Endocannabinoids News and Research

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Researchers discover enzyme in the brain that acts like switch to turn off obesity

You've tried all the diets. No matter: you've still regained the weight you lost, even though you ate well and you exercised regularly! This may be due to a particular enzyme in the brain: the alpha/beta hydrolase domain-6 enzyme, better known as ABHD6.

27 Oct 2016

Study offers clues to help develop new treatments for cannabis use disorder

A new paper in Biological Psychiatry reports that chronic cannabis users have reduced levels of an enzyme called fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH).

25 Oct 2016

Exercise can increase endocannabinoid levels even under chronic sleep loss

A research group at Uppsala University has investigated how levels of endocannabinoids - which target the same receptors as cannabis - are affected by short sleep duration, and whether acute exercise can modulate this effect.

27 Sep 2016

Endogenous cannabinoid plays crucial role in activating spermatozoa for fertilization

During fertilization, a sperm must first fuse with the plasma membrane and then penetrate the female egg in order to penetrate it.

30 Aug 2016

New study reveals conversion of oral cannabidiol to THC by acidic fluids in the stomach

A new study demonstrating the conversion of oral cannabidiol (CBD) to the psychoactive component tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) in the presence of gastric fluids could explain why children given CBD to treat epilepsy had an unexpectedly high rate of adverse effects such as sleepiness and fatigue.

22 Jun 2016

Study reveals brain mechanism involved in switching between habitual behavior and decision-making

Not all habits are bad. Some are even necessary. It's a good thing, for example, that we can find our way home on "autopilot" or wash our hands without having to ponder every step. But inability to switch from acting habitually to acting in a deliberate way can underlie addiction and obsessive compulsive disorders.

27 May 2016

Vanderbilt study offers a glimmer of hope to alcoholics suffering from depression

A study by researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center is offering a glimmer of hope to alcoholics who find it hard to remain sober because their abstinence is hounded by stubborn, difficult-to-treat depression.

1 Feb 2016

Liver's cannabinoid receptors could be targeted to combat liver cancer in some patients

A new study reveals that the liver's cannabinoid receptors could be targeted to fight liver cancer in some patients; and it offers a way to predict what treatments have the best chance of working.

23 Nov 2015

Love hormone may enhance pleasure of social interactions, UCI study finds

The hormone oxytocin, which has been associated with interpersonal bonding, may enhance the pleasure of social interactions by stimulating production of marijuana-like neurotransmitters in the brain, according to a University of California, Irvine study.

27 Oct 2015

Endocannabinoids can affect development of baby's pancreas

According to the latest research results from the Medical University of Vienna, endocannabinoids, cannabis-like substances produced by the body itself, can affect the development of a baby's pancreas. The study also highlights the importance of diet during pregnancy for the foetal pancreas to form.

23 Oct 2015

Cannabinoid receptors of the brain control aversive memories that are crucial for survival

Memory is not a simple box of souvenirs; it is also, and most importantly, a safety system for organisms. With the help of negative memories, known as "aversive" memories, we can avoid a threat that we have already confronted. Researchers from Inserm and University of Bordeaux have just discovered that the cannabinoid receptors of the brain control these memories that are crucial for survival.

26 Sep 2015

Northwestern University researchers identify molecular difference in male and female brains

Male and female brains operate differently at a molecular level, a Northwestern University research team reports in a new study of a brain region involved in learning and memory, responses to stress and epilepsy.

13 Aug 2015

TSRI scientists devise powerful set of chemical methods to explore protein biology

Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have devised a powerful set of chemical methods for exploring the biology of proteins.

22 Jun 2015

New Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research journal to be launched in fall 2015

Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research, a new peer-reviewed, open access journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers, is the only journal dedicated to the scientific, medical, and psychosocial exploration of clinical cannabis, cannabinoids, and the biochemical mechanisms of endocannabinoids.

25 Apr 2015

New approach can prevent chronic marijuana use, relieve mood, anxiety disorders

Replenishing the supply of a molecule that normally activates cannabinoid receptors in the brain could relieve mood and anxiety disorders and enable some people to quit using marijuana, a Vanderbilt University study suggests.

2 Dec 2014

FABP5 protein enhances cognitive function

Case Western Reserve researchers have discovered that a protein previously implicated in disease plays such a positive role in learning and memory that it may someday contribute to cures of cognitive impairments.

5 May 2014

GW Pharmaceuticals starts Phase 1b/2a clinical trial for Recurrent Glioblastoma Multiforme

GW Pharmaceuticals plc a biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering, developing and commercializing novel therapeutics from its proprietary cannabinoid product platform, announced today it has commenced a Phase 1b/2a clinical trial for the treatment of Recurrent Glioblastoma Multiforme.

11 Nov 2013

Tel Aviv University researchers find chemicals in marijuana could help treat MS

Multiple sclerosis is an inflammatory disease in which the immune system attacks the nervous system. The result can be a wide range of debilitating motor, physical, and mental problems. No one knows why people get the disease or how to treat it.

8 Oct 2013

Vanderbilt University scientists discover new approach to treating mood, anxiety disorders

Chemically modified inhibitors of the COX-2 enzyme relieve anxiety behaviors in mice by activating natural "endocannabinoids" without gastrointestinal side effects, Vanderbilt University scientists will report next week.

5 Aug 2013

Researchers discover connection between CB1 receptors and PTSD

In a first-of-its-kind effort to illuminate the biochemical impact of trauma, researchers at NYU Langone Medical Center have discovered a connection between the quantity of cannabinoid receptors in the human brain, known as CB1 receptors, and post-traumatic stress disorder, the chronic, disabling condition that can plague trauma victims with flashbacks, nightmares and emotional instability.

14 May 2013