A hormone reduces the psychoactive effects of marijuana - La Vanguardia

Washington, (Efe) -. An international team of researchers has found that a steroid hormone Natural reduces the euphoria caused by the psychoactive ingredient the marijuana , according to an article published today in the journal Science .

researchers, who Elena Martín García and Rafael Maldonado are counted from the University Pompeu Fabra in Barcelona (Spain), found that pregnenolone decreases hormone activity in the brain of cannabinoid receptor type 1 and this eliminates the “flight “by tetrahidrocarbocannabinol (THC), the primary psychoactive constituent of cannabis.

This discovery could lead to new methods of treatment of poisoning and addiction to marijuana and, according to the article, “also allow researchers to isolate the medicinal properties of cannabis and blocking its somatic effects on behavior.”

Steroid hormones are important modulators of brain activity and behavior, and play crucial roles in the regulation of physiological activities such as eating, waking, reproduction and sexual behavior, and participate in the regulation of memory and moods.

Pregnenolone is considered as the inactive precursor of all steroid hormones and, as the authors point out, their functional effects are not well researched.

“The administration of THC significantly increases the synthesis of pregnenolone in the brain via activation of the cannabinoid receptor type 1,” said the study. “Pregnenolone, then acting as a specific inhibitor of signal receiver reduces various effects of THC”.

“This negative reaction mediated pregnenolone cycle reveals a previously unknown, which protects the brain from excessive activation of the receptor, which could open the way for the treatment of poisoning and addiction to marijuana,” said Article.

The researchers studied mice and rats to determine how most abused drugs such as cocaine, morphine, nicotine and alcohol affect neurosteroids, ie steroids produced directly in the brain of rodents.

THC unexpectedly found that in particular leads to a massive increase in pregnenolone, one of the building blocks of neurosteroids, by cannabinoid receptor activation in mice.