Dr. T. Philip Malan and Team Recognized for Authoring Top-Cited Paper
November 03, 2009
TUCSON, Ariz. – A paper from the University of Arizona College of Medicine was recognized as one of the Top 10 Cited Papers in the journal Pain for the years 2006-2008. Pain, a publication of the International Association for the Study of Pain, is the most prominent journal devoted to studies of pain mechanisms and treatment. 
T. Philip Malan, MD, PhD, professor of anesthesiology and pharmacology and vice dean for academic affairs at the College of Medicine, is lead author of the study, “CB2 cannabinoid receptor mediation of antinociception” (Pain, Volume 122, Issue 1-2 [2006], pp. 36-42), which is one of a series of influential papers demonstrating that drugs that activate CB2 cannabinoid receptors relieve pain. This groundbreaking work has been largely responsible for the initiation of research projects at other universities and programs focused on the clinical development of CB2 drugs by major pharmaceutical companies.
Cannabinoid receptors are proteins on cells that respond to cannabinoid drugs. Cannabinoid drugs are chemical compounds similar to tetrahydrocannabinol, the active ingredient in Cannabis sativa, or marijuana. There are two types of cannabinoid receptors, CB1 and CB2. Dr. Malan explains that CB1 receptors are responsible for the sedation, euphoria and other psychoactive side effects of cannabinoid compounds. CB2 receptors don’t produce these effects, but do produce pain relief. Cannabinoid compounds have been demonstrated to produce pain relief in humans, but their pain-relieving effects are not very strong. “The relatively weak pain-relieving effects may be due to dose limitations in humans owing to sedation and other unwanted side effects,” Dr. Malan says. “Drugs specific for CB2 receptors, which are free of these unwanted side effects, could be administered in doses that produce significant pain relief.”
Work on the effects of CB2 receptor-activating drugs continues at the UA College of Medicine. Studies in the laboratory of Todd Vanderah, PhD, associate professor of pharmacology, have shown that these drugs have very beneficial effects in cancer metastatic to bone.
Contributors to “CB2 cannabinoid receptor mediation of antinociception” include Dr. Vanderah; Mohab M. Ibrahim, PhD, MD; Megan L. Rude, BS; Nicola J. Stagg, PhD; Heriberto P. Mata, BS; Josephine Lai, PhD; Frank Porreca, PhD; Nancy E. Buckley, PhD; and Alexandros Makriyannis, PhD.
The University of Arizona boasts one of the world’s foremost pain research programs. The UA Pain Research Group is a highly collaborative and multi-disciplinary team consisting primarily of faculty from the Department of Pharmacology, including principal investigators Thomas P. Davis, PhD; Greg Dussor, PhD; Victor Hruby, PhD; Tamara King, PhD; Josephine Lai, PhD; T. Philip Malan, MD, PhD; Patrick Mantyh, PhD, JD; Michael Ossipov, PhD; Frank Porreca, PhD; Theodore Price, PhD; William Roeske, MD; Eva Varga, PhD; and Todd Vanderah, PhD.
.
This group utilizes the most advanced approaches and core facilities offered at
the UA College of Medicine, including genomics, proteomics, advanced microscopy and small-animal imaging for cutting-edge research to address significant health-related questions. The Pain Research Group has strong intramural collaborative interactions with members of the Arizona Cancer Center, the UA Sarver Heart Center, UA Departments of Pathology, Neurology, Molecular and Cellular Biology, and Chemistry as well as many extramural collaborations. Federal and non-federal funding currently supports the research activities of 18 post-doctoral fellows, 20 graduate students and 12 undergraduate students. The faculty members participate in all aspects of academic life, including teaching medical students and graduate students in the Graduate Program in Medical Pharmacology, as well as intramural service to the College and the University, and in a broad array of extramural service and community activities.