Israeli company uses cannabis for women's health solutions
Sagiv says 'If we know how to target this endocannabinoid system… we will know how to treat these conditions'
Gynica, an Israel-based company, is looking to address several medical conditions in women’s health through the use of an unconventional treatment method - cannabis.
Dr. Sari Pruychi Sagiv, vice president of research and development at Gynica, sat down with i24NEWS to explain how women’s health concerns can be managed with the pharmacological use of cannabis.
“We know that for thousands of years, women have been using cannabis or cannabis extract for women’s health conditions such as painful menstruation,” Sagiv explained.
She said that evidence of using cannabis to treat women’s health conditions could be found in ancient China, Mesopotamia, and even by Queen Victoria.
Health conditions like difficult periods, painful sex, and endometriosis can be treated through cannabis-based solutions due to the endocannabinoid system, which is theorized to play a role in pain management.
“The endocannabinoid system is a network of receptors to endocannabinoids, which are substances like cannabinoids, like (the) cannabis that we produce ourselves,” Sagiv explained to i24NEWS.
She said that these endocannabinoids are important to women, and that a very high concentration of these receptors can be found in the uterus.
“If we know how to target this endocannabinoid system… we will know how to treat these conditions.”
Sagiv told i24NEWS that there are many different strains of cannabis with different distributions of active ingredients, adding “Our challenge at Gynica is to find (strains with) the optimal cannabinoids, the optimal combinations between them, and the optimal delivery system” in order to treat health conditions.