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(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- As scientists search for new ways to manage patients pain, depression, anxiety and obesity, they focus on the cannabinoid system, a set of proteins that regulate appetite, inflammation, memory and pain. New research at the Scripps Research Institute leads to the discovery of a new painkilling chemical pathway.
The body has chemicals known as endocannabinoids that naturally activate the cannabinoid receptors the same way that marijuana kills pain by activating those receptors.
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Scientists have focused on two endocannabinoid chemicals -- N-arachidonoyl ethanolamine (AEA) and 2-arachidonoylyglycerol (2-AG) -- to develop new treatments. Previous research has helped them understand AEAs activity, but until now, specific methods to study 2-AG have been lacking, researchers said.
For this project, researchers developed about 200 compounds in an attempt to block an enzyme called monoacylglycerol lipase (MAGL). If the enzyme is blocked, it would allow 2-AG to build up, thereby reducing pain.
Out of the 200 compounds, the Scripps researchers found one that was a highly effective block for MAGL. When the new compound, which scientists dubbed JZL184, inhibited MAGL, the resulting increase in 2-AG reduced pain in mice. It also induced other effects associated with cannabinoid receptors, including hypothermia and decreased movement.
The researchers said this discovery could be helpful in managing many different types of pain.
SOURCE: From the paper Selective blockade of 2-arachidonoylyglycerol hydrolysis produces cannabinoid behavioral effects, released by the Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, California.
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