What if it was possible to inhibit the side effects linked to cannabinoids? A review of various scientific articles explores this interesting possibility in the face of, for example, the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder or the syndrome of the fragile X chromosome or Martin-Bell syndrome (the second most frequent genetic cause of intellectual disability after Down syndrome). .
A team of researchers, including the head of the Neuropharmacology Unit at Pompeu Fabra University (Spain), Rafael Maldonado, has reviewed articles about the importance of the endocannabinoid system in the processes of anxiety, fear and stress, exposing it as an admissible treatment for the aforementioned pathologies . And it is that the endocannabinoid system acts in all regions of the brain involved in these processes. To begin with, an increase in the brain activity of this system reduces anxiety (the key receptor would be CB1R).
The active substance in cannabis, tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), has also been shown to inhibit the feeling of fear (CB1R and CB2R receptors). Thus, if the toxic effects of marijuana could be eliminated, it could serve as an effective treatment for people suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder or even illnesses as damaging as fragile X syndrome.
Through proper use of exogenous cannabinoids, the endocannabinoid system could not only help treat fear and anxiety, but also stress, since the brain is generally affected by high stress situations and the CB1R receptor would be decisive to control this alteration.
According to the work, the importance of the endocannabinoid system in human neuronal function is more than evident ; you just have to find a way to solve the problem of the harmful effects of compounds such as cannabis to open a new therapeutic path.
The study has been published in the journal Nature Reviews Neuroscience.
