Arrival and registration in the hotel lobby of the Eventhotel Pyramid

Welcome by the conference chairman and then introductory words. Univ. Prof. Dr. Otto-Michael Lesch is a specialist in psychiatry and psychotherapy and president of the Austrian society for addiction medicine as well as board member of the International Academy of Law and Mental Health.

Basic mechanisms of pain therapy

The importance of phyto molecules that can be used medically is great and will therefore be intensively researched ethnopharmacologically.

The nociception takes place via complex interlocking receptor systems, which perceive stimuli that are partly selective, partly concerted, transmitted to the central nervous system, and trigger a counter reaction there. In addition, the nervous system has neuronal synapses, which are also receptor-controlled, the ability to amplify or inhibit incoming signals via interneurons.

There are always many self-proclaimed experts on this topic, but they are mostly unfamiliar with psychiatric and psychological research on addiction. Since about 1980, especially two theories on addiction have been discussed ...

Lecture in english

Cells are not just simple building blocks, unconscious and static as bricks in a wall. Cells can detect what’s going on around them, and they can respond in real-time to cues from their neighboring cells and environment. At any moment, cells are sending and receiving millions of messages in the form of chemical signaling molecules and at any given moment there are over 10.000 biochemical reactions taking place inside each cell. One of the ways how cells communicate is also via cannabinoids.

Over 500 million years ago, a highly complex transmitter system developed in all vertebrates, which seems to be responsible for processing the perception of internal and external stimuli at the neurophysiological level and translating it into patterns of behavior. Survival-critical reactions, such as anxiety or stress, are regulated by an interaction of various receptors and their ligands, in particular the CB1 and CB2 receptors, in order to allow adaptation to changes in and out of the body.

Lecture in english

The discovery of the endocannabinoid system and its critical role in neurotransmission and homeostasis of the limbic system and other brain areas provide a rationale for utilization of properly formulated cannabis-based medicines in treatment of different neuropsychiatric conditions.

Lecture in english

The interest of researchers, the pharmaceutical industry and especially clinicians for treatment with cannabinoids (especially cannabidiol – CBD) and natural cannabis products (or medicinal grade cannabis – MGC, which also contains certain amounts of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol – THC) has increased enormously during the past decade. At the beginning there were just anecdotal reports about the benefits of these substances for use with children having resistant epilepsies and some other severe neurological conditions. Thereafter, afew open-label studies appeared on a small number of such children, confirming the efficacy of cannabidiol and MGC and today there are multicentre and randomised, double blind, placebo-controlled trials confirming these facts…

The general pain experience - its severity and intensity and the effectiveness of the treatments - depends on many psychological, cultural and personal factors.

The medical treatment of pain in gynecology is often inadequate and associated with a high rate of recurrence. The pain mechanisms can be very diverse and the patients often suffer from diffuse and poorly localized severe pain.

Discussion round with all speakers