14 DAY TRIAL // An otherwise perfectly average cholesterol drug whose official moniker is fenofibrate but that most people know as Tricor, i.e. its brand name, might prove surprisingly effective when it comes to addressing symptoms such as pain and nausea.
What's more, scientists have reasons to believe that the drug could treat psychiatric and neurological issues, possibly even help cancer patients regain their appetite.
The reason specialists suspect that fenofibrate might turn out to be a suitable treatment option for such health conditions is that, in a way, this common cholesterol drug mimics the effects that medical marijuana has on the human body.
How fenofibrate is kind of, sort of like marijuana
In a report in The FASEB Journal, published by the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology, researchers detail how, in a series of laboratory experiments, they found evidence that this drug stimulates the same receptors as weed does.
Specifically, it can attach itself to so-called cannabinoid receptors in the body, previously shown to be involved in mood, appetite, pain-sensation and memory, and activate them. In response, tissues exposed to the drug relax.
As explained by University of Nottingham specialist Richard S. Priestley, the effect that this common cholesterol drug appears to have on cannabinoid receptors and consequently tissues is not all that different to the one documented in the case of marijuana.
The drug could be a substitute for medical marijuana
In light of their findings, researcher Richard S. Priestley and his colleagues argue that fenofibrate might prove an effective substitute for medical marijuana. Thus, it could address various symptoms without getting people high.
“Here are people who do not want to get stoned just to get the relief that marijuana brings. This new work suggests that possibility,” explained Gerald Weissmann, editor-in-chief of The FASEB Journal, as cited by EurekAlert.
Besides, the cholesterol drug could serve as a baseline for a new generation of drugs that, although somewhat similar to marijuana, would only treat pain, nausea, appetite loss, and other symptoms without affecting the patients' cognitive abilities.