Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) is a lifelong condition that often begins between the ages of 15 and 30 and includes chronic pain as a major symptom. Treatment options are limited because NSAIDs and opioids have adverse effects. Although anecdotal repo...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Cannabidiol has been reported to be a neuroprotectant, but the neuroprotective mechanism of cannabidiol remains unclear. We studied the neuroprotective mechanism of cannabidiol in 4-hour middle cerebral artery (MCA) occlusion mice. METHODS: Male MCA occluded mice were treated with cannabidiol, abnormal cannabidiol, anandamide, methanandamide, cannabidiol plus capsazepine, and cannabidiol plus WAY100135 before and 3 hours after MCA occlusion. The infarct size was determined after 24 hours (2,3,5-triphenyltetrazolium chloride staining). Cerebral blood flow (CBF) was measured at, before and 1, 2, 3, and 4 hours after MCA occlusion. RESULTS: Cannabidiol significantly reduced the infarct volume induced by MCA occlusion in a bell-shaped curve. Similarly, abnormal cannabidiol but not anandamide or methanandamide reduced the infarct volume. Moreover, the neuroprotective effect of cannabidiol was inhibited by WAY100135, a serotonin 5-hydroxytriptamine1A (5-HT1A) receptor antagonist but not c...

Cannabis use has been associated with deficits in prefrontal- cortex dependent cognitive processes in humans. We have previously shown that acute administration of Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) produces deficits in reversal learning (REV) and the ability to shift attention within a perceptual dimension (intradimensional shift, IDS) in an attentional set shifting task (ASST) (Egerton et al., Program No. 110.15 2003 Abstract viewer/Itinerary Planner. Washington, DC: Society for Neuroscience). However, the human literature suggests that cannabis-induced cognitive deficits are more apparent following chronic use. We therefore employed the ASST to test the hypothesis that a chronic intermittent THC treatment regime would lead to deficits in executive function that were different from those induced by acute treatment. Long Evans hooded rats were administered THC (1mg/kg i.p.) or vehicle once per week for 4 weeks and tested in the ASST 30 minutes after the last dose of THC or vehicle. Chronic intermittent THC pro...

Numerous CNS processes, including neurotransmitter synthesis, gene expression, and cellular proliferation are controlled by neurotransmitters acting through second messenger systems that phosphorylate the transcription factor cyclic AMP response element-binding protein (CREB). Several converging lines of evidence indicate that drug of abuse may exert their profound long-term effects on the CNS by modulating signaling pathways controlling gene expression. Cannabinoids produce locomotor effects that include hypolocomotion, ataxia and catalepsy mediated by CB1 cannabinoids receptors located in motor control regions and cognitive impairment. Since there is evidence that cerebellum have a role not only in motor function but also in cognition, the purpose of the present study was to examine the effect of the Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ9-THC), the principal psychoactive component of marijuana, on the phosphorylation of CREB in rat cerebellum, which present an high density of cannabinoids CB1 receptors and to deter...

Chemotherapy patients report not only acute nausea and vomiting during the treatment itself, but also report anticipatory nausea and vomiting upon re-exposure to the cues associated with the treatment. We present a model of anticipatory nausea based on the emetic reactions of the Suncus murinus (musk shrew). Following three pairings of a novel distinctive contextual cue with the emetic effects of an injection of lithium chloride, the context acquired the potential to elicit conditioned retching in the absence of the toxin. The expression of this conditioned retching reaction was completely suppressed by pretreatment with each of the principal cannabinoids found in marijuana, δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol or cannabidiol, at a dose that did not suppress general activity. On the other hand, pretreatment with a dose of ondansetron (a 5-HT3 antagonist) that interferes with acute vomiting in this species, did not suppress the expression of conditioned retching during re-exposure to the lithium-paired context. These re...

The glycine receptors (GlyR) are inhibitory ligand-gated ion channels in the central nervous system that have roles in motor coordination, antinociception and reward mechanisms. The function of GlyRs can be modulated by various protein kinases, interact...

Drug use and feeding are both reinforced through powerful rewards of the dopaminergic system (Volkow and Wise, 2005). Particularly, early developmental processes seem to influence both the consumption of food and drug abuse later in life. For example, m...

Abstract: Problem statement: In Mexico, 30% of epileptic patients are resistant to drug treatment. (Perez Almengor., et; al, 2015). Given the low response to current anti-epileptic drugs (AEDs) for the control of drug-resistant epileptic seizures, the u...

Several pieces of evidence have shown that the non-psychoactive compound of marihuana, cannabidiol (CBD), displays wake-promoting properties. Our group has reported that central microinjections of CBD promotes wakefulness and decreases sleep in rats dur...

Cannabis plants have been used long ago as it is known to have a potential effect on the human nervous system. Recently used in neurological treatments showing great efficiency. Here, we describe an experiment using Male Wistar rats (n=9) where they wer...