Endometriosis is a chronic painful disease highly prevalent in women that is defined by growth of endometrial tissue outside the uterine cavity and lacks adequate treatment. Medical use of cannabis derivatives is a current hot topic and it is unknown whether phytocannabinoids may modify endometriosis symptoms and development. Here we evaluate the effects of repeated exposure to Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) in a mouse model of surgically-induced endometriosis. In this model, female mice develop mechanical hypersensitivity in the caudal abdomen, mild anxiety-like behavior and substantial memory deficits associated with the presence of extrauterine endometrial cysts. Interestingly, daily treatments with THC (2 mg/kg) alleviate mechanical hypersensitivity and pain unpleasantness, modify uterine innervation and restore cognitive function without altering the anxiogenic phenotype. Strikingly, THC also inhibits the development of endometrial cysts. These data highlight the interest of scheduled clinical trials designed to investigate possible benefits of THC for women with endometriosis.

中文翻译：

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天然Δ9-四氢大麻酚对子宫内膜异位症相关疼痛的缓解疾病作用

子宫内膜异位症是一种在女性中高度流行的慢性疼痛疾病，其定义为子宫腔外子宫内膜组织的生长并缺乏适当的治疗。大麻衍生物的医学用途是当前的热门话题，尚不知道植物大麻素是否可以改变子宫内膜异位症的症状和发育。在这里，我们评估了在外科手术引起的子宫内膜异位症小鼠模型中反复暴露于Δ9-四氢大麻酚（THC）的影响。在这种模型中，雌性小鼠发展出尾腹部机械性超敏反应，轻度的焦虑样行为以及与子宫外子宫内膜囊肿相关的大量记忆缺陷。有趣的是，每天使用四氢大麻酚（2 mg / kg）的治疗可减轻机械性超敏反应和疼痛不适感，改变子宫神经支配并恢复认知功能，而不会改变焦虑症的表型。令人惊讶的是，THC还抑制子宫内膜囊肿的发展。这些数据凸显了旨在研究THC对子宫内膜异位症妇女的潜在益处的定期临床试验的兴趣。