NEW DRUGS MIMIC MARIJUANA

Compounds Reduce Anxiety Levels In Lab Rats

Pharmacologists have synthesized new drugs designed to take advantage of
the potentially beneficial effects of the active substance in marijuana.

Smoking marijuana is known to alleviate anxiety through the action of
tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, which is a so-called cannabinoid.

Danielle Piomelli of the University of California at Irvine and colleagues
from Italy designed and tested a number of chemicals that affect the same
system as THC, known as the anandamide system.

The compounds block the action of an enzyme that destroys a naturally
occurring cannabinoid known as anandamine, prolonging its activity. In
tests on laboratory rats, two of the compounds boosted anandamine levels
and seemed to reduce anxiety levels in the animals.

"The behavioral profile of these agents ... reveals a role for anandamide
in the regulation of emotional states and indicates a new mechanistic
approach to anti-anxiety therapy," the researchers wrote in an article
being published in the January issue of the journal Nature Medicine.