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12 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…
Essential oils (EOs) are extracted from plants and contain active components with therapeutic effects. Evidence shows that various types of EOs have a wide range of health benefits. In our previous studies, the potential of lavender EO for prevention and even treatment of depression and anxiety symptoms was demonstrated. The…
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…
Researchers had 13 healthy adults take Hericium erinaceus powder every day for seven days. They tested blood with routine blood and serum chemistry tests and checked gut bacteria using 16S rRNA gene sequencing. After the week, the gut bacterial community showed higher within-sample diversity and higher levels of several bacteria…
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…
This paper reviews studies of genes and epigenetics in panic disorder. Family, twin, and adoption studies show panic disorder often runs in families. Researchers have found some candidate genes (for example NPY, ADORA2A, COMT, IKBKE), but panic disorder is not a single-gene disease. Large genome-wide studies did not find any…
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 paper reviews early evidence that raising body temperature in a controlled way — called whole-body hyperthermia — may affect brain problems seen in diseases like Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, Huntington's and in some cases of Long COVID. Heating the body to fever-like levels can boost special protective proteins (heat shock proteins),…
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…
