Department of Psychiatry, Socialpsychiatry and Psychotherapy, Hannover Medical School, MHH, Carl-Neuberg-Str 1, 30625 Hannover, Germany.
Psychoneuroendocrinology. 2012 Dec;37(12):2032-6. doi: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2012.03.025. Epub 2012 Apr 28.
The cannabinoid 1 (CB 1) receptor as the primary mediator of the endocannabinoid (EC) system was found to play a role in eating disorders (EDs), depression, anxiety, and suicidal behavior. The CB 1 receptor is assumed to play a crucial role in the central reward circuitry with impact on body weight and personality traits like novelty-seeking behavior. In a previous study we found higher levels of CB 1 receptor mRNA in patients with anorexia nervosa (AN) and bulimia nervosa (BN) compared to healthy control women (HCW). The aim of the present study was to investigate the possible influence of the EC and the CB 1 receptor system on wrist cutting as self-injurious behavior (SIB) in women with EDs (n=43; AN: n=20; BN: n=23). Nine ED patients with repetitive wrist cutting (AN, n=4; BN, n=5) were compared to 34 ED patients without wrist cutting and 26 HCW. Levels of CB 1 receptor mRNA were determined in peripheral blood samples using quantitative real-time PCR. ED patients with self-injurious wrist cutting exhibited significantly lower CB 1 receptor mRNA levels compared with ED patients without wrist cutting and HCW. No significant differences were found between ED patients without a history of wrist cutting and HCW. Furthermore, a negative association was detected between CB 1 receptor mRNA levels and Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) scores. To our knowledge, this is the first study reporting a down-regulation of CB 1 receptor mRNA in patients with EDs and wrist cutting as SIB. Due to the small sample size, our results should be regarded as preliminary and further studies are warranted to reveal the underlying mechanisms.
大麻素 1（CB1）受体作为内源性大麻素（EC）系统的主要介质，被发现与进食障碍（ED）、抑郁、焦虑和自杀行为有关。CB1 受体被认为在中枢奖励回路中发挥关键作用，对体重和寻求新奇行为等人格特质有影响。在之前的一项研究中，我们发现厌食症（AN）和贪食症（BN）患者的 CB1 受体 mRNA 水平高于健康对照组女性（HCW）。本研究的目的是探讨 EC 和 CB1 受体系统对 ED 患者腕部切割（作为自伤行为）的可能影响（n=43；AN：n=20；BN：n=23）。9 名 ED 患者（AN：n=4；BN：n=5）有重复腕部切割，与 34 名无腕部切割的 ED 患者和 26 名 HCW 进行比较。采用实时定量 PCR 测定外周血样本中的 CB1 受体 mRNA 水平。有自伤性腕部切割的 ED 患者的 CB1 受体 mRNA 水平明显低于无腕部切割的 ED 患者和 HCW。无腕部切割史的 ED 患者与 HCW 之间无显著差异。此外，还检测到 CB1 受体 mRNA 水平与贝克抑郁量表（BDI）评分之间存在负相关。据我们所知，这是第一项报道 ED 患者和腕部切割（作为自伤行为）的 CB1 受体 mRNA 下调的研究。由于样本量小，我们的结果应被视为初步结果，需要进一步研究以揭示潜在的机制。
