A mechanism for the development of obesity-associated conditions

03 August 2008 | News, worldnews | | Tags: headlines, world, worldnews

Endocannabinoids are substances produced by several cells in the body that are very similar to compounds found in cannabis plants. They have been implicated in the development of many effects of a high-fat diet, including many risk factors for type 2 diabetes: obesity, insulin resistance, leptin resistance, and dyslipidemia. It is important to determine whether these effects of endocannabinoids occur via activation of the protein CB1 in the brain, liver, or other tissues, as the therapeutic potential of agents that target CB1 is currently limited by the side effects of targeting CB1 in the brain, anxiety and depression. However, new insight into this issue has now been provided by George Kunos and colleagues, at the National Institutes of Health, Rockville, through analysis of mice lacking CB1 only in the liver.