ARTIFICIAL POT-LIKE CHEMICAL MAY EASE PAIN

A synthetic version of the chemical that gives marijuana smokers
their high can also cool the "heat" of an injury. That makes it a
potential new pain reliever for surgical incisions, infections and
chronic inflammation disorders such as arthritis, researchers say.

Scientists at the University of Texas Health Science Center found
that certain synthetic cannabinoid chemicals can block a heat-related
nerve channel in the body. It's the same pathway that the body uses
to feel the spice of hot peppers and the zing of pepper spray, said
Kenneth M. Hargreaves, chairman of endodontics in the university's
dental school and lead author of the study.

By altering the cannabinoid and using it in tiny doses, scientists
appear to be able to avoid the neurological effects of marijuana, he said.

"This is one of the major receptors our body uses to detect heat and
detect a lot of different chemicals," Hargreaves said.

"This offers the promise of developing an entirely new generation of
drugs that have the beneficial effects of marijuana - that is pain
relief - without having any of the side effects that marijuana is
notoriously known for."

The study first appeared on the online site of the Proceedings of the
National Academy of Science.

"What we envision is, with this knowledge we can develop drugs that
you can take as a pill and would only act in the periphery" and not
in the brain, Hargreaves said.

Scientists now are going back to the dental lab to investigate how
inflamed human dental tissues will respond, said Amol M.

Patwardhan, a scientist who works under Hargreaves. "If it works
there, then we might actually be able to try it in clinical trials,
where we can inject it into inflamed dental pulp," Patwardhan said.