SCHIZOPHRENIA BRAIN CHEMICAL LIKE MARIJUANA

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- People with schizophrenia have twice the normal
levels in their brains of a chemical that resembles the active ingredient in
marijuana, researchers say.

The chemical, called anandamide, might be used as the basis for new drugs to
treat the mental disease, which is marked by delusions, hallucinations and a
fragmentation of the personality, according to researchers at the University
of California at Irvine.

"We've known that many schizophrenics smoke marijuana and claim it eases
some of their symptoms," says Daniele Piomelli, a pharmacologist who helped
lead the study.

"While that is far from any treatment that we would recommend, this
behaviour, as well as our findings of high levels of anandamide in these
patients, does indicate that anandamide plays an important role in the
development of the disease."

Piomelli's team studied 10 schizophrenics.

In the journal Neuroreport, they reported that all the patients had double
the normal levels of anandamide in their cerebrospinal fluid, which bathes
the brain and spine.

This could mean the patients' cells are not responding properly to the
chemical, Piomelli says.