publication date: Jan 19, 2012
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author/source: University of Aberdeen
A University
of Aberdeen pharmacologist has been awarded a top medal
for his outstanding contribution to pharmacology.
Professor
Roger Pertwee, an internationally recognised cannabinoid scientist of the
University's School of Medical Sciences, is the 19th recipient of the Wellcome
Gold Medal, presented every two years by the British Pharmacological Society.
Of the
previous Medal recipients, three have been Nobel Prize winners and 16 of those
awarded - including Professor Hans Kosterlitz of the University of Aberdeen who
received his medal in 1987 - have been Fellows of the illustrious Royal
Society.
Roger
Pertwee, Professor of Neuropharmacology, said: "I feel delighted and very
honoured to have been given this medal by such a prestigious society,
especially because it relates to pharmacological achievements, in my case
mainly in the area of cannabinoid pharmacology.
"My research
group is currently focusing on the greatly understudied pharmacology of some of
the many unique and fascinating compounds called phytocannabinoids that are produced
by cannabis.
"The
main objective of this pharmacological research is to identify potential new
therapeutic uses for phytocannabinoids, some of which can already be prescribed
by doctors to reduce cancer pain or the spasticity and pain of multiple sclerosis.
"Just some
potential new uses we have recently discovered are for the treatment of certain
liver disorders, Parkinson's disease, stroke and drug dependence."
Professor
Pertwee's work builds on pharmacological research on phytocannabinoids that he
began at Oxford University in 1968 and continued when he moved to Aberdeen in
1974.
"We are also
investigating the pharmacology both of synthetic cannabinoids and of
endocannabinoids - these are chemicals produced naturally by our own tissues to
reduce the severity or unwanted effects of disorders such as multiple
sclerosis, Parkinson's disease, schizophrenia, post-traumatic stress disorders,
intestinal inflammatory disorders, atherosclerosis and cancer," said Professor
Pertwee.
"Endocannabinoids
display some of the pharmacological actions of tetrahydrocannabinol, the main
psychoactive constituent of the plant cannabis, which is responsible for the
‘high' that cannabis can produce."
It was
collaborative research carried out in the early 1990s by Professor Pertwee's
research group at the University of Aberdeen, and collaborator Professor
Raphael Mechoulam's research group in Jerusalem, that led to the discovery of
endocannabinoids.
Their
finding is paving the way for the development of better medicines for
moderating the progression or symptoms of certain disorders.
About
Professor Pertwee
Roger
Pertwee has three degrees from the University of Oxford: MA (in biochemistry),
D.Phil. (in pharmacology) and D.Sc. (in physiological sciences). He is
Professor of Neuropharmacology at the University of Aberdeen, Director of
Pharmacology for GW Pharmaceuticals, co-chairman of the International Union of
Pharmacology (IUPHAR) Subcommittee on Cannabinoid Receptors, a co-ordinator of
the British Pharmacological Society's Special Interest Group on Cannabinoids,
and visiting Professor at the University of Hertfordshire. He has also served
as chairman of the International Association for Cannabis as Medicine (IACM;
2005-2007) and as President of the International Cannabinoid Research Society
(ICRS; 1997-1998; 2007-2008) and is currently ICRS International Secretary and
a member of the IACM board of directors. He was the recipient of the 2002
Mechoulam Award "for his outstanding contributions to cannabinoid research" and
in 2005 was recognised as an "ISI Highly Cited Researcher".