Diuretic effects of cannabinoid agonists in mice

“Cannabinoids both increase urine output and decrease urinary frequency in human subjects. However, these effects have not been systematically evaluated in intact mice, a species commonly used to evaluate the effects of novel cannabinoids.

The present studies investigated whether cannabinoid agonists reliably produce diuresis in mice at doses comparable to those that produce other cannabinoid effects and, further, identified the receptors that may mediate these effects.

These findings suggest that mice may provide a model for understanding the mixed effects of marijuana on urine output, as described in clinical studies, and aid in the development of targeted cannabinoid based therapies for bladder dysfunction.

Clinical studies have reported beneficial effects of smoked or aerosolized cannabis on bladder dysfunction in patients with multiple sclerosis, primarily by decreasing urinary frequency in these subjects following marijuana use. These reports contrast with the earlier clinical reports demonstrating increase in urine output after cannabis administration.

Our findings in mice demonstrate a dose related increase or decrease in urine output, providing a platform for understanding the mixed effects on urine output observed with marijuana in various clinical studies. As noted earlier in a study with rats, the diuresis induced by THC in mice also is weakly naturetic compared to furosemide and further investigations in this area may yield a new, clinically beneficial diuretic.

In contrast, our data suggest that development of peripherally selective cannabinoid CB1 agonists may be beneficial for patients suffering from bladder dysfunction.”

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3872476/
]]>

Diuretic effects of cannabinoids.

“These data indicate that cannabinoids have robust diuretic effects in rats that are mediated via CB1 receptor mechanisms. Overall, our data indicate that diuresis is a CB1-mediated effect that may serve as a reliable and objective physiologic measure of cannabinoid action in rats; the circumstances under which these results represent a potential therapeutic benefit or potential liability of cannabinoids remain to be determined. The implications of these findings currently are poorly understood, although a better understanding of mechanisms and sites of action by which cannabinoids increase urine loss may lead to the rational development of novel cannabinergic medications.”  https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3533417/

“Diuretics are medicines that help reduce the amount of water in the body. Diuretics are used to treat the buildup of excess fluid in the body that occurs with some medical conditions such ascongestive heart failure, liver disease, and kidney disease. Some diuretics are also prescribed to treat high bloodpressure. These drugs act on the kidneys to increase urine output. This reduces the amount of fluid in the bloodstream,which in turn lowers blood pressure.” http://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/diuretics
]]>

Cannabinol and cannabidiol exert opposing effects on rat feeding patterns.

 Image result for Psychopharmacology (Berl). “Increased food consumption following ∆(9)-tetrahydrocannabinol-induced cannabinoid type 1 receptor agonism is well documented. However, possible non-∆(9)-tetrahydrocannabinol phytocannabinoid-induced feeding effects have yet to be fully investigated. Therefore, we have assessed the effects of the individual phytocannabinoids, cannabigerol, cannabidiol and cannabinol, upon feeding behaviors.

Cannabinol induced a CB(1)R-mediated increase in appetitive behaviors via significant reductions in the latency to feed and increases in consummatory behaviors via increases in meal 1 size and duration. Cannabinol also significantly increased the intake during hour 1 and total chow consumed during the test. Conversely, cannabidiol significantly reduced total chow consumption over the test period. Cannabigerol administration induced no changes to feeding behavior.

This is the first time cannabinol has been shown to increase feeding. Therefore, cannabinol could, in the future, provide an alternative to the currently used and psychotropic ∆(9)-tetrahydrocannabinol-based medicines since cannabinol is currently considered to be non-psychotropic. Furthermore, cannabidiol reduced food intake in line with some existing reports, supporting the need for further mechanistic and behavioral work examining possible anti-obesity effects of cannabidiol.” https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22543671
]]>