The cannabis compound cannabidiol (CBD) “acts as neuroprotector in dopaminergic neurons, reducing neurotoxicity and α-syn accumulation highlighting its potential in the treatment of PD”, according to a new study.
The study is being published in the recent issue of the journal Neurochemical Research, and it was epublished online ahead of print by the National Library of Medicine. The research was conducted by investigators from the Universidade Federal de São Paulo, the Brazil National Institute for Translational Medicine and the University of São Paulo.
“Progressive neurodegenerative disorders such as Parkinson Disease (PD) lack curative or long-term treatments”, states the study’s abstract. “At the same time, the increase of the worldwide elderly population and, consequently, the extension in the prevalence of age-related diseases have promoted research interest in neurodegenerative disorders.”
For this study researchers “evaluated cannabidiol (CBD) as a possible neuroprotective compound in PD using the C. elegans models exposed to reserpine.”
Researchers state that “Our results demonstrated that CBD reversed the reserpine-induced locomotor alterations and this response was independent of the NPR-19 receptors, an orthologous receptor for central cannabinoid receptor type 1. Morphological alterations of cephalic sensilla (CEP) dopaminergic neurons indicated that CBD also protects neurons from reserpine-induced degeneration.”
That is, “CBD attenuates the reserpine-induced increase of worms with shrunken soma and dendrites loss, increasing the number of worms with intact CEP neurons.”
Finally, researchers “found that CBD also reduced ROS formation and α-syn protein accumulation in mutant worms.”
The study concludes: “Our findings collectively provide new evidence that CBD acts as neuroprotector in dopaminergic neurons, reducing neurotoxicity and α-syn accumulation highlighting its potential in the treatment of PD.”
For more information on this study, including its full abstract, you can click here.
