Fatty acid relationships in former cannabis users with schizophrenia

Abnormalities in the fatty acid (FA)-based endocannabinoid lipid signaller anandamide, and prevalent cannabis use, have been found to be associated with schizophrenia and may potentially alter stress mechanisms. Other FA-based signallers, however, reportedly enhance anandamide function. The aim of the present study was to investigate the relationship between peripherally-measured levels of the FA sources of anandamide and its related signallers. The authors examined erythrocyte FA levels in patients who were former cannabis users ("C-ever") (n=6) or cannabis-naïve ("C-never") (n=6), in relation to symptoms of stress measured by the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI) and the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scales (DASS). The results showed that, in former cannabis users only, arachidonic acid (AA, anandamide's precursor) was positively correlated with total 16- and 18-carbon monounsaturated and saturated FAs (16,18m+sFAs), precursors of lipid signallers that enhance or interact with anandamide function. In C-ever, both AA and 16,18m+sFAs correlated inversely with stress, while the 18-carbon polyunsaturated FA, linoleic acid, was positively correlated with stress. Although the findings are tentative in this small sample, potential interventions are indicated. Future research may determine whether these FAs are involved in hypothesised links between anandamide abnormalities, cannabis use and stress in schizophrenia.