From: insthemp@igc.apc.org (Institute for Hemp)
Newsgroups: talk.politics.drugs
Subject: Drug Brain Mystery Unlocked
Date: 24 Dec 92 00:36:00 GMT
Nf-ID: #N:cdp:1484000085:000:3059
Nf-From: cdp.UUCP!insthemp    Dec 23 16:36:00 1992


SCIENTISTS UNLOCK MYSTERIES OF HOW DRUGS WORK IN THE HUMAN BRAIN
WASHINGTON (DEC. 18) UPI - Scientists have identified long-sought
brain chemicals involved in making marijuana and other drugs work,
which may lead to better ways to break addictions, block pain and
understand the brain.

One group of researchers found a chemical produced naturally in
the brain that appears to stimulate the same cells that marijuana
stimulates. A second group cloned the protein that drugs like
heroin and morphine trigger to produce their effects.

The findings, reported Thursday in two papers in the journal
Science, should enable scientists to learn more about how such
drugs work in the brain and could lead to ways to harness the
beneficial effects of drugs.

"Both of these findings are really important. They will lead to
some very interesting science in the next half decade," Michael
Brownstein of the National Institute of Mental Health told
Science.

Drugs work because they contain chemicals that travel to the brain
and, like a key, fit into structures likened to locks called
"receptors" on certain brain cells, triggering activity by those
cells.

Scientists have long searched for both the specific receptors for
certain types of drugs and the naturally occurring chemicals in
the brain that fit those receptors.

William Devane and his colleagues at the Hebrew University of
Jerusalem reported they had found a naturally occurring substance
that triggers the same receptors as does tetrahydrocannabinol
(THC), the active ingredient in marijuana.

The THC receptor is one of the most common receptors in the brain,
indicating it may be involved in a wide range of brain functions,
including memory, appetite and motor function, Devane said.
Defects in the receptor, therefore, may be involved a variety of
diseases, including possible the devastating disorder
schizophrenia, he said.

"Perhaps we can discover what its natural function is and what
diseases it may be involved in," Devane said in an interview.
"This is just like opening a door to a new room. It provides a lot
of new avenues to explore. This will stimulate a lot of research."


Devane dubbed the newly identified substance "anandamide," from a
Sanskrit word meaning "bliss." Devane and his colleagues
identified the substance in the brains of pigs, but presumably an
equivalent substance is produced naturally in human brains, he
said.

The findings could enable researchers to develop drugs that have
the beneficial effects of marijuana, such as relieving pain,
reducing blood pressure and nausea and pressure in the eye from
glaucoma, without producing the psychotropic effects, he said.

Meanwhile, Christopher Evans of the University of California, Los
Angeles, and his colleagues identified the structure of the
"opioid" receptor, which is activated by drugs like heroin and
morphine.

The discovery of a receptor for opiates could help researchers
searching for non-addictive painkillers and for helping alleviate
withdrawal symptoms for addicts.

Transmitted:  92-12-18 08:28:00 EST
Newsgroups: talk.politics.drugs