[8][9] FABP inhibitors attenuate the breakdown of anandamide by the enzyme fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH) in cell culture.
[10] These truxillic acids and their derivatives have been known to have anti-inflammatory and anti-nociceptive effects in mice[11] and are active components of a Chinese herbal medicine ((−)-Incarvillateine Incarvillea sinensis) used to treat rheumatism and pain in human.
The blockade of anandamide transport may, at least in part, be the mechanism through which these compounds exert their anti-nociceptive effects.
The catalytic efficiency (i.e., the ratio between maximal velocity and Michaelis–Menten constant) of the AEA membrane transporter (AMT) is almost doubled compared with control cells, demonstrate that, among the proteins of the “endocannabinoid system,” only CB1 and AMT critically depend on membrane cholesterol content, an observation that may have important implications for the role of CB1 in protecting nerve cells against (endo)cannabinoid-induced apoptosis.
[14] This can be a reason, why the use of drugs to lower cholesterol is tied to a higher depression risk, and the correlation between levels and increased death rates from suicide and other violent causes.