Sunday, 8 September 2013

Activation of Cannabinoid Receptors May Treat Alzheimer’s Disease

 

A new study published by the journal Neurobiology of Aging has found promising evidence to suggest that Alzheimer’s disease is significantly worsened by a deficiency in body’s cannabinoid receptors, indicating that the disease could be treated with cannabis, which naturally activates these receptors.

For the study, researchers implanted mice with Alzheimer’s disease, and examined a control group compared to a group which was deficient in cannabinoid receptors. Researchers found that the mice which were deficient in a particular cannabinoid receptor “showed impaired learning and memory deficits” compared to the control group.

According to the study’s abstract, “The surviving mice showed a reduced amount of APP and its fragments suggesting a regulatory influence of CB1 on APP processing, which was confirmed by modulating CB1 expression in vitro”.

Researchers conclude that these “findings indicate that CB1 deficiency can worsen AD-related cognitive deficits and support a potential role of CB1 as a pharmacologic target.”

These findings help to confirm a study published recently in the journal Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience, which found that cannabis can slow, and potentially even cure Alzheimer’s disease.













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