Seizures are the physical changes in behavior that are observed after a period of abnormal electrical activity in the brain. Seizures can be caused by a variety of things including brain injury, brain tumor, high fever, certain infections, and illegal drug use. Behaviors exhibited during a seizure include mood changes, vision changes, loss of muscle control/falling, shaking of the body, and muscle twitching or tension. A seizure can last up to 15 minutes but generally no longer. There are many different categories of seizures varying in intensity, one of which is epilepsy. Epilepsy is a disorder in which individuals have multiple seizures throughout their lifetime even after the underlying cause is treated. For more information on seizures: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001714/
During seizures large amounts of a neurotransmitter (send signals in the brain), glutamate, are released in the brain. This build up of excess chemicals causes too many signals to be sent to the brain cells, resulting in cell death. Repeated cell death can cause lasting brain damage, possibly preventing individuals from learning new things or storing information. Endocannabinoids are molecules that bind to endocannabinoid receptors in the brain. Upon binding, endocannabinoids inhibit the binding of glutamate to its respective receptor. This function can directly relate to seizures. Endocannabinoids have the ability to block the excess release of glutamate produced during a seizure. If the excess glutamate is blocked then fewer brain cells are likely to die, preventing lasting brain damage.
This all sounds great however our brains do not naturally produce enough endocannabinoids to overpower the large amount of glutamate released. So the question is how do we get extra cannabinoids in our system? Some believe that cannabis, an exocannabinoid, could be the answer. THC, the active ingredient in marijuana, also binds to endocannabinoid receptors giving it the ability to inhibit glutamate binding as well. The problem with this is that marijuana has many unwanted side effects such as paranoia, short-term memory loss, memory and learning problems, distorted perception and loss of coordination (for more information: http://www.webmd.com/mental-health/marijuana-use-and-its-effects). It is possible that marijuana with a lower THC content could provide enough binding to prevent most of the glutamate binding and have decreased side effects. Another possibility is to synthesize molecules identical or very similar to the naturally occurring endocannabinoids in our brain. These synthesized molecules, if created successfully, would not have the negative side effects of THC and could prevent the lasting brain damage of a seizure.
Possible Role of Endocannabinoids in Reducing Post-Surgical Chronic Pain?
The article of discussion this week focused on the ability of endocannabinoids to aid in the protection of the brains’ neurons. Much of the evidence that was presented confirmed this neuroprotective role and even highlighted the endocannabinoid’s ability to promote the repair of damaged neurons and synthesize new neurons. Our class briefly discussed the implications of endocannabinoids as cognitive enhancers. In the future, could these be a part of our daily vitamin regimen? Could promoting healthy practices of brain protection and improvement be as simple as an endocannabinoid supplement?
Integrating this substance into our daily vitamins may be a bit extreme. However, there might be something to say about the endocannabinoid’s ability to aid in neuron repair after a surgical procedure. I came across an article during my research that talked about the levels of endocannabinoids aiding in the inflammation levels and recovery of individuals who had undergone a surgical procedure. http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0010891 Participants in this research had undergone various surgical procedures, and researchers found that increases in endocannabinoid signaling lead to a limitation of pro-inflammation signaling. They also concluded that increased levels of endocannabinoid signaling also reduced the patients’ chances of experiencing long lasting chronic pain following surgery.
If further research into this area was conducted, could this lead to a simple solution for the chronic pain that often plagues patients after surgeries? Not only could it decrease the likelihood of chronic pain, but if endocannabinoids reduce inflammation signaling, then perhaps an endocannabinoid dose after surgery could help to reduce the length of time needed for recovery and even aid in the success rates of recovery. Careful considerations would have to be made however, because too much of these endocannabinoids has been shown to have negative effects on neurons. Of course, there would need to be much more research conducted to see if these effects are possible, but nonetheless, the seed of idea has been planted.
This Is Your Brain On Cannabinoids
Ah, the feeling of bliss:
You feel yourself relax as tension oozes out of your body and worries, fears, and problems seem to fade away…
Life slows down measurably—from the week’s hurried, stressful pace to a deliciously calming crawl…
A feeling of happiness, even euphoria, evades your senses as you experience what can only be described as a high…
You unwind and take it all in…
Marijuana? Cannabis sativa? “Grass”? There’s another name that doesn’t get mentioned as often: cannabinoids. While marijuana is usually thought of as the pleasure substance of choice, in reality it is only a skilled mimic of cannabinoids, chemicals that already exist in our brains naturally. Marijuana only increases what we’ve already got.
What do cannabinoids do in the brain?
Although cannabinoids were discovered relatively recently in the 1990s, quite a bit of research has already been accomplished looking into these unique and mysterious brain compounds. Turns out, they’re involved in a lot of important functions.
The brain cells (neurons) are regularly very active, sending signals back and forth to each other in order to communicate.
Neurons communicate via electric and chemical signals
But in some medical conditions like stroke and traumatic brain injury, the neurons become extremely activated due to too much glutamate, a chemical that increases signaling in the brain. This can actually be harmful, because too much activity wears out the neurons and causes cell death. The good thing about cannabinoids is that they can decrease this activity, saving the neurons from wear and tear.
There’s also some evidence that cannabinoids are involved in the immune system. Immune cells in the brain called microglia are responsible for identifying enemy cells and other threats to the neurons.
Immune cells attack invading disease cells
Cannabinoids may increase the ability of immune cells to decrease disease and inflammation in the brain.
Potential treatment applications
Because of these benefits, researchers have been looking into using cannabinoids to treat brain diseases and inflammation. Medical researchers have already been investigating their effects in treating things like cancer and pain. Neurological illnesses like multiple sclerosis might benefit from cannabinoid treatments as well. In multiple sclerosis, immune cells attack the body’s own cells instead of targeting actual threats. The neurons become inflamed throughout the body, causing muscle dysfunction and eventually cognitive impairment and death.
Because of cannabinoids’ apparent ability to work in the immune system, some studies have investigated whether they do improve the lives of multiple sclerosis patients. While these brain systems are very complex and it will take much more research to really understand what is happening in the brain’s cannabinoid system, it appears that giving more cannabinoids may help reduce some of the symptoms of multiple sclerosis.
Cannabinoid drugs
How do people “take” cannabinoids? The easiest thing is to use the closest mimic of the brain’s cannabinoid chemicals—marijuana. In some research, marijuana has been shown to have health benefits. However, there are definitely some drawbacks to marijuana use as well—including obvious lung damage from smoking, muscle tremors and spasms from too much use over a long period, and possible memory problems as well.
There are some new drugs in development that deliver a small amount of cannabinoids orally and are quite effective at delivering the benefits of cannabinoids and marijuana without the added side effects and potential damage. One called dexanabinol is currently in drug trials for treating brain damage and inflammation in conditions like stroke and multiple sclerosis. It hasn’t been approved by the FDA yet, but it and other drugs are hopefully on their way to use.
John, a multiple sclerosis patient, found that cannabinoids (in the form of cannabis) effectively reduced some of his symptoms, allowing him to enjoy life a little longer. “Today I weigh 155 lbs. and use a wheelchair most of the time,” he says. “Cannabis has, no doubt, given me a better life than I would have had without it. I didn’t ask for this. I would gladly give up using cannabis and all the other drugs that are prescribed for me if I were miraculously cured.”
The potential cannabinoids have to improve suffering people’s lives spur researchers on to find a way to use them meaningfully.
Hope for new Alzheimer’s treatments
Alzheimer’s disease is a memory impairment mostly seen in elderly people. Alzheimer’s Foundation of America describes the disease as “a progressive, degenerative disorder that attacks the brain’s nerve cells, or neurons, resulting in loss of memory, thinking and language skills, and behavioral changes.” Alzheimer’s has become an increasing threat to the well-being of the growing elderly population in the United States. The Alzheimer’s Foundation estimates that as many as 5.1 million Americans suffering from the disease. The organization also predicts that the number of people above age 65 and older will be more than double between 2010 and 2050 to 88.5 million which is about 20 percent of the population, and age above 85 and older will increase three-fold, to 19 million. Plus, about a half million Americans younger than age 65 have some form of dementia, including Alzheimer’s disease. Looking at these statistics, we could imagine the enormous cost of health care for this aging population. However, there have been a large number of extensive researches being carried out for effective preventive measures and treatment of Alzheimer’s.
Lately, researchers from the Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, have found possible targets for new therapeutic approaches. They found out that some actions of Endocannabinoid, a substance similar to the active ingredient of marijuana, could protect Alzheimer’s-related neurodegeneration to an extent through cell receptor related interactions in the brain. Endocannabinoids can inhibit the inflammatory processes of Alzheimer’s in the brain. The researchers found reduced formation of Alzheimer’s plaques in the brain when one type of endocannabinoid receptor, CB2, is expressed in the brain slices of Alzheimer’s rats.
Endocannabinoids were also found to have neuroprotective properties in the brain, that is, they could protect the brain cells from dying due to the attack by inflammatory agents or from over-excitation, that is, neurons having to work harder than necessary because of some chemical imbalance. Endocannabinoids are also involved in production of new brain cells and hence they are believed to be protective against memory impairment. Another study at Complutense University in Madrid, Spain, looked at this neuro-prtotective property of endocannabinoids. The researchers found out that endocannabinoids can block the action of microglia, a cell that is responsible for releasing inflammatory agents when activated. Hence, researches are being carried out to look at potential therapeutic means for Alzheimer’s related neural cell death by inhibiting these microglia cells.
There are also researches that focus on the anti-oxidant properties of Endocannabinoids in Alzheimer’s related cell death. Anti-oxidants are agents that inhibit the release of free radicals in the brain. Free radicals can cause cell death through subsequent chain reactions. The anti-oxidant properties of endocannabinoids can protect the neurons from attacks of free radicals and hence increase the survival of neurons in most of the brain areas that are responsible for memory formation and storage.
Thanks to the increase research findings through the efforts of dedicated researchers, we are hopeful to counteract the increasing threat of cognitive decline of our large population of elderly populations in the coming decades. Research findings could help reduce millions for the health care cost that we are going to have to face in the near future.
Dear Dad, It's not all bad; the truth about cannabis and cannabanoids.
Cannabis, or commonly known as marijuana is a type of cannabinoid. Many of you know of it’s damaging side effects and have heard of the ongoing debate on whether to legalize marijuana. Some of the reasons to legalize marijuana is because of medicinal purposes; they have been shown to treat Parkinson’s disease, nausea and vomiting, anorexia, spasticity, movement disorders, pain, glaucoma, epilepsy, asthma, psychiatric symptoms, and autoimmune disease. For more information about how it helps treat these disorders you can click here, http://www.cannabis-med.org/english/patients-use.htm Even though cannabis may help treat some of the symptoms of the above disorders, it does not go without side effects, some of these side effects are as follows; impaired coordination, distorted perceptions, difficulty thinking and problem solving, impaired learning and memory capabilities. Follow this link for more information on side effects, http://www.nida.nih.gov/infofacts/marijuana.html.
However, not all forms of cannabinoids are bad and cause the side effects listed above. A form of cannabinoids that are naturally occurring in the brain, are called endocannabinoids and can actually be good for your brain. These chemicals can actually protect some of your brain cells from injury and inflammation if they are found in the right levels in the brain. Found in too low of levels and they don’t properly protect the cells from death, if they are in too high of levels it causes something called excitotoxicity. Excitotoxicity is also a form of cell death caused by over stimulation. Therefore we need to make sure that we remain in the right range for endocannabinoids.
Now people may be thinking that they could just raise their levels of cannabis in the brain with marijuana, however the levels of the chemical found in marijuana that actually help protect the brain are found in much too high of levels and cause the greater cell death.
Endocannabinoids…..what???
Cannabis, also known as marijuana, produces significant psychoactive effects in our brain through its active ingredient, THC. The actions of THC are a result of its binding and interaction with protein receptors on neurons called cannabinoid receptors. Why do our brains have these receptors? What naturally occurring molecules interact with these receptors? The answer to these questions is the endocannabinoids – the molecules our brains produce that interact with the cannabinoid receptors. The scientific community has been actively engaged in learning more about these molecules and what roles they play in a healthy brain. In this week’s literature article, we are looking at the involvement of the endocannabinoids in protecting neurons from injury and inflammation.
