Publication details

„Moravské“ příspěvky k poznávání endokanabinoidního systému

Title in English	The „Moravian“ contributions to the knowledge of endocanabinoid system
Authors	ŠULCOVÁ Alexandra
Year of publication	2015
Type	Article in Periodical
Magazine / Source	Revue České lékařské akademie
MU Faculty or unit	Central European Institute of Technology
Citation
Web	http://www.medical-academy.cz/cla/revue_11_2015.pdf
Field	Neurology, neurosurgery, neurosciences
Keywords	THC; “cannabinoid” receptors
Description	At present, there is no doubt about the existence of the endocannabinoid system in the body of vertebrates including man. This is a complex of endogenously formed compounds (”endocannabinoids”) whose effects are mediated by binding to specific “cannabinoid” receptors. This terminology has its origins in the investigation of pharmacological mechanisms of herbal cannabinoids which was launched after defining the chemical structure of psychotropic acting 9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) from Cannabis Sativa in the mid-sixties. The confirmation of THC binding to specific binding sites (receptors) in the body posed the question of what is their physiological role and which can be the endogenous substances stimulating or inhibiting these receptors. The first such substance of this kind, and then two more from the category of phospholipids that bind to cannabinoid receptors, was isolated from pig brain (1992-2001) by the Moravian scientist from Palacky University Olomouc, Lumír O. Hanus. This confirmation of the endocannabinoid system“ existence has become a major challenge for many research teams worldwide. Its physiological and also pathophysiological roles, regulatory influences in health and disease, and therefore nowadays also the possibilities of exogenous therapeutic interventions into its activities are investigated. Since the beginning of the nineties, such research direction is also the axis of the projects of pharmacological team at Masaryk University in Brno, some of whose results are overviewed.