CB1 antagonist seems to contribute to depression
I didn’t notice this before, but in a study of about 4000 subjects, people who took Rimonabant (marketed as Acomplia), a selective antagonist of the cannabinoid type 1 receptor (CB1), apparently had a 3.2% incidence of depressive disorders where placebo-takers apparently had a 1.6% incidence. Also, irritability went from .6% to 1.9%, parasomnia from .2% to 1.5%, nervousness from .2% to 1.2%, sleep disorders from .4% to 1.0%, memory loss from .9% to 1.6%, hypoesthesia from .6% to 1.6%, and sciatica from .4% to 1.0%. Psychiatric adverse events were dose-dependent.
There was a high rate of treatment discontinuation due to adverse events; 15.7% in the rimonabant 20mg group compared to 7.8% in the placebo group.
For more info, see page 33 of EMEA(Europe’s FDA)’s Scientific Discussion document.
This strengthens my earlier stance that patients should weigh the decision of whether to chronically consume a CB1 antagonist as carefully as if they were considering regularly taking a CB1 agonist (such as marijuana).