Suppression of Cancer Chemotherapy-Induced Vomiting in the Cat by Nabilone, a Synthetic Cannabinoid

Abstract

Nabilone, a synthetic cannabinoid, has a unique spectrum of antiemetic activity in the cat. Doses of nabilone (25-100 .mu.g/kg) required to suppress emesis induced by apomorphine, deslanoside and the anticancer drugs BCNU [1,3-bis(2-chlorethyl)-3-cyclohexyl-1-nitrosourea], HN2 [nitrogen mustard] and cis-Pt [cis-diamminedichloroplatinum II] produced behavioral disturbances concomitantly. Vomiting evoked by nicotine was not blocked by nabilone. The emetic suppressant action of nabilone is probably effected in the forebrain in association with its psychotropic influence to cause an inhibition of the vomiting control mechanism in the medulla oblongata through descending connections. The results with nabilone in an appropriate animal model confirm the clinical finding that the cannabinoids provide therapeutic benefit against the severe vomiting of cancer chemotherapy.