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Glaucoma
Nick Lane
The reason it works is that peroxynitrite is only formed when there's plenty of nitric Despite their emotive political and social oxide around, which in turn is formed via the context, clinical trials of cannabis extracts enzyme nitric oxide synthase – a calcium- dependent enzyme. Last October, Dr Melanie reports that marijuana lowers IOP date back Kelly PhD, and her colleagues at Dalhousie University, Canada, showed that cannabinoids remarkably little clinical progress since then.
inhibit calcium signalling in rat retinal ganglion cells.This in turn should block nitric oxide beginning to yield striking insights into Dr Song notes that glial cells – microglia Political pressure groups have made a big and astrocytes – in the optic nerve head also fuss about the benefits of marijuana smoking are many others working on related areas, selective cannabinoid agonists such as noladin like the pharmacology and cell biology of ether reduce IOP through their effect on the effect of cannabinoids on glial cells may treatment has been negligible.A 2002 study, endocannabinoid receptors in the trabecular parallel their effects on trabecular meshwork for example, showed that only five per cent neuroprotection, which is of course closely of more than 1000 consecutive patients who allied to glaucoma. I think we may well see a “By altering the dynamic properties of the glial cell adhesion, migration and activation,” complementary or alternative therapy at all.
“The endogenous cannabinoids seem to me far more Dr Song told EuroTimes.“That in turn means that the immune or inflammatory attack on important - they're critical to the regulation of a large Perhaps they were all put off by the highly number of physiological functions that underpin health and The question is what can be done about it publicised comments of researcher Dr Keith disease, and they might also be playing an important role cannabinoids has been less than salutary, that would need to smoke a joint every three or in degenerative conditions like glaucoma” four hours, for a total of around 3,500 a year, to keep their IOP under control. Clearly the George Kunos MD, PhD
long-term side effects – notably emphysema receptors do seem to play the largest role in and altered cognitive function – make this glaucoma.Topical applications of cannabinoids concurs.“I've been around for a while”, he meshwork cells,” he told EuroTimes.“CB1 and in the eye have a tendency to find their way confessed to EuroTimes.“Back in the early into the systemic circulation; and there is also progress, there's been a hive of activity in the 1980s I was there in the heyday of research cytoskeleton, causing the cells to 'round up' the threat of tolerance, at least with some of underworld of research. Back in the 1970s, there were a few hundred papers a year on lead to the reduction in IOP by increasing cannabinoids; last year, well over 6000.The more important – they're critical to the than one binding site on the CB1 receptor.
regulation of a large number of physiological This raises the possibility that some agonists marijuana to the molecular mechanics within functions that underpin health and disease, problem in glaucoma, and the real buzz about – the endocannabinoids and their receptors and they might also be playing an important the cannabinoid receptors is that they are necessarily causing the psychotropic side now hold most interest and potential.
glaucoma – the retinal ganglion cells, and the endocannabinoid receptors to be licensed in glial cells at the optic nerve head.This means The Holy Trinity
that targeting the cannabinoid receptors has endogenous cannabinoids, whose distribution There are two main classes of cannabinoid the potential to interfere with all three about the body is far from equal. Last month prongs of the glaucoma trinity – raised IOP, last year as an adjunct to diet and exercise receptors are found mostly in the central and his colleagues at Stanford University nervous system, and these are linked with the psychotropic side effects of cannabis.The The degeneration of retinal ganglion cells treatment of Parkinson's disease in Nature, periphery, notably in the immune system, but excitotoxicity, but the underlying cause is still are also found sparingly in the brain. In uncertain. One factor is the absorption of light by the abundant mitochondrial proteins underpin several utterly unexpected diseases, in the ganglion cells, converting them into Pharmaceuticals) that slows the enzymatic including osteoporosis, atherosclerosis and whose properties are as yet dimly perceived, potent free-radical generators, as proposed breakdown of endocannabinoids in the brain.
Parkinson's disease, as well as the usual by Prof Neville Osborne in EuroTimes last schizophrenia and susceptibility to substance The free-radical species most incriminated results were striking:“The animals really been found in the eye, in several tissues in ganglion cell death is peroxynitrite, formed cannabinoids play a multifaceted role in the when nitric oxide reacts with a superoxide Hui Song PhD, at the University of Louisville, radical. In this context, it's interesting that endocannabinoids in the eye might well be a Kentucky, both receptor types are found in way forward, Dr Kunos said. He cited a study PhD, at the Aberdeen Royal Infirmary, told the trabecular meshwork, accounting for the that found lower levels of endocannabinoids EuroTimes,“Although there are only a few greater part of cannabinoid IOP reduction.
peroxynitrite toxicity via a mechanism that in ocular tissues of glaucoma patients – groups working directly on glaucoma, there notably the trabecular meshwork and retina.
Glaucoma
0.0001). In contrast, there was no association cannabinoid receptor genes are involved in glaucoma is fully appreciated, and optimal lower, it might be possible to selectively with polymorphisms in the gene for CB1.
treatment paths established. But if there was target the deficient tissues using an inhibitor association studies to link the receptor genes of endocannabinoid breakdown,” Dr Kunos with glaucoma or raised IOP,” Dr Duggal told cannabinoid receptors being an antagonist with atherosclerosis in mice and men.They rather than an agonist, that irony has a grave But if bolstering the faltering levels of initially showed that CB2 activation could edge. If a failure of the endocannabinoid endogenous cannabinoids is a way of slowing messier – it's not the receptors but the system is a causal factor in glaucoma, then (published in Nature in 2005), through a endocannabinoids themselves that are altered in glaucoma.The fact that tissue levels of receptors might exacerbate or even provoke problem in the first place? Could it be that glaucoma.And although glaucoma is usually a genetic variations in the endocannabinoid does hint at the possibility of some kind of chronic degenerative condition, changes in system underpin susceptibility to glaucoma? atherosclerosis and osteoporosis in human IOP could potentially happen quite quickly.
After all, there has never been a clear causal ocular tissues and not in others suggests a near future there could be a large patient polymorphisms contribute to the etiology of optic nerve.Alterations in the cannabinoid which endocannabinoids are synthesised are important for maintaining IOP, then a CB1 metabolism, especially that of arachidonic potential – admittedly it's only a theoretical potential – to raise IOP and induce glaucoma.
Receptor deceptor
unfortunately declined to proffer an opinion.
leukotriene and prostaglandin synthesis, so I think at the very least that ophthalmologists In January this year, though, Priya Duggal PhD, should be wary, and keep an eye on IOP in polymorphisms have been found in the genes and her colleagues at the NIH published a patients being treated for obesity,” Dr Song major study of novel genetic loci associated feasible that dietary treatments, such as taking high doses of omega-3 fatty acids from fish oils, could intervene in endocannabinoid The first, and surprising, indication of how important they might be came in 2005, when associated with raised IOP, though as yet Prof Andreas Zimmer PhD, and colleagues at “Endocannabinoids can be synthesised from the University of Bonn, discovered a link with omega-3 fatty acids, but how their properties “From our genetic study, I think it's unlikely compare is frankly anybody's guess at the a single-nucleotide polymorphism in the gene that the CB1 or CB2 loci are responsible for the genetic peaks. Having said that, it's still osteoporosis than age-matched controls (P = quite possible that either, or even both of the time before the role of endocannabinoids in

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