A new study published by the European Journal of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging has found that anorexia causes a “widespread transient disturbance” in the body’s endocannabinoid system, indicating that cannabis consumption could solve much of the problem by fixing this disturbance.
According to the study’s abstract; “Using [18F]MK-9470 and small animal positron emission tomography (PET), we investigated for the first time cerebral changes in type 1 cannabinoid (CB1) receptor binding in vivo in the activity-based rat model of anorexia (ABA), in comparison to distinct motor- and food-related control conditions and in relation to gender and behavioural variables.”
Researchers found that their data points to “a widespread transient disturbance of the endocannabinoid transmission, specifically for CB1 receptors in the ABA model. Our data also suggest (1) gender effects on regional CB1 receptor binding in the hippocampus and (2) add further proof to the validity of the ABA model to mimic aspects of human disease.”
This indicates – although more testing is certainly needed – that cannabis could treat anorexia, given that its consumption can clear disturbances in the body’s endocannabinoid system.
Source: thejointblog.com
