We all know that certain strains of marijuana make us hungrier than others, so this may seem like common sense, but this is a real disease that can be treated with cannabis as medicine.
A new study has been published out of Italy with the effects of cannabis on patients who suffer from anorexia nervosa. The study is suggesting that the use of cannabis will help the eating disorder. We all know that certain strains of marijuana make us hungrier than others, so this may seem like common sense, but this is a real disease that can be treated with cannabis as medicine. We hope that more studies like this surface and get people the help they need, by medicating naturally.
Impairments in the endocannabinoid system in the brain could play an important role in the development of anorexia nervosa, say Italian researchers, who report findings that point to novel cannabis-based therapeutic strategies for the eating disorder.
In a mouse model of anorexia, the team found not only that the density of cannabinoid receptors was significantly reduced in areas associated with appetite but also that administration of receptor agonists led to increases in body weight and a reduction in interest in exercise.
Roberto Collu, a PhD student in the Division of Neuroscience and Clinical Pharmacology at the University of Calgiari, Italy, told delegates here at the 29th European College of Neuropsychopharmacology (ECNP) Congress that “pharmacological therapies based on drugs that modulate endocannabinoid system signaling might be useful in the treatment of anorexia nervosa.”
Collu began his presentation by noting that although the neurobiology of anorexia nervosa is complex and multifactorial, “it’s clear that dysregulation of appetite-regulating hormones is associated with an alteration of neurotransmitter activity, like the dopaminergic system, but also that an alteration of reward processes seems to contribute to the onset and to the development of this pathology.”
He said that the endocannabinoid system is an “important” neuromodulator system involved in regulating both the homeostatic and hedonic aspects of eating behavior and that the cannabinoid type 1 (CB1) receptor is expressed in particular in the hypothalamus, which is the “key center” for the homeostatic regulation of feeding.
Activity-based anorexia involves a combination of diet restriction and physical activity that induces an alteration of the behavioral condition and the dysregulation of endocrine function that is similar to the human form of anorexia nervosa.
Administration of the natural CB1/CB2 receptor agents delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) at a dose of 0.75 mg/kg led to significant increases in body weight after 6 days. There were also early significant increases in food intake and significant reductions in daily RWA. THC administration was also associated with significant increases in leptin levels in comparison with baseline.
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