Collectively, these data suggest that AEA signaling can temper aspects of the stress response and that FAAH inhibition may aid the treatment for stress-related psychiatric disorders, such as PTSD.
Here we summarize and discuss such experimental findings, which might guide future preclinical studies towards a systematic evaluation of the therapeutic potential of pharmacological approaches that target FAAH activity for the treatment of the comorbidity between psychological disorders and cardiac disease.
A common single nucleotide polymorphism (C385A) in the human fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH) gene has been associated with decreased distress responses in healthy volunteers, but its role in psychiatric disorders remains unknown.
However, many works have repeatedly associated polymorphisms in the CNR1 and FAAH genes with drug-related behaviours; this suggests that these genes should be examined in further genetic studies focusing on drug addiction and other psychiatric disorders.