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You Might
Be Thin, But You Might Also Be Miserable, Depressed And Twitchy
by Tanya Zilberter, PhD
Pot smokers are all too well familiar with the hunger after a smoke. Why
could it be this way? Researchers discovered that there are molecules in the
brain, similar to marijuana's molecules that work together with the anti-fat
hormone leptin to control eating. 
Pot smokers are all too well familiar with the hunger that strikes after
a smoke. Why could it be this way? Researchers discovered that there are
molecules in the brain, similar to marijuana's molecule constituents, also
control eating.
Together with the fat-regulating hormone leptin, but acting in exactly
opposite directions, these 'cannabinoids' (cannabis-like chemicals in the
brain) help to manage body weight. If cannabinoids make you eat, leptin's
purpose is to make you eat less.
Not so long ago, in 1995, it was heralded as the cure for
the obesity epidemics. However, although obese mice lost appetite and weight
due to leptin injections, clinical trials on human beings miserably failed.
Maybe acting from the opposite end can help? Why not to try helping
the body not to get more leptin, then but to get less cannabinoids?
So-called THC, the appetite-stimulating ingredient in cannabis (delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol,)
is already in use to prevent weight loss in AIDS patients and a clinical
trial on a molecule that blocks cannabinoids' action in the brain -- a potential
anti-obesity drug, is conducted by Sanofi-Synthelabo, a French pharmaceutical
company.
The bad news is that leptin as well as cannabinoids disturb other
body systems besides appetite including stress. After all, anti-cannabinoids,
along with promoting weight loss, might produce the typical drug withdrawal
effects. "You might be thin, but you might also be miserable, depressed and
twitchy," says Dr. Stephen Bloom, of Imperial College School of Medicine in
London who studies the effects.
References
1.Di Marzo, V. et al. Leptin-regulated endocannabinoids are involved
in maintaining food intake. Nature 410, 822 - 825 (2001).
2. HELEN PEARSON. Cannabis-like compounds in the brain control appetite.
Nature News Service / Macmillan Magazines Ltd 2001
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