<\/div>\n

Depression<\/h2>\n

Though depression is a complex and diverse disorder with many possible causes, \u201call the currently hypothesized etiologies for major depressive disorder, whether they are genetic, neuroendocrine, immunological, or cytogenetic, seem to rely on the correct functioning of endocannabinoid signaling,\u201d writes a team of Spanish researchers in a December 2021 paper in the journal Frontiers in Pharmacology.1<\/p>\n

As if that alone weren\u2019t enough to warrant a comprehensive review of this relationship, they also present in their introduction an additional news hook: COVID<\/span>-19. Depression and anxiety were major drivers of increased cannabis consumption during the first months of the pandemic, as Project CBD<\/span> recently reported.<\/p>\n

But what the authors also make clear is that researchers have been proposing a potential role for the endocannabinoid system in the pathophysiology of major depressive disorder since the early 2000s.2,3<\/p>\n

Beyond the fact that proper balance of the ECS<\/span> \u201cis essential for the homeostatic maintenance of a number of physiological, cognitive, behavioral, and emotional processes,\u201d and \u201cwhen dysregulation of the ECS<\/span> occurs, cognitive deficits might arise,\u201d the authors point to more specific findings about the actual molecular mechanisms involved. In particular they highlight:<\/p>\n

the role of the CB1<\/span> receptor, which is believed to play a major part in regulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA<\/span>) axis, a system linking the brain and adrenal glands (located just above the kidneys) that mediates the stress response;
\nthe role of both CB1<\/span> and CB2<\/span> in modulating neuroinflammation, also implicated in depression;
\nand the relationship between cannabinoids and neurogenesis.<\/p>\n

Finally, they identify additional avenues that should be explored and other future research directions and needs. To their earlier point about COVID<\/span>, this includes generating solid evidence about whether or not cannabis use actually helps treat depression.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

Loneliness and grief<\/h2>\n

Researchers with the Medical College of Wisconsin and the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine took the link between the ECS<\/span> and depression one step further by measuring circulating endocannabinoid levels in the blood of bereaved older adults experiencing loneliness and grief.<\/p>\n

As described in a December 2021 paper in the journal Frontiers in Psychiatry,4 the study population included 44 individuals who had experienced the loss of a loved one in recent months, as well as 20 similarly aged \u201chealthy controls.\u201d All participants also completed baseline clinical assessments of loneliness.<\/p>\n

Then, two, four, and six months after the blood draw, the researchers had the 44 bereaved participants complete additional follow-up clinical assessments on anxiety, depression, dementia, grief, and suicidal ideation.<\/p>\n

In lonely, bereaved elders, increased circulating endocannabinoids are associated with better adaptation to bereavement.<\/p>\n

By tabulating this purely observational data (meaning no interventions took place), the researchers uncovered two key endocannabinoid associations. First, in the cross-sectional analysis comparing baseline data across all participants, circulating anandamide concentrations were higher in severely lonely grieving elders than in healthy controls.<\/p>\n

And second, in the longitudinal analysis accounting for six months of follow-up among lonely and grieving individuals, those with higher concentrations of 2-AG<\/span> in their blood at baseline subsequently experienced faster resolution of grief symptoms within the six-month study window.<\/p>\n

\u201cAn efficient ECS<\/span> system is stress-responsive, which in turn leads to less physical and emotional distress,\u201d the authors explain. \u201cOur cross-sectional findings thus lead us to hypothesize that increased circulating endocannnabinoids seen in lonely grieving individuals are reflective of an efficient and normal functioning \u2018stress-responsive\u2019 ECS<\/span> system.\u201d<\/p>\n

They continue: \u201cOur novel longitudinal findings suggest that an activated ECS<\/span> system in response to bereavement may be crucial for better adaptation to attachment loss and to ease the transition to integrated grief in bereaved elders who report high loneliness.\u201d<\/p>\n

The researchers conclude that in lonely, bereaved elders, increased circulating endocannabinoids, a reflection of a well-functioning ECS<\/span> system, are associated with better adaptation to bereavement. Much like in the paper on depression, however, they don\u2019t go so far as to suggest any ECS<\/span>-tuning therapy or treatment, including cannabis itself. In fact, even though older adults are increasingly comfortable medicating with cannabis, the word doesn\u2019t appear once in the paper.<\/p>\n

Nate Seltenrich, an independent science journalist based in the San Francisco Bay Area, covers a wide range of subjects including environmental health, neuroscience, and pharmacology. <\/p>\n

Copyright, Project CBD<\/span>. May not be reprinted without permission.<\/p>\n

References<\/h2>\n

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Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The number of ailments, conditions, and states of mind in which the endocannabinoid system\u2019s role is being investigated grows ever larger. There\u2019s addiction, Alzheimer\u2019s, autism, endocrine disruption, gut dysbiosis, headaches, inflammation \u2026 and that\u2019s not […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4506,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-4505","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cbd-news"},"yoast_head":"\n