 29 that tested how ketamine changes the brain at the molecular level in post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). They looked at short-term changes that happen while the drug is active and longer-term changes that can last after the drug is gone. Short-term changes…
Researchers gave a low dose of esketamine through an IV before general anesthesia to 200 adults having planned orthopedic surgery. They compared 100 people who got esketamine with 100 who got a saline placebo. The esketamine group showed smaller rises in inflammatory proteins after surgery, higher levels of antibodies, less…
This review looked at 47 completed clinical trials of cannabinoids (mainly THC and CBD) for brain and nerve conditions. Some trials showed benefits for symptoms like spasticity in multiple sclerosis and for certain forms of epilepsy, but results for pain were mixed. The authors say the evidence is promising but…
