Abstract
BACKGROUND:
Anandamide (AEA) and 2-arachidonoyl glycerol (2-AG) are signalling lipids which belong to the class of endocannabinoids (ECs) and exert their actions by activating cannabinoid receptor type-1 (CB1) and type-2 (CB2). These receptors are involved in many physiological and pathological processes in the central nervous system (CNS) and in peripheral organs. Despite many potent and selective ligands for cannabinoid receptors have been generated over the last two decades, this class of compounds achieved only a very limited therapeutic success, mainly because of the CB1-mediated side effects.
METHODS:
The compounds and results presented in this review article have been gathered from an extensive research in public databases for patents, clinical trials and scientific literature. Reference to patent numbers, clinical trial registry numbers, websites and scientific articles is provided in the text and/or in the reference section.
RESULTS:
Over the last 10-15 years, many inhibitors for the main EC hydrolytic enzymes fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH), monoacylglycerol lipase (MAGL).
- PMID: 27630088
- [PubMed – as supplied by publisher]
