Document Detail


Motion sickness, stress and the endocannabinoid system.
MedLine Citation:
PMID:  20505775     Owner:  NLM     Status:  MEDLINE    
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
BACKGROUND: A substantial number of individuals are at risk for the development of motion sickness induced nausea and vomiting (N&V) during road, air or sea travel. Motion sickness can be extremely stressful but the neurobiologic mechanisms leading to motion sickness are not clear. The endocannabinoid system (ECS) represents an important neuromodulator of stress and N&V. Inhibitory effects of the ECS on N&V are mediated by endocannabinoid-receptor activation. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We studied the activity of the ECS in human volunteers (n = 21) during parabolic flight maneuvers (PFs). During PFs, microgravity conditions (<10(-2) g) are generated for approximately 22 s which results in a profound kinetic stimulus. Blood endocannabinoids (anandamide and 2-arachidonoylglycerol, 2-AG) were measured from blood samples taken in-flight before start of the parabolic maneuvers, after 10, 20, and 30 parabolas, in-flight after termination of PFs and 24 h later. Volunteers who developed acute motion sickness (n = 7) showed significantly higher stress scores but lower endocannabinoid levels during PFs. After 20 parabolas, blood anandamide levels had dropped significantly in volunteers with motion sickness (from 0.39+/-0.40 to 0.22+/-0.25 ng/ml) but increased in participants without the condition (from 0.43+/-0.23 to 0.60+/-0.38 ng/ml) resulting in significantly higher anandamide levels in participants without motion sickness (p = 0.02). 2-AG levels in individuals with motion sickness were low and almost unchanged throughout the experiment but showed a robust increase in participants without motion sickness. Cannabinoid-receptor 1 (CB1) but not cannabinoid-receptor 2 (CB2) mRNA expression in leucocytes 4 h after the experiment was significantly lower in volunteers with motion sickness than in participants without N&V. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: These findings demonstrate that stress and motion sickness in humans are associated with impaired endocannabinoid activity. Enhancing ECS signaling may represent an alternative therapeutic strategy for motion sickness in individuals who do not respond to currently available treatments.
Authors:
Alexander Choukèr; Ines Kaufmann; Simone Kreth; Daniela Hauer; Matthias Feuerecker; Detlef Thieme; Michael Vogeser; Manfred Thiel; Gustav Schelling
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Publication Detail:
Type:  Clinical Trial; Journal Article; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't     Date:  2010-05-21
Journal Detail:
Title:  PloS one     Volume:  5     ISSN:  1932-6203     ISO Abbreviation:  PLoS ONE     Publication Date:  2010  
Date Detail:
Created Date:  2010-05-27     Completed Date:  2010-09-07     Revised Date:  2010-09-30    
Medline Journal Info:
Nlm Unique ID:  101285081     Medline TA:  PLoS One     Country:  United States    
Other Details:
Languages:  eng     Pagination:  e10752     Citation Subset:  IM    
Affiliation:
Department of Anesthesiology, Ludwig-Maximilians-University, Munich, Germany.
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MeSH Terms
Descriptor/Qualifier:
Adult
Aircraft
Demography
Endocannabinoids / blood*
Gene Expression Regulation
Humans
Hydrocortisone / metabolism
Hypothalamo-Hypophyseal System / metabolism
Male
Motion Sickness / blood*,  complications
Nausea / blood,  complications
Pituitary-Adrenal System / metabolism
Receptors, Cannabinoid / genetics,  metabolism
Stress, Physiological*
Chemical
Reg. No./Substance:
0/Endocannabinoids; 0/Receptors, Cannabinoid; 50-23-7/Hydrocortisone
Comments/Corrections

From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine


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