“Anecdotal reports suggest that marijuana- or tetrahydrocannabinol-containing products may be effective in alleviating symptoms in patients with ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn’s disease (CD). This is supported by recent studies of our group and others suggesting that pharmacological activation of the cannabinoid 1 (CB1) receptor with selective receptor agonists decreases the inflammatory response in various murine models of colonic inflammation…
Recent evidence suggests a crucial role of the endocannabinoid system, including the cannabinoid 1 receptor (CNR1), in intestinal inflammation. We therefore investigated the influence of the CNR1 1359 G/A (p.Thr453Thr; rs1049353) single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) on disease susceptibility and phenotype in patients with ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn’s disease (CD)…
Conclusion
The CNR1 p.Thr453Thr polymorphism appears to modulate UC susceptibility and the CD phenotype. The endocannabinoid system may influence the manifestation of inflammatory bowel diseases, suggesting endocannabinoids as potential target for future therapies.
…our findings provide further evidence that endocannabinoids modulate intestinal inflammation, suggesting that this system could act as a target for future therapeutic interventions.”