A groundbreaking study published in the per reviewed journal Neurotherapeutics shows that a combination of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD) may offer new hope for treating Alzheimer’s disease (AD).
“A combination of Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ9-THC) and cannabidiol (CBD) at non-psychoactive doses was previously demonstrated to reduce cognitive decline in APP/PS1 mice, an animal model of Alzheimer’s disease (AD)”, starts the study’s abstract. “However, the neurobiological substrates underlying these therapeutic properties of Δ9-THC and CBD are not fully understood.”
Considering that dysregulation of glutamatergic activity contributes to cognitive impairment in AD, the present study “evaluates the hypothesis that the combination of these two natural cannabinoids might reverse the alterations in glutamate dynamics within the hippocampus of this animal model of AD.”
Researchers state “Interestingly, our findings reveal that chronic treatment with Δ9-THC and CBD, but not with any of them alone, reduces extracellular glutamate levels and the basal excitability of the hippocampus in APP/PS1 mice. These effects are not related to significant changes in the function and structure of glutamate synapses, as no relevant changes in synaptic plasticity, glutamate signaling or in the levels of key components of these synapses were observed in cannabinoid-treated mice.
The study says this data indicates that “these cannabinoid effects are associated with the control of glutamate uptake and/or to the regulation of the hippocampal network.”
Taken together, “these results support the potential therapeutic properties of combining these natural cannabinoids against the excitotoxicity that occurs in AD brains.”
The study was conducted by researchers at the University of Barcelona and the University of Cantabria in Spain, the University of Coimbra and the University of Coimbra in Portugal.
