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Synthetic Cannabinoid (synthetic + cannabinoid)

Distribution by Scientific Domains
Medical Sciences60%

Selected Abstracts

The Use of a Synthetic Cannabinoid in the Management of Treatment-Resistant Nightmares in Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

CNS: NEUROSCIENCE AND THERAPEUTICS, Issue 1 2009
George A. Fraser
This is the report of an open label clinical trial to evaluate the effects of nabilone, an endocannabinoid receptor agonist, on treatment-resistant nightmares in patients diagnosed with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Methods: Charts of 47 patients diagnosed with PTSD and having continuing nightmares in spite of conventional antidepressants and hypnotics were reviewed after adjunctive treatment with nabilone was initiated. These patients had been referred to a psychiatric specialist outpatient clinic between 2004 and 2006. The majority of patients (72%) receiving nabilone experienced either cessation of nightmares or a significant reduction in nightmare intensity. Subjective improvement in sleep time, the quality of sleep, and the reduction of daytime flashbacks and nightsweats were also noted by some patients. The results of this study indicate the potential benefits of nabilone, a synthetic cannabinoid, in patients with PTSD experiencing poor control of nightmares with standard pharmacotherapy. This is the first report of the use of nabilone (Cesamet; Valeant Canada, Ltd., Montreal, Canada) for the management of treatment-resistant nightmares in PTSD. [source]

The CB1 Cannabinoid Receptor Agonist, HU-210, Reduces Levodopa-Induced Rotations in 6-Hydroxydopamine-Lesioned Rats

BASIC AND CLINICAL PHARMACOLOGY & TOXICOLOGY, Issue 2 2003
Yossi Gilgun-Sherki
However, several other neurotransmitters, such as serotonin, ,-amino-butyric acid and glutamate, are also related to the symptoms of Parkinson's disease patients and their response to levodopa treatment. The co-expression of cannabinoid and dopamine receptors in the basal ganglia suggests a potential role for endocannabinoids in the control of voluntary movement in Parkinson's disease. In the present study we treated unilaterally 2,4,5-trihydroxyphenethylamine (6-hydroxydopamine)-lesioned rats with the enantiomers of the synthetic cannabinoid 7-hydroxy-,6 -tetrahydrocannabinol 1,1-dimethylheptyl. Treatment with its (,), (3R, 4R) enantiomer (code-name HU-210), a potent cannabinoid receptor type 1 agonist, reduced the rotations induced by levodopa/carbidopa or apomorphine by 34% and 44%, respectively. In contrast, treatment with the (+), (3S, 4S) enantiomer (code-name HU-211), an N-methyl-D-aspartate antagonist, as well as the psychotropically inactive cannabis constituent: cannabidiol and its primary metabolite, 7-hydroxy-cannabinol, did not show any reduction of rotational behavior. Our results indicate that activation of the CB1 stimulates the dopaminergic system ipsilaterally to the lesion, and may have implications in the treatment of Parkinson's disease. [source]

Acute hypertension reveals depressor and vasodilator effects of cannabinoids in conscious rats

BRITISH JOURNAL OF PHARMACOLOGY, Issue 1 2009
W-S Vanessa Ho
Background and purpose:, The cardiovascular effects of cannabinoids can be influenced by anaesthesia and can differ in chronic hypertension, but the extent to which they are influenced by acute hypertension in conscious animals has not been determined. Experimental approach:, We examined cardiovascular responses to intravenous administration of anandamide and the synthetic cannabinoid, (R)-(+)-[2,3-dihydro-5-methyl-3-(4-morpholinylmethyl)pyrrolo[1,2,3-de]-1,4-benzoxazin-6-yl]-1-naphthalenylmethanone (WIN55212-2), in conscious male Wistar rats made acutely hypertensive by infusion of angiotensin II (AII) and arginine vasopressin (AVP). Rats were chronically instrumented for measurement of arterial blood pressure and vascular conductances in the renal, mesenteric and hindquarters beds. Key results:, Anandamide dose-dependently decreased the mean arterial blood pressure of rats made hypertensive by AII-AVP infusion, but not normotensive rats. Interestingly, acute hypertension also revealed a hypotensive response to WIN55212-2, which caused hypertension in normotensive animals. The enhanced depressor effects of the cannabinoids in acute hypertension were associated with increased vasodilatation in hindquarters, renal and mesenteric vascular beds. Treatment with URB597, which inhibits anandamide degradation by fatty acid amide hydrolase, potentiated the depressor and mesenteric vasodilator responses to anandamide. Furthermore, haemodynamic responses to WIN55212-2, but not to anandamide, were attenuated by the CB1 receptor antagonist, AM251 [N-(piperidin-1-yl)-5-(4-iodophenyl)-1-(2,4-dichlorophen yl)-4-methyl-1H-pyrazole-3-carboxamide]. Conclusions and implications:, These results broadly support the literature showing that the cardiovascular effects of cannabinoids can be exaggerated in hypertension, but highlight the involvement of non-CB1 receptor-mediated mechanisms in the actions of anandamide. [source]

The Use of a Synthetic Cannabinoid in the Management of Treatment-Resistant Nightmares in Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

CNS: NEUROSCIENCE AND THERAPEUTICS, Issue 1 2009
George A. Fraser
This is the report of an open label clinical trial to evaluate the effects of nabilone, an endocannabinoid receptor agonist, on treatment-resistant nightmares in patients diagnosed with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Methods: Charts of 47 patients diagnosed with PTSD and having continuing nightmares in spite of conventional antidepressants and hypnotics were reviewed after adjunctive treatment with nabilone was initiated. These patients had been referred to a psychiatric specialist outpatient clinic between 2004 and 2006. The majority of patients (72%) receiving nabilone experienced either cessation of nightmares or a significant reduction in nightmare intensity. Subjective improvement in sleep time, the quality of sleep, and the reduction of daytime flashbacks and nightsweats were also noted by some patients. The results of this study indicate the potential benefits of nabilone, a synthetic cannabinoid, in patients with PTSD experiencing poor control of nightmares with standard pharmacotherapy. This is the first report of the use of nabilone (Cesamet; Valeant Canada, Ltd., Montreal, Canada) for the management of treatment-resistant nightmares in PTSD. [source]

Cannabinoid control of neuroinflammation related to multiple sclerosis

BRITISH JOURNAL OF PHARMACOLOGY, Issue 5 2007
D Baker
The cannabis plant (Cannabis sativa) has been known by many names but the question remains ,Can we call it medicine?' There has been renewed interest in the value of cannabis for the control of neuroinflammatory conditions such as multiple sclerosis, where it has been shown to have some effect on spasticity and pain both experimentally and in clinical trials in humans. However, in addition to symptom control potential, the question remains whether cannabinoids can modify the neuroinflammatory element which drives relapsing neurological attacks and the accumulation of progressive disability. In experimental studies it has been recently shown that synthetic cannabinoids can affect the immune response both indirectly via CB1 receptor-mediated signalling nerve centres controlling the systemic release of immunosuppressive molecules and directly by CB2 receptor-mediated inhibition of lymphocyte and macrophage/microglial cell function. However, these immunosuppressive possibilities that would limit the frequency of relapsing attacks will probably not be realized clinically, following use of medical cannabis, due to dose constraints. However, cannabinoids may still affect the glial response within the damaged central nervous system, which facilitate the slow, neurodegenerative processes that account for progressive neurodegeneration, and therefore may have utility in addition to value of cannabis-related drugs for symptom control. British Journal of Pharmacology (2007) 152, 649,654; doi:10.1038/sj.bjp.0707458; published online 24 September 2007 [source]