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Cannabis Campaigners' Guide News Database result:
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Study of munchies leads to diet drug hope
Ananova
Wednesday 14 Aug 2002 A French pharmaceutical firms says knowledge it has gained from testing the hunger-inducing effects of marijuana may help develop a dieting drug. Sanofi-Synthelabo says it has found a compound, an experimental drug Rimonaban, that stops cannabis smokers from getting "the munchies". The human body makes its own marijuana-like substances called cannabinoids which doctors now know play a large part in giving us an appetite. When marijuana chemicals settle into the receptors, the brain gets the message that the body needs food. Based on this premise, researchers found a synthetic compound called a cannabinoid receptor antagonist that caps off the receptors, preventing cannabinoids from locking on and sending the "feed-me" message. George Kunos, a neurobiologist with the NIH's National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, led a 2001 animal study on cannabinoids and eating habits. After seeing the successful results in animals, Sanofi started to test the treatment on humans. Rimonabant caused some gastrointestinal side effects at the highest dose, but was generally well-tolerated, a Sanofi spokesman says. However, other potential weight-loss remedies have worked in the first six months of clinical trials, but then started losing effectiveness as the body built up resistance to the treatments. The company is also conducting a two-year, 1,400-patient trial in Europe with the same standards.
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