An American biotechnology company says it has unlocked a medical cannabis mechanism of action in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).
San Francisco-based Cannformatics today announced its identification of 22 new potential lipid-based Cannabis-Responsive biomarkers in the saliva of ASD children.
According to Cannformatics, all 22 biomarkers shifted toward the physiological range of typically developing children after treatment with medical cannabis.
Among the biomarkers are central nervous system lipids usually linked to the brain’s cellular activity, which Cannformatics says indicates medical cannabis’ potential to impact neuron function in children with ASD.
Cannformatics says the discoveries continue its progress toward starting a personalized medicine service for healthcare providers and patients who want to use medical cannabis to treat complex medical conditions.
“By unlocking medical cannabis’ mechanism of action, we demonstrate that Cannabis-Responsive biomarkers can provide life science companies and clinicians with new tools for understanding the role of cannabis in maintaining homeostasis of the central nervous system in children with ASD,” says Cannformatics CEO Itshak Kurek, Ph.D. “This study also opens new opportunities to evaluate medical cannabis treatement in neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and ALS, in which some of these potential lipid-based Cannabis-Responsive biomarkers are known to play a role.”
Cannformatics published its findings, titled “The Potential of Salivary Lipid-Based Cannabis-Responsive Biomarkers to Evaluate Medical Cannabis Treatment in Children with ASD,” in the Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research journal.
The paper is the second that Cannformatics has published in the past few months in its pilot study.
In December 2021, Cannformatics published a paper that it says established Cannabis-Responsive biomarkers as a means of measuring the efficacy of medical cannabis.
Cannformatics says that, together, the papers illustrate saliva-based Cannabis-Responsive biomarkers’ potential as tools for clinicians to treat patients with medical cannabis.
According to the company, the papers may also benefit life science companies working on new cannabinoid-based medicines and uses.
“The publishing of this second paper is a pivotal moment for Cannformatics as it fully validates our technology and clearly positions us as the biotechnology leader in medical cannabis treatment,” says Cannformatics Co-Founder Kenneth Epstein. “We continue to be grateful to the children and families that participated in the study, as well as our sponsors Canniatric and Whole Plant for Autism. The findings from this study went well beyond our expectations.”
