Marijuana-derived drug curbs bladder pain

[Pa-uul]

Marijuana-derived drug curbs bladder pain

 

Washington: The animal model study presented recently at the annual meeting of the American Urological Association showed that Ajulemic acid (IP 751), a primary synthetic analog of a metabolite of THC-the principal active component of marijuana, can effectively curb pain and bladder overactivity in hypersensitive bladder disorders such as interstitial cystitis (IC).

 

To conduct the study, researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine addressed the hydrophobic properties of IP 751 by introducing the drug into a liposome, a tiny sac surrounded by fatty acids, allowing the drug to be introduced directly into the bladders of rat models of varying degrees of bladder inflammation.

 

IP 751 significantly overpowered bladder overactivity, both in animal models. By stopping the underlying cause of irritation - overactivity of the bladder - the drug is able to eliminate the associated pain.

 

According to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, 700,000 Americans have IC; 90 percent are women. IC is one of the chronic pelvic pain disorders, defined by recurring discomfort or pain in the bladder and surrounding pelvic region.

 

The symptoms of the disease may vary and can include any combination of mild to severe pain, pressure and tenderness in the bladder and pelvic area and there could be an urgency or necessity to urinate. In IC, the bladder wall may become scarred or irritated, and pinpoint bleeding may appear on the bladder wall.

 

The disease prior to the research did not have any substantial and effective treatment.

 

"Interstitial cystitis is a difficult disease to treat, and not all treatments work well on all patients," said Michael B. Chancellor, M.D., professor of urology and gynecology at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.

 

The findings are supposed to be a boon to various bladder diseases.

 

"Any new option we can give our patients to alleviate their painful symptoms is very important," added the Chancellor of the University.

 

Indevus Pharmaceuticals Inc., a biopharmaceutical company had sponsored the study and the results have been published in abstract 25.

 

The NIH and the Fishbein Family Foundation Center of Urologic Research Excellence - Interstitial Cystitis (CURE-IC) Project, have also supported the study.

Author: ANI

Date: 28 May, 2006

Source: www.newkerala.com

Copyright: 2006

[WantDaChronic]

with a disease like that, those people need all the pain relief they can be given...damn it sounds like a nasty disease to have