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To the Editor: In their Research Letter, Dr Habayeb and colleagues¹ showed that plasma levels of the endocannabinoid anandamide (N-arachidonoyl-ethanolamine) were approximately 3-fold higher in women in a miscarriage group compared with those in a live birth group and thus were associated with the outcome in patients presenting with threatened miscarriage. This observation extends previous findings that in peripheral blood mononuclear cells, low levels of fatty acid amide hydrolase, the enzyme that metabolizes anandamide, were associated with subsequent miscarriage in women with uncomplicated early pregnancies.² On this basis, the authors suggest that measurement of anandamide levels may have the potential to improve the prediction and counseling of women at risk of miscarriage.

Defective fatty acid amide hydrolase expression (with increased anandamide levels compared with healthy controls) has been observed in peripheral blood mononuclear cells from persons of reproductive age with presymptomatic and symptomatic Huntington disease³ and multiple sclerosis.⁴ . . . [Full Text of this Article]

Mauro Maccarrone, PhD
mmaccarrone@unite.it
Department of Biomedical Sciences
University of Teramo
Teramo, Italy

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RELATED ARTICLE

Plasma Anandamide Concentration and Pregnancy Outcome in Women With Threatened Miscarriage
Osama M. H. Habayeb, Anthony H. Taylor, Mark Finney, Mark D. Evans, and Justin C. Konje
JAMA. 2008;299(10):1135-1136.
EXTRACT | FULL TEXT  

RELATED LETTER

Anandamide as a Marker of Human Disease—Reply
Osama M. H. Habayeb, Anthony H. Taylor, and Justin C. Konje
JAMA. 2008;300(3):282.
EXTRACT | FULL TEXT