Cannabis, the Gut, and Metabolic Health with Nicholas DiPatrizio, PhD
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In this episode, Dr. Nicholas DiPatrizio discusses how the endocannabinoid system helps regulate appetite, nutrient sensing, metabolism, and communication between the gut and brain. He describes findings from mouse studies showing how cannabinoid signaling in the intestinal lining may promote preferences for foods high in fat and sugar and interfere with signals that normally tell the brain when to stop eating. He also explores the “cannabis paradox,” in which cannabis can stimulate appetite while chronic users tend to have lower body weight and a reduced likelihood of type 2 diabetes. The conversation examines research comparing pure delta-9 THC with whole-cannabis extract, including evidence in obese mice that both reduced body weight but only the whole extract reversed diabetes-like metabolic dysfunction. A central message is that therapies targeting cannabinoid receptors specifically in the gut may one day improve metabolic health while limiting unwanted effects on the brain.
Nicholas DiPatrizio, PhD is Professor of Biomedical Sciences in the School of Medicine at UCR, and Founding Director of the UCR Center for Cannabinoid Research. A native of the Philadelphia area, Dr. DiPatrizio received his bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Temple University and his Ph.D. in Biomedical Sciences with an emphasis on Neuroscience from Drexel College of Medicine. He then moved to California in 2008 for his postdoctoral fellowship in Neuroscience and Lipidomics at the University of California Irvine School of Medicine. In 2014, he launched his independent research program at UCR. The DiPatrizio laboratory investigates roles for the endocannabinoid system in the integrative neurobiology and physiology that controls food intake, energy homeostasis, and reward, and dysregulation of these pathways in metabolic disorders. Moreover, the DiPatrizio laboratory studies the impact of cannabis exposure on endocannabinoid system function in metabolic health and disease. This work will support the discovery and development of novel therapeutic strategies to safely treat obesity, type-2 diabetes, and related disorders.