Research News

Amid efforts to build out medical cannabis industries in the Caribbean, a student at the Cave Hill Campus is researching whether cannabinoids - a type of compound found in the cannabis plant - could be used to treat endothelial dysfunction. 

 

Endothelial dysfunction occurs when there is an imbalance of the chemicals required to control the normal functioning of blood vessels. This occurs at the endothelium, the innermost cellular lining of blood and lymphatic vessels. This condition can lead to the development of coronary heart disease that is mainly caused by atherosclerosis, which is the buildup of plaque within a blood vessel. 

 

Deidre Shepherd, who is pursuing a Master of Philosophy (MPhil) in Pharmacology, is investigating the link between endothelial dysfunction and hypertension. This can affect blood vessels as endothelial dysfunction can contribute to an impairment of endothelium-dependent relaxation of the vessels (relaxation of blood vessels caused by action of the endothelium). Previous research has shown that endothelial dysfunction may precede the development of hypertension, but it has also been found in patients with the condition. 

 

Her research comes as statistics collected between 2000 to 2010 reveal that the prevalence of hypertension has doubled in low to middle-income countries when compared to high-income countries, and globally, 71 percent of the deaths recorded annually are attributed to non-communicable diseases of which cardiovascular diseases account for 44 percent. 

 

Customarily, medical drugs like ACE (angiotensin-converting enzyme) inhibitors, beta blockers, and statins are used to treat endothelial dysfunction. But with cannabis already recognised as a treatment option for epilepsy, pain, multiple sclerosis, and cancer, Shepherd believes investigations should extend to this condition. 

 

Synthetic cannabinoids will be used in her research that focuses on what occurs at the cellular level in particular signalling pathways that contribute to the regulation of nitric oxide production and endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) activity. Nitric oxide is a molecule naturally produced by the body, and endothelial nitric oxide synthase is an enzyme that is found within the endothelium that produces nitric oxide.   

 

Her study is entitled “The Use of Cannabinoids to Modulate Endothelial Dysfunction” and will be done in two phases. In the first, cell cultures will be used to investigate the modulation of the endocannabinoid system on nitric oxide production. Endocannabinoids are molecules made by the body that mainly act on receptors called cannabinoid receptors. In phase two, she proposes to use rats to induce endothelial dysfunction to determine the effect of the cannabinoids on their vascular reactivity.  

 

In preparation for the fieldwork, Shepherd has been receiving training in cell culture techniques. 

 

As with all university research, her study must receive institutional approval before proceeding, which will ensure ethical concerns are properly addressed. 

 

The MPhil student outlined her research during the 9th Annual Faculty of Medical Sciences Graduate Symposium held on 28 January 2022.