Antidepressant mechanisms of ketamine: Focus on GABAergic inhibition Bernhard Luscher, Mengyang Fenga, Sarah J. Jefferson Advances in Pharmacology, 2020 doi : 10.1016/bs.apha.2020.03.002 Contents 1. Introduction 3 2. Molecular targets of subanesthetic ketamine and its metabolites 6 3. Insights from ketamine indicate a key role for reduced GABAergic inhibition in the pathophysiology of major depression 7 3.1 Antidepressant efficacy of ketamine is controlled by imbalances between neural excitation and inhibition 7 3.2 Chronic imbalances of neural excitation and inhibition lead to homeostatic downregulation of glutamatergic synapses that compromises normal neuronal communication 9 3.3 Chronic imbalances between neural excitation and inhibition lead to defects in GABAergic inhibition that delimit spontaneous recovery from [...]
Lire la suiteAltered dopamine D3 receptor gene expression in MAM model of schizophrenia is reversed by peripubertal cannabidiol treatment Tibor Stark, Martina Di Bartolomeo, Roberta Di Marco, Eva Drazanova, Chiara Bianca Maria Platania, Fabio Arturo Iannotti, Jana Ruda-Kucerova, Claudio D'Addario, Lucie Kratka, Vladimir Pekarik, Fabiana Piscitelli, Zuzana Babinska, Julia Fedotova, Giovanni Giurdanella, Salvatore Salomone, Alexandra Sulcova, Claudio Bucolo, Carsten T.Wotjak, Zenon Starcuk Jr, Filippo Drago, Raphael Mechoulam, Vincenzo Di Marzo, Vincenzo Micale Biochemical Pharmacology, April 2020, 1-12. doi : 10.1016/j.bcp.2020.114004 Un excellent article international (République Tchèque, Allemagne, Italy, Russie, Israel, Canada), avec la plus grande plume de la recherche sur les cannabinoïdes (Mechoulam, Di Marzo...) qui [...]
Lire la suiteCannabinoids and the Coronavirus Kevin P. Hill Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research, 2020, Volume 5, Number 2, Doi : 10.1089/can.2020.0035 Introduction These are uncertain times as we attempt to manage our lives during the Coronavirus Covid-19 pandemic. It is not surprising, as possible treatments for Covid-19 are discussed, that people wonder about a role for cannabinoids, another topic associated with a lack of clarity about their therapeutic efficacy. Patients commonly ask clinicians about the benefits and risks of cannabinoids and now patients have begun to ask about cannabinoids as they relate to Covid-19. This interest creates an opportunity to strengthen the therapeutic alliance between patients and [...]
Lire la suiteDissiper la fumée entourant le cannabis : Effets du cannabis pendant la grossesse – version actualisée Amy J. Porath, Ph.D., Directrice, Recherche, CCDUS Sarah Konefal, Ph.D., Analyste, Recherche et politiques, CCDUS Pam Kent, Ph.D., Directrice associée, Recherche, CCDUS Centre Canadien sur les dépendances et l'usage de substances, 2018 Le présent rapport est le deuxième d’une série sur les effets du cannabis sur divers aspects du fonctionnement et du développement de la personne. Révision d’un rapport précédent, il aborde les effets sur l’enfant et les jeunes adultes de la consommation de cannabis pendant la grossesse et fait état des nouvelles recherches qui valident et approfondissent nos connaissances sur [...]
Lire la suitePotential combinations of endocannabinoid/endocannabinoid-like compounds and antibiotics against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus Mark Feldman, Reem Smoum, Raphael Mechoulam, Doron Steinberg PLoS One, April 15, 2020, 1-13. Doi : 10.1371/journal.pone.0231583 Abstract Infections caused by antibiotic-resistant strains of Staphylococcus aureus have reached epidemic proportions globally. Our previous study showed antimicrobial effects of anandamide (AEA) and arachidonoyl serine (AraS) against methicillin (MET)-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) strains, proposing the therapeutic potential of these endocannabinoid/endocannabinoid-like (EC/EC-like) agents for the treatment of MRSA. Here, we investigated the potential synergism of combinations of AEA and AraS with different types of antibiotics against MRSA grown under planktonic growth or biofilm formation. The most effective [...]
Lire la suiteDynamic coupling of whole-brain neuronal and neurotransmitter systems Morten L. Kringelbach, Josephine Cruzat, Joana Cabral, Gitte Moos Knudsen, Robin Carhart-Harris, Peter C. Whybrow Nikos K. Logothetis, and Gustavo Deco PNAS, 2020, 1-11 doi : 10.1073/pnas.1921475117 Remarkable progress has come from whole-brain models linking anatomy and function. Paradoxically, it is not clear how a neuronal dynamical system running in the fixed human anatomical connectome can give rise to the rich changes in the functional repertoire associated with human brain function, which is impossible to explain through long-term plasticity. Neuromodulation evolved to allow for such flexibility by dynamically updating the effectivity of the fixed anatomical connectivity. [...]
Lire la suiteLa classification des substances psychoactives. Lorsque la science n’est pas écoutée Commission Globale de Politique en Matière de Drogues Rapport 2019 Sommaire Avant-propos................................................................................................................................ 3 Résumé......................................................................................................................................... 4 Classification des drogues : science ou idéologie?....................................................................... 7 Le système international de classification.................................................................................. 13 Histoire du régime mondial de contrôle des drogues................................................................. 13 Les incohérences corrompent le système actuel......................................................................... 16 Défaut d’équilibre : l’accès aux médicaments sous contrôle....................................................... 19 Recommandation......................................................................................................................... 21 Les enseignements des marchés (semi-)légaux.......................................................................... 25 Les plantes psychoactives non-classées...................................................................................... 25 La régulation légale du cannabis................................................................................................. 26 Les nouvelles substances psychoactives...................................................................................... 27 Recommandation......................................................................................................................... 29 Difficultés et options de réforme................................................................................................. 31 Améliorer le système actuel......................................................................................................... 31 Une échelle rationnelle des risques............................................................................................. 33 Redonner de la flexibilité nationale pour la régulation légale.................................................... 35 Recommandation........................................................................................................................ 37 Observations finales.................................................................................................................... [...]
Lire la suiteCannabinol inhibits proliferation and induces cell cycle arrest and apoptosis in glioblastoma, hepatocellular carcinoma and breast cancer cells Nuanying ZHONG, Thesis, Master of Science in Biological Sciences Faculty of Arts and Science, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Lethbridge Research Repository, Canada 2020 https://hdl.handle.net/10133/5697 ABSTRACT Cannabis sativa is an agriculturally and medicinally plant with many pharmaceutical properties. Cancer is a deadly disease; it is estimated that it will cause over 80 thousand deaths in 2019 in Canada. Although numerous studies have demonstrated that cannabinoids have anti-tumorous properties in various cancers, the anti-malignant activities of cannabinol (CBN) on carcinogenesis and underlying mechanisms remain largely unknown. In this study, we [...]
Lire la suiteTerpenoids From Cannabis Do Not Mediate an Entourage Effect by Acting at Cannabinoid Receptors David B. Finlay, Kathleen J. Sircombe, Mhairi Nimick, Callum Jones and Michelle Glass Frontiers in Pharmacology, 2020, Volume 11, Article 359, 1-9. doi : 10.3389/fphar.2020.00359 The entourage effect was a proposed explanation for biological observations that endocannabinoid ligand activities can be modified by other lipids released from cells at the same time. An increasing volume of anecdotal reports and interest in the plant have provoked research into the activity of minor chemical constituents of the plant—including volatile terpenoids such as myrcene, a- and b- pinene, b-caryophyllene, and limonene. However, to [...]
Lire la suiteCannabinoids Rescue Cocaine-Induced Seizures by Restoring Brain Glycine Receptor Dysfunction Guichang Zou, Xin Zuo, Kai Chen, ..., Guangming Huang, Dan Liu, Wei Xiong Cell Reports, 2020, 30, 4209–4219 Doi : 10.1016/j.celrep.2020.02.106 In Brief Zou et al. identify the glycine receptor as a potential therapeutic target for cannabinoids in treating cocaine-induced seizures. The function of extra-synaptic glycine receptors in the prefrontal cortex and hippocampus is impaired by cocaine and rescued by cannabinoids, therefore leading to the therapeutic effects of cannabinoids in treating cocaine-induced seizures. Highlights Cannabinoids alleviate cocaine-induced seizures (CISs) by glycine receptors (GlyRs) Cannabinoid docking reduces hydrogen-bonding interaction between cocaine and GlyRs The prefrontal cortex and hippocampus [...]
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