Exploring the basis of cannabinoid analgesia in humans

探索人类大麻素镇痛的基础

• 批准号: G0601340/1
• 负责人: Michael Lee
• 金额: $ 19.09万
• 依托单位: University of Cambridge
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Fellowship
• 财政年份: 2007
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2007 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=G0601340%2F1
• 关键词: Exploring; basis; cannabinoid; analgesia; humans

Cannabis is historically used to provide analgesia (pain relief) but how it does so remains debatable. Of the cannabinoids (cannabis-like drugs) derived from cannabis, delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (?-9-THC) is found to provide analgesia in patients. Animal studies have shown that ?-9-THC and other cannabinoids work by activating ‘receptors‘ which are found in pain processing areas of the brain. However, such results cannot always be translated to man, and further development of cannabinoids for use in patients requires better understanding of how and where they act in the human brain. This can be achieved by using functional magnetic resonance imaging to record how the various brain areas respond to pain when influenced by ?-9-THC. The imaging technique is well-established and the studies would be undertaken in healthy volunteers in whom experimental pain can be safely and reversibly induced. The research would provide insight into the functions of specific brain areas during pain processing and inform the development of future cannabinoids that target them for pain relief.

大麻在历史上被用来提供止痛（缓解疼痛），但它如何做到这一点仍然存在争议。在从大麻中衍生的大麻素（大麻样药物）中，δ-9-四氢大麻酚（？9-THC）被发现在患者中提供镇痛。动物研究表明，？9-THC和其他大麻素通过激活大脑疼痛处理区域中的“受体”来发挥作用。然而，这些结果并不总是能转化为人类，进一步开发大麻素用于患者需要更好地了解它们在人脑中的作用方式和位置。这可以通过使用功能性磁共振成像来实现，以记录不同的大脑区域在受到？9-四氢大麻酚成像技术是完善的，研究将在健康志愿者中进行，在这些志愿者中可以安全和可逆地诱导实验性疼痛。这项研究将深入了解疼痛处理过程中特定大脑区域的功能，并为未来开发针对疼痛缓解的大麻素提供信息。