Researchers from the University of South Carolina believe they have found a new medical use for tetrahydrocarbocannabinol (THC) , the active principle in cannabis, which would add to others already established clinically as the relief of nausea and vomiting in cancer patients undergoing to chemotherapy or the treatment of chronic pain.
As explained in the Journal of Biological Chemistry , THC would affect histones , fundamental proteins in the so-called epigenetic processes, that is, when changes in the environment or our habits activate or deactivate the expression of certain genes.
Specifically, the substance present in marijuana would "turn off" the switch of the genes responsible for the immune response that causes diseases such as arthritis, lupus, multiple sclerosis and others in which inflammation plays a decisive role.
