New Progress in THC / Brain Mapping
December 3rd, 2008 by Perry
Some parts of marijuana talk tend to get a bit dry and “science-y” for my tastes, but this Science Daily article talks about exciting chemical progress in marijuana’s active ingredients which could one day lead to a new type of smoke-less medication.
Separate from the already available Dronabinol, Marinol (THC pill) or edible marijuana products, the findings from Scripps Research Kellogg School of Science & Technology uses a chemical reaction which naturally occurs in our body’s cannabinoid receptors, also regulating appetite, inflammation and memory loss.
Basically, they’ve identified and mapped a chemical pathway, at least in mice, that can imitate the effects of THC.
The research uses the body’s naturally producing endocannabinoids, N-arachidonoyl ethanolamine (AEA) and 2-arachidonoylglycerol (2-AG) which react with THC, to see if they can chemically stimulate the receptors without THC.
While these reactions have been well documented for years, efforts to specifically study the relationship in a useful manner has been lacking until recently. The breakthrough that made this current step possible is Activity-Based Protein Profiling, a proprietary chemical technique that has been used successfully on other inhibitor hunts.
The benefits? One day the fruits of all these in-depth efforts could lead to the deveopment of treatments for chronic pain, anxiety, depression and even obesity.
