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Marinol

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Submitted By chris1226
Words 489
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Inroduction to biochemistry
03 December 2012
MARINOL
Tetrahydrocannabinol, aka THC, aka delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol This drug was not manufactured to cure anything, “It makes very ill people feel better”. Most people who suffer from disease also from the accumulation of the experience of suffering. Cannabis seems to be a treatment mostly for symptomatic relief from many neurological functions including pain. It is not usually curative. Since pain accompanies most disease processes at some time during their course, pain accounts for probably the greatest single indication for Cannabis. Pain also increases anxiety. Marinol is a brand name for dronabinal, which is manufactured (synthetic) THC, the active ingredient in marijuana. It is used for a number of different illnesses and medical conditions. The most common use of the drug is to increase the appetite of those who are having difficulty eating due to their condition or due to treatment of a condition. HIV/AIDS is a common illness that responds well to Marinol treatment. It is also useful for some patients who are fighting cancer and need to go through chemotherapy treatment. Since Marinol prevents severe weight loss it can help increase the survival rate of some illnesses and conditions that are responsible for appetite and weight loss. This drug has been used successfully to treat people with the following: Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome, Spinal Cord Injuries, Glaucoma, Eating disorders (themarinol.com). The pharmacological actions of THC result from its partial agonist activity at the cannabinoid receptor CB1, located mainly in the central nervous system, and the CB2 receptor, mainly expressed in cells of the immune system (Pertwee). THC has mild to moderate analgesic effects, and cannabis can be used to treat pain by altering transmitter release on dorsal root ganglion of the spinal cord and in the periaqueductal gray (Elphick, Egertova). Due to its partial agonistic activity, THC appears to result in greater downregulation of cannabinoid receptors than endocannabinoids, further limiting its efficacy over other cannabinoids. The effects of the drug can be suppressed by the CB1 receptor antagonist rimonabant as well as opioid receptor antagonists (opioid blockers) naloxone and naloxonazine(Lupica, Riegel, Hoffman). The α7 nicotinic receptor antagonist methyllycaconitine can block self-administration of THC in rats comparable to the effects of varenicline on nicotine administration(Solinas). As with Cannabis, there are few truly life-threatening reactions with Marinol. The most likely severe reaction is dysphoria or increased apprehension and fear without cause. (Euphoria is the more common effect, a feeling of expansion and inner peace.)

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Elphick, M. R.; Egertova, M. (2001). "The neurobiology and evolution of cannabinoid signalling". Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 356 (1407): 381–408.
Lupica, Carl R; Riegel, Arthur C; Hoffman, Alexander F (2004). "Marijuana and cannabinoid regulation of brain reward circuits". British Journal of Pharmacology 143 (2): 227–34.

Pertwee, R. G. (2006). "The pharmacology of cannabinoid receptors and their ligands: An overview". International Journal of Obesity 30: S13–S18

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