MARIJUANA RESEARCH COULD HELP ASTHMA SUFFERERS, SCIENTISTS SAY

LONDON -- A team of international scientists has discovered why
marijuana causes coughing in some asthma patients but not in others in
a finding that could lead to better respiratory treatments with fewer
side effects.

In a report in the science journal Nature yesterday, researchers from
Italy, Hungary and the United States identified a cannabis-like
chemical in the body called anandamide and showed how it influences
the airways in the lungs.

In animal studies, anandamide, which is similar to active ingredients
in marijuana called cannabinoids, inhibits coughing caused by an
irritant when the muscles in the lungs are tensed, but if the airways
are relaxed it can cause coughing.

A cannabinoid receptor molecule, a chemical doorway into the cell,
found on nerve endings in the lungs seems to control both reactions.

"We think that by targeting cannabinoid receptors in the upper airways
we can control coughs in a number of conditions," Daniele Piomelli, a
pharmacologist at the University of California, Irvine, said in a
telephone interview.

Mr. Piomelli and scientists from The Institute of Experimental
Medicine in Budapest, the University of Naples in Italy and the
University of Washington in Seattle, who contributed to the research,
hope to begin human tests soon.

If the research goes well and produces the same results as the animal
studies, the scientists hope new treatments for coughs caused by
asthma and other respiratory illnesses could be available in a few
years. "Hopefully we will be doing that in the not-too-far future,"
Mr. Piomelli said.

Scientists have been studying marijuana with the idea of developing
new treatments for a variety of conditions ranging from asthma and
stroke to cancer and spinal-cord injuries and nerve damage.

Medical studies have shown that it is useful for pain relief, to
control nausea and vomiting associated with chemotherapy treatment and
to reduce anxiety.