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REVIEW article

Front. Med.
Sec. Ophthalmology
Volume 12 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fmed.2025.1500179

The Endocannabinoid System and Ophthalmic Pathologies: A Review of Molecular Mechanisms and Its Implications for Clinical Practice

Provisionally accepted
Tomasz Charytoniuk Tomasz Charytoniuk *Stanisław Półjanowski Stanisław Półjanowski Mateusz Michalak Mateusz Michalak Karolina Kaźmierczak Karolina Kaźmierczak Bartłomiej Kałużny Bartłomiej Kałużny
  • Ludwik Rydygier Collegium Medicum in Bydgoszcz, Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń, Bydgoszcz, Poland

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Within the last decade the role of the endocannabinoid system (ECS) has been a significant part of ophthalmic research, including both ocular physiology and the development of eye pathologies. It is known that this widespread cell-signaling system is involved in retinal neurobiological processes, including visual signal processing, as well as neurotransmission. Furthermore, various research indicated the involvement of ECS in the molecular basis of various pathologies, mostly glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, and age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Therefore, the researchers believe that this biological system, its receptors, pathways, and ligands might be considered as an auxiliary compound to reduce the number of patients suffering from ophthalmic diseases. Despite presented in the literature effects of the endocannabinoid system in the eye, none of the current ECS reviews presented a comprehensive description of the endocannabinoid system, its compounds, and, subsequently ophthalmic disorders. Thus, the aim of this review was to summarize all the major data, including the most up-to-date research, concerning a correlation between the endocannabinoid system and the major ophthalmic pathologies.

    Keywords: ECS, Endocannabinoid system, Retina, Glaucoma, Diabetic reinopathy, CB receptor

    Received: 22 Sep 2024; Accepted: 13 Jan 2025.

    Copyright: © 2025 Charytoniuk, Półjanowski, Michalak, Kaźmierczak and Kałużny. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Tomasz Charytoniuk, Ludwik Rydygier Collegium Medicum in Bydgoszcz, Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń, Bydgoszcz, Poland

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.