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This book focuses on the role of the endocannabinoid system in local and systemic inflammation, with individual chapters written by experts in the field of cannabinoid research and medicine. The topics explore the actions of the endocannabinoid system on the immune system, including neuroinflammation in autoimmune disorders such as multiple sclerosis, and in neurodegenerative disorders such as Huntington's and Alzheimer's, as well as local and systemic inflammatory conditions affecting organs including the eye (uveitis and corneal inflammation), the bladder (interstitial cystitis), pancreas (diabetes), cardiovascular system (stroke), joints (arthritis), and sepsis. The objective of this book is to provide knowledge transfer on the use of cannabinoids in inflammatory disease by critically examining preclinical and clinical research on the immunomodulatory actions of the endocannabinoid system, with specific emphasis on the actions of cannabinoids in diseases where inflammation is a prominent component. By drawing these results together, we seek to provide further understanding of the complexities of endocannabinoid system modulation of immune function and identify potential uses and limitations for cannabinoid-based therapeutics.
About the author
Melanie E.M. Kelly, Ph.D., is Professor of Pharmacology, Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, and Anesthesia, Perioperative Medicine and Pain Management at Dalhousie University. Professor Kelly received her B.Sc. (Hons) in Physiology and Pharmacology from Southampton University, UK, in 1981 and, in 1984, completed a Ph.D. in Neurophysiology at Southampton University. Professor Kelly's research is in molecular and translational pharmacology, with expertise in G protein coupled receptors and ocular and vascular pharmacology. During the last decade, her research has centered on the pharmacology of the endocannabinoid system. Her laboratory, together with collaborators, has published ground breaking research on the role of the endocannabinoid system in ocular disease and the therapeutic potential of cannabinoid-based drugs. Professor Kelly is actively engaged in bench to bedside research to identify novel drug targets and bring new cannabinoid-based medications to the clinic to treat human disease. She has published over 120 scientific peer-reviewed papers, reviews, book chapters, and books, and is an inventor on patents to use cannabinoid-based drugs to treat inflammatory disease and neuropathic pain. Professor Kelly's research is funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, and the National Institutes of Health, USA. Professor Kelly is also one of the founders of a Nova Scotia-based biopharmaceutical company that is developing phytocannabinoid therapies to treat human inflammation and chronic pain and she is on the Executive Board of the Canadian Consortium for the Investigation of Cannabinoids (CCIC). She is a licensed National Pro-rally Codriver and enjoys running and hiking the beautiful Nova Scotia Coast.
