Pubdate: Thu, 20 Oct 2005
Source: Gauntlet, The (CN AB Edu)
Copyright: 2005 Gauntlet Publications Society.
Contact:  http://gauntlet.ucalgary.ca/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2652
Author: Rene Bodack, Gauntlet News

CANNABINOID BREAKTHROUGH

An international team led by a University of Calgary medical 
researcher has proven the existence of a second cannabinoid receptor 
in the human brain, making a new generation of drugs against 
diabetes, cancer and AIDS possible.

Cannabinoids are a group of chemicals, including THC found in the 
cannabis plant, which act as our bodies' chemical messengers. 
Receptors are the parts of our cells that react to these chemical 
messengers and initiate a response from the cell. Understanding 
cannabinoid receptors makes a targeted treatment of conditions in the 
brain possible, reducing drug side-effects and opening a new variety 
of treatments.

"Scientists have been looking for this receptor in the brain for 
several years and no one could find it," said Dr. Keith Sharkey of 
the U of C Faculty of Medicine. Sharkey is the principal investigator 
of the study. "We have discovered a way to harness the body's own 
cannabinoids as a potential treatment strategy that may limit the 
unwanted side-effects of conventional cannabinoid therapies."

The study appears in the Oct. 14 issue of the journal Science.