Medical marijuana for pain relief has offered opportunities for sufferers of chronic pain to receive pain treatment without the risk of opioid addiction. However, the side effects of THC, which impacts memory and cognition, can pose other problems for medical marijuana patients. A team of researchers from Universitat Pompeu Fabra and international collaborators endeavored to improve existing peptides known to reduce medical marijuana side effects by making them smaller, orally active and better able to enter cells and cross the blood-brain barrier.
The researchers designed the new peptide based on data from molecular dynamic simulations, making it less than half the length of the originals but preserving their receptor binding functions. The team also optimized the peptide sequence for improved cell entry, stability and ability to cross the blood-brain barrier. The peptide was administered orally to mice that were then injected with THC and tested for pain threshold and memory. Mice that received both THC and the peptide benefited from the pain-relieving effects of THC while showing improved memory compared to mice treated with THC alone. Multiple treatments with the peptide did not evoke an immune response. The study was published in the American Chemical Society’s Journal of Medicinal Chemistry.
Researchers said the findings suggest the optimized peptide is an ideal drug candidate for reducing the side effects of cannabis-based pain management. Mitigating the impact of medical marijuana on memory and cognitive function could lead to more widespread therapeutic use of cannabis in conditions, such as cancer, migraines and neuropathy.