30 December 07 - 21:01
Interesting studies
Naturally Occurring Cannabinoids Trigger Feeding In New Born Mice
July 6, 2000 - Jerusalem, IsraelA scientist at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem has found that naturally occurring cannabinoids in newborn mice trigger feeding, and without these natural chemicals the animals frequently die within days of being born.
Cannabinoids are chemicals related to the active ingredient of cannabis that are produced naturally in the body.
Ester Fride, the scientist who conducted the study, injected newborn mice with a chemical that blocks cannabinoid receptors in the brain. None of these mice fed from their mothers and all either died within a week or developed slowly. Fride then treated the mice with enough of the active component of cannabis (delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol) to override the effects of the cannabinoid blocker and the mice developed normally.
"It seems that the pups (young mice) are completely unable to ingest food without endogenous cannabinoids," Fride said
Cannabis-Like Cream Effective Combating Pruritus, Study Says
Dec. 15, '05 - Wroclaw, PolandWroclaw, Poland: Application of a cannabis-like cream greatly reduces uremic pruritus (mild to severe itching as a result of kidney disease) and xerosis (abnormal dryness of the skin) in patients with end-stage renal failure, according to clinical trial data published this month.
Twenty-one hemodialysis patients participated in the trial, performed by Wroclaw, Poland's University of Medicine, Department of Dermatology. All the subjects applied the test cream, which contained
endocannabinoids (marijuana-like chemicals produced naturally in humans and animals that bind to the same receptors as do plant-derived cannabinoids such as THC), twice daily for a period of three weeks.At the completion of the study, pruritus was "completely eliminated" in 38 percent of the subjects and had been "significantly reduced" in several others during the trial period, authors found. Likewise, 81 percent of subjects experienced a "complete reduction" in xerosis after using the cream.
Currently, "no effective [prescription] treatment" exists for uremic pruritus, authors noted.
They concluded: "The test product appeared to be effective in reducing both pruritus and xerosis in hemodialysis patients. It is very probable that the observed decrease of pruritus with the test product therapy was not only the result of dry skin improvement but that the addition of endocannabinoids may have also played a role. These preliminary results are encouraging, however, additional controlled studies are needed to clarify the exact usefulness of [encocannabinoids] in therapy of uremic pruritus."
Marijuana Like Chemical Could Hold Key To Treating Movement Disorders
April 8, 1999 - Irvine, CA, USA
A marijuana like chemical produced naturally in the brain appears to help regulate body coordination and may hold hope for patients suffering from movement disorders like Parkinson's disease and schizophrenia.
Researchers at the University of California at Irvine announced that the brain's nerve cells use the chemical, called anandamide, to modify the effects of the neurotransmitter dopamine, which is responsible for stimulating movement and other motor behavior. Scientists believe that excessive dopamine production causes some symptoms of schizophrenia and the sudden spasms associated with Tourette's syndrome, while a lack of dopamine induces the tremors and movement hesitation characteristic of Parkinson's disease.
"This [study] shows for the first time how anandamide works in the brain to produce normal motor activity," Daniele Piomelli, an associate professor of pharmacology at UCI, said.
"Patients with schizophrenia and other diseases have reported that marijuana appears to relieve some of their symptoms, but scientists have never found a physiological reason why. By understanding how the anandamide system works similarly to marijuana, we can explore new ways to treat these [type of] diseases more effectively."
Previous research on anandamide, which was first identified in 1992, indicated that it inhibited inflammation and extreme sensitivity to pain without carrying the risks associated with the use of opiates. Scientists dub the chemical an "indigenous cannabinoid" because it binds to the same brain receptors as do compounds in marijuana.
Dr. Lester Grinspoon of Harvard Medical School called the UIC findings the "tip of the iceberg."
"Endogenous cannabinoids and their receptors will play a major role in the neurobiological understanding of the brain and, as a consequence, help us understand and treat a number of diseases," he said.
The findings of the UIC study appear in the April issue of the journal Nature Neuroscience.
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