“Characterized by chronic widespread pain, generalized hyperalgesia, and psychological stress fibromyalgia (FM) is difficult to diagnose and lacks effective treatments. The endocannabinoids – arachidonoylethanolamide (AEA), 2-arachidonoylglycerol (2-AG), and the related oleoylethanolamide (OEA), palmitoylethanolamide (PEA), and stearoylethanolamide (SEA) – are endogenous lipid mediators with analgesic and anti-inflammatory characteristics, in company with psychological modulating properties (e.g., stress and anxiety), and are included in a new emerging “ome”, the endocannabinoidome. This case -control study compared the concentration differences of AEA, OEA, PEA, SEA, and 2-AG in 104 women with FM and 116 healthy controls (CON). All participants OEArated their pain, anxiety, depression, and current health status. The relationships between the lipid concentrations and the clinical assessments were investigated using powerful multivariate data analysis and traditional bivariate statistics. The concentrations of OEA, PEA, SEA, and 2-AG were significantly higher in FM than in CON; significance remained for OEA and SEA after controlling for BMI and age. 2-AG correlated positively with FM duration and BMI, and to some extent negatively with pain, anxiety, depression, and health status. In FM, AEA correlated positively with depression ratings. The elevated circulating levels of endocannabinoidome lipids suggest that these lipids play a role in the complex pathophysiology of FM and might be signs of ongoing low-grade inflammation in FM. Although the investigated lipids are significantly altered in FM their biological roles are uncertain with respect to the clinical manifestations of FM. Thus, plasma lipids alone are not good biomarkers for FM.
Tag Archives: anti-inflammatory
Localization of cannabinoid receptors CB1, CB2, GPR55, and PPARα in the canine gastrointestinal tract.
“The endocannabinoid system (ECS) is composed of cannabinoid receptors, their endogenous ligands, and the enzymes involved in endocannabinoid turnover.
Modulating the activity of the ECS may influence a variety of physiological and pathophysiological processes.
A growing body of evidence indicates that activation of cannabinoid receptors by endogenous, plant-derived, or synthetic cannabinoids may exert beneficial effects on gastrointestinal inflammation and visceral pain.
The present ex vivo study aimed to investigate immunohistochemically the distribution of cannabinoid receptors CB1, CB2, G protein-coupled receptor 55 (GPR55), and peroxisome proliferation activation receptor alpha (PPARα) in the canine gastrointestinal tract.
Cannabinoid receptors showed a wide distribution in the gastrointestinal tract of the dog.
Since cannabinoid receptors have a protective role in inflammatory bowel disease, the present research provides an anatomical basis supporting the therapeutic use of cannabinoid receptor agonists in relieving motility disorders and visceral hypersensitivity in canine acute or chronic enteropathies.”
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29882158
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs00418-018-1684-7
[Cannabinoids in pain medicine]
“The endocannabinoid system (ECS) controls a large number of vital functions. Suboptimal tone of the ECS in certain regions of the nervous system may be associated with disorders that are also associated with pain. Pain and inflammation processes can be modulated by the exogenous supply of cannabinoids. Low-to-moderate pain-relieving effects and in individual cases large pain-relieving effects were observed in randomized, controlled studies of various types of chronic pain. People with chronic neuropathic pain and stress symptoms seem to particularly benefit. The therapeutic range of cannabinoids is small; often small doses are sufficient for clinically significant effects. The “Cannabis-als-Medizin-Gesetz” (cannabis as medicine law) allows the prescription of cannabis preparations under certain conditions. Available data indicate good long-term efficacy and tolerability. However, there is little systematic long-term experience from clinical studies.” https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29881935 https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs00482-018-0299-1]]>
Cannabidiol as a Promising Strategy to Treat and Prevent Movement Disorders?
“Movement disorders such as Parkinson’s disease and dyskinesia are highly debilitating conditions linked to oxidative stress and neurodegeneration. When available, the pharmacological therapies for these disorders are still mainly symptomatic, do not benefit all patients and induce severe side effects. Cannabidiol is a non-psychotomimetic compound from Cannabis sativa that presents antipsychotic, anxiolytic, anti-inflammatory, and neuroprotective effects. Although the studies that investigate the effects of this compound on movement disorders are surprisingly few, cannabidiol emerges as a promising compound to treat and/or prevent them. Here, we review these clinical and pre-clinical studies and draw attention to the potential of cannabidiol in this field.”
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29867488
“It is widely accepted that the endocannabinoid system (ECS) is a modulator of neuroinflammation associated with neurodegenerative disorders, including Alzheimer’s disease (AD).
Thus, expression of the 
“Accumulating studies have linked inflammation to tumor progression.
Dietary omega-3 fatty acids including docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) have been shown to suppress tumor growth through their conversion to epoxide metabolites. Alternatively, DHA is converted enzymatically into docosahexaenoylethanolamide (DHEA), an endocannabinoid with anti-proliferative activity.
Recently, we reported a novel class of anti-inflammatory DHEA-epoxides (EDP-EAs) that contain both ethanolamide and epoxide moieties. Herein we evaluate the anti-tumorigenic properties of EDP-EAs in an osteosarcoma model.
First, we show ~80% increase in EDP-EAs in metastatic lungs versus normal mouse lungs. We found significant differences in the apoptotic and anti-migratory potency of the different EDP-EA regioisomers, which are partly mediated through 
“Inflammation as well as glutamate excitotoxicity have been proposed to participate in the propagation of autism. Palmitoylethanolamide (PEA) is an 
“Medicinal cannabis registries typically report pain as the most common reason for use. It would be clinically useful to identify patterns of cannabis treatment in migraine and headache, as compared to arthritis and chronic pain, and to analyze preferred cannabis strains, biochemical profiles, and prescription medication substitutions with cannabis.
“Because of their low levels of expression and the inadequacy of current research tools, CB2 
“This narrative review summarizes recent insights into the role of the