Close X
Thursday, November 14, 2024
ADVT 
Health

Regulation of brain molecule could help marijuana addicts

Darpan News Desk IANS, 02 Dec, 2014 12:51 PM
    A natural molecule that activates cannabinoid receptors in the brain could relieve mood and anxiety disorders and enable some people to quit using marijuana, a promising research by an Indian-origin scientist says.
     
    Cannabinoid receptors are normally activated by compounds in the brain called endocannabinoids, the most abundant of which is 2-AG.
     
    They are also "turned on" by an active ingredient of marijuana.
     
    For the study, principal investigator Sachin Patel and his colleagues from the Vanderbilt University in the US developed a genetically-modified mouse with impaired ability to produce 2-AG in the brain.
     
    The mice exhibited anxiety-like behaviour and female mice also displayed behaviour suggestive of depression.
     
    When an enzyme that normally breaks down 2-AG was blocked, and the supply of the endocannabinoid was restored to normal levels, these behaviour patterns were reversed.
     
    "If further research confirms that some people who are anxious and depressed have low levels of 2-AG, this method of normalising 2-AG deficiency could represent a viable therapeutic strategy for the treatment of mood and anxiety disorders," Patel, a professor of psychiatry, molecular physiology and biophysics, said.
     
    Relief from tension and anxiety is the most common reason cited for chronic marijuana use.
     
    "Thus, restoring depleted levels of 2-AG also could be a way to help people using marijuana," Patel added.
     
    The paper appeared online in the journal Cell Reports.

    MORE Health ARTICLES

    Walnuts can slow down prostate cancer growth

    Walnuts can slow down prostate cancer growth
    “While they (walnuts) are high in fat, their fat does not drive prostate cancer growth. In fact, walnuts do just the opposite when fed to mice,” lead scientist and....

    Walnuts can slow down prostate cancer growth

    Tiny needles hold promise for two key eye diseases

    Tiny needles hold promise for two key eye diseases
    Needles too tiny to be seen with naked eyes can soon deliver drugs to specific areas relevant to two of the world's leading eye diseases - glaucoma and corneal....

    Tiny needles hold promise for two key eye diseases

    New Alzheimer's-related memory disorder found

    New Alzheimer's-related memory disorder found
    Alzheimer's disease now has a new cousin as an international team of researchers has determined criteria for a new neurological disorder called....

    New Alzheimer's-related memory disorder found

    Canada To Do Clinical Trial Of Ebola Vaccine, Far Away From Ebola Researchers

    Canada To Do Clinical Trial Of Ebola Vaccine, Far Away From Ebola Researchers
    TORONTO — A clinical trial of the made-in-Canada Ebola vaccine will be conducted in this country, Health Canada and the Public Health Agency of Canada announced Friday.

    Canada To Do Clinical Trial Of Ebola Vaccine, Far Away From Ebola Researchers

    Sloppy Contact Lens Use Is Driving More 1 Million Eye Infections Each Year

    Sloppy Contact Lens Use Is Driving More 1 Million Eye Infections Each Year
    NEW YORK — A new government report says sloppy care of contact lenses is a main reason for hundreds of thousands of eye infections each year.

    Sloppy Contact Lens Use Is Driving More 1 Million Eye Infections Each Year

    Phone use may lead to brain cancer

    Phone use may lead to brain cancer
    The longer someone talks over the phone - in terms of hours and years - the more likely is he/she to develop glioma, a deadly form of brain cancer, says a new study....

    Phone use may lead to brain cancer