---<br /> <br /> Scientists at UGA and UC, Irvine discover that the body's own marijuana-like compounds are crucial for stress-induced pain relief<br /> <br /> Athens, Ga. - A new study shows, for the first time, that the release of<br /> the body's own marijuana-like compounds is crucial to stress-induced <br /> analgesia - the body's way of initially shielding pain after a serious injury.<br /> <br /> The work, led by scientists at the University of Georgia and the University=<br /> =20<br /> of California, Irvine, may yield a target for new drug therapies that will=<br /> =20<br /> completely bypass the current arguments over the use of medical marijuana.=<br /> =20<br /> In theory, the new research makes it possible to design a pill that will=20<br /> have the same pain relieving effects as smoked marijuana, but through an=20<br /> indirect mechanism that could also reduce unwanted psychoactive side=20<br /> effects and not have the same political baggage.<br /> <br /> =93There is no prescription or over the counter drug that allows us to=20<br /> manipulate the level of the brain=92s marijuana-like compounds,=94 said=<br /> Andrea=20<br /> Hohmann, a neuroscientist in the department of psychology at the University=<br /> =20<br /> of Georgia and co-author of the paper. =93This is the first time anyone has=<br /> =20<br /> shown that one of the body=92s naturally occurring cannabinoids, a compound=<br /> =20<br /> known as 2-AG, has anything to do with pain regulation under natural=20<br /> conditions.=94<br /> <br /> The study was published today in the journal Nature.<br /> <br /> Hohmann=92s co-author, Daniele Piomelli at the University of=20<br /> California-Irvine, is the discoverer of a compound that blocks the=20<br /> breakdown of this marijuana-like compound called 2-AG, and it is that=20<br /> blocking compound, patented by UC-Irvine, that could become the new drug of=<br /> =20<br /> choice for those suffering from pain or stress conditions. Importantly, it=<br /> =20<br /> would not require people to smoke marijuana to obtain relief or wrestle=20<br /> with the legal issues surrounding the drug.<br /> <br /> Others from UGA involved in the study include faculty members Philip Holmes=<br /> =20<br /> and Jonathon Crystal and students Richard Suplita, Nathan Bolton and Mark=20<br /> Neely.<br /> <br /> Authors from UC-Irvine include Darren Fegley and Regina Mangieri, in=20<br /> addition to Piomelli. Other co-authors are Jocelyn Krey and Michael Walker=<br /> =20<br /> from Brown University; Andrea Duranti, Giorgio Tarzia and Andrea Tontini=20<br /> from the University of Urbino Carlo Bo in Italy; and Marco Mor from the=20<br /> University of Parma, also in Italy. All were crucial in designing and=20<br /> synthesizing the enzyme inhibitor.<br /> <br /> Scientists have long known that injured athletes or even gunshot victims=20<br /> have a period of time in which the body=92s pain reaction is delayed. This=<br /> =20<br /> effect is called =93stress-induced analgesia.=94 By the mid-1990s,=<br /> researchers=20<br /> had targeted the sites of action of the brain=92s naturally occurring=20<br /> marijuana-like compounds as having a crucial role in blocking pain, but no=<br /> =20<br /> one understood the conditions in which these compounds were released to=20<br /> block pain.<br /> <br /> Researchers along the way found out there are two kinds of stress-induced=20<br /> analgesia mechanisms, opioid and nonopioid (or =93opioid independent=94).=20<br /> Hohmann and colleagues discovered that the opioid-independent form was=20<br /> produced by release of the brain=92s own marijuana-like compounds.<br /> <br /> =93We showed that cannabinoid receptors were involved in this remarkable=20<br /> phenomenon,=94 said Hohmann, =93because blocking the receptors where=<br /> marijuana=20<br /> acts virtually erased this opioid-independent form of stress analgesia.=94<br /> <br /> If this is true, was there a compound that could also prolong the action of=<br /> =20<br /> these compounds, making them work better? The answer lay in Piomelli=92s=20<br /> pioneering work on inhibitors that break down the brain=92s own=20<br /> marijuana-like compounds.<br /> <br /> =93If we design chemicals that tweak the levels of these transmitter=20<br /> substances in the brain,=94 said Piomelli, =93we might be able to boost=<br /> their=20<br /> normal effects.=94<br /> <br /> When rats used in Hohmann=92s study were given the compound developed by=20<br /> Piomelli and his collaborators at the University of Urbino Carlo Bo and the=<br /> =20<br /> University of Parma, it increased stress-induced analgesia dramatically,=20<br /> proving the connection between pain suppression and the release of these=20<br /> marijuana-like compounds.<br /> <br /> The enzyme that inhibits the formation of the naturally occurring=20<br /> marijuana-like compound 2-AG is called monoacylglycerol lipase, and it is=20<br /> this enzyme that could be a target for therapeutic drug intervention to=20<br /> help those in pain.<br /> <br /> A new drug increasing the body=92s own marijuana-like compounds could work=<br /> =20<br /> similar to something like Prozac, which blocks the body=92s reuptake of the=<br /> =20<br /> compound serotonin, causing it to be active longer, Hohmann said.<br /> <br /> Apparently, several parts of the brain are involved in the effect, most=20<br /> notably a structure in the midbrain known as the periaqueductal gray. In=20<br /> this region, stress causes the release of the naturally occurring=20<br /> marijuana-like compounds in the brain.<br /> <br /> A drug derived from the new research would likely be more effective and=20<br /> specific than smoked marijuana, said Hohmann.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <Aurora Indica |  B52 |  Big Bud |  California Orange Bud |  Citral |  Four Way |  Haze |  Hindu Kush |  Indoor Mix |  Jock Horror |  K2 |  Maroc x Afghan |  Northern Light x Big Bud |  Northern Light x Haze |  Northern Light x Shiva |  Shiva |  Skunk #1 |  Skunk Red Hair |  Skunk Special |  Papaya |  White Rhino |  Haze 19 x Skunk |  Afghan |  Master Kush |  Northern Light |  Super Skunk |  Top 44 |  Durban Poison |  Early Bud |  Early Girl |  Early Misty |  Early Special |  Hawaii x Maui Waui |  Hawaii x Skunk #1 |  Hollands Hope |  KC 33 x Master Kush |  Mixed Sativa |  New Purple Power |  Swazi |  Swiss Miss |  Northern Bright |  Snow White (fem.) |  Supergirl |  Venus |  Wonder Woman |  Kaya |  PPP (fem.) |  Medusa |  Blue Mystic |  Chrystal |  Ice |  Misty |  PPP |  White Widow |  Nirvana Special |  White Rhino |  Snow White |  AK-48 |  Bubblelicious |  Silver Pearl |  Haze |  Jock Horror |  Northern Light x Haze |  White Rhino |  Haze 19 x Skunk |