Nature Neuroscience8, 585 - 589 (2005)
Published online: 26 April 2005; | doi:10.1038/nn1457
Endocannabinoid control of food intake and energy balance
Vincenzo Di Marzo
& Isabel Matias
Endocannabinoid Research Group, Institute of Biomolecular Chemistry, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Via Campi Flegrei 34, 80078, Pozzuoli, Naples, Italy.
Marijuana and its major psychotropic component, 9-tetrahydrocannabinol, stimulate appetite and increase body weight in wasting syndromes, suggesting that the CB1 cannabinoid receptor and its endogenous ligands, the endocannabinoids, are involved in controlling energy balance. The endocannabinoid system controls food intake via both central and peripheral mechanisms, and it may also stimulate lipogenesis and fat accumulation. Here we discuss the multifaceted regulation of energy homeostasis by endocannabinoids, together with its applications to the treatment of eating disorders and metabolic syndromes.
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9-tetrahydrocannabinol, stimulate appetite and increase body weight in wasting syndromes, suggesting that the CB1 cannabinoid receptor and its endogenous ligands, the endocannabinoids, are involved in controlling energy balance. The endocannabinoid system controls food intake via both central and peripheral mechanisms, and it may also stimulate lipogenesis and fat accumulation. Here we discuss the multifaceted regulation of energy homeostasis by endocannabinoids, together with its applications to the treatment of eating disorders and metabolic syndromes.
