| Popis: |
Recently, the subject of medical marihuana has received an extraordinary amount of attention. This issue has been discussed and scrutinized in the lay media and at several medical and scientific venues in the United States and United Kingdom. Many of the purported uses of marihuana or cannabinoids are for neurological symptoms associated with spastic disorders such as multiple sclerosis and spinal cord injury. The present report provides a review the clinical literature on this topic. In the basic research of cannabinoids, there have been many important discoveries that are relevant to therapeutic concerns. The present report also selectively examines these findings for clues as to the possible therapeutic mechanisms of action of marihuana and cannabinoids. It appears that marihuana and Δ9-THC likely provide symptomatic improvement of spasticity, pain, ataxia, and tremor, and additional clinical studies are warranted. The spasmolytic and analgesic effects of Δ9-THC and other brain cannabinoid (CB1) receptor agonists may involve gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), glutamate, N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA), and noradrenergic mechanisms at spinal and supraspinal sites. More basic research is needed to discover the functional roles of cannabinoid receptors and their endogenous ligands as major keys for possible therapeutic applications. |
