A new study funded by the National Institute for Translational Medicine, and published in last month’s issue of the journal Molecular Neurobuology, has found that cannabis may treat, as well as reverse the symptoms of neurodegenerative diseases such as Parknson’s and Alzheimer’s.
According to researchers; “Our findings support the potential of cannabidiol in reversing cognitive decline and its clinical use in treating neurodegenerative disorders such as Parkinson’s Disease and Alzheimer’s Disease.”
For the study, researchers dosed rats with cannabidiol – a compound found in cannabis – and concluded that:
CBD rescued iron-induced effects, bringing hippocampal DNM1L, caspase 3, and synaptophysin levels back to values comparable to the control group. Our results suggest that iron affects mitochondrial dynamics, possibly trigging synaptic loss and apoptotic cell death and indicate that CBD should be considered as a potential molecule with memory-rescuing and neuroprotective properties to be used in the treatment of cognitive deficits observed in neurodegenerative disorders.
The study was conducted by researchers at Pontifical Catholic University.
Source: The Joint Blog