“The modulation of endocannabinoid (EC) levels and the activation of cannabinoid receptors are seen as promising therapeutic strategies in a variety of diseases, including Alzheimer’s disease (AD).
These data reinforce the notion of a role for the EC system in neuroinflammation and open new perspectives on the relevance of modulating EC levels in the inflammed brain.”
“Previous studies have demonstrated that the endocannabinoid system significantly influences the progression of brain ageing, and the hippocampus is one of the brain regions most vulnerable to ageing and neurodegeneration.
We have further examined age-related changes in the hippocampalendocannabinoid system by measuring the levels of anandamide (AEA) and 2-arachidonoylglycerol (2-AG) in young and old mice from two different mouse strains.
We found a decrease in 2-AG but not AEA levels in aged mice.
In order to identify the cause for 2-AG level changes, we investigated the levels of several enzymes that contribute to synthesis and degradation of 2-AG in the hippocampus.
We found a selective decrease in DAGLα mRNA and protein levels as well as an elevated MAGL activity during ageing.
We hypothesize that the observed decrease of 2-AG levels is probably caused by changes in DAGLα expression and MAGL activity.
This finding can contribute to the existing knowledge about the processes underlying selective vulnerability of the hippocampus to ageing and age-related neurodegeneration.”
“Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is frequently associated with neuropsychiatric symptoms (NPS) such as agitation and aggression, especially in the moderate to severe stages of the illness. The limited efficacy and high-risk profiles of current pharmacotherapies for the management of agitation and aggression in AD have driven the search for safer pharmacological alternatives.
Over the past few years, there has been a growing interest in the therapeutic potential of medications that target the endocannabinoid system (ECS).
The behavioural effects of ECS medications, as well as their ability to modulate neuroinflammation and oxidative stress, make targeting this system potentially relevant in AD.
This article summarizes the literature to date supporting this rationale and evaluates clinical studies investigating cannabinoids for agitation and aggression in AD.
Letters, case studies, and controlled trials from four electronic databases were included. While findings from six studies showed significant benefits from synthetic cannabinoids-dronabinol or nabilone-on agitation and aggression, definitive conclusions were limited by small sample sizes, short trial duration, and lack of placebo control in some of these studies.
Given the relevance and findings to date, methodologically rigorous prospective clinical trials are recommended to determine the safety and efficacy of cannabinoids for the treatment of agitation and aggression in dementia and AD.”
“Cannabinoids form a singular family of plant-derived compounds (phytocannabinoids), endogenous signaling lipids (endocannabinoids), and synthetic derivatives with multiple biological effects and therapeutic applications in the central and peripheral nervous systems.
One of these properties is the regulation of neuronal homeostasis and survival, which is the result of the combination of a myriad of effects addressed to preserve, rescue, repair, and/or replace neurons, and also glial cells against multiple insults that may potentially damage these cells.
These effects are facilitated by the location of specific targets for the action of these compounds (e.g., cannabinoid type 1 and 2 receptors, endocannabinoid inactivating enzymes, and nonendocannabinoid targets) in key cellular substrates (e.g., neurons, glial cells, and neural progenitor cells).
This potential is promising for acute and chronic neurodegenerative pathological conditions. In this review, we will collect all experimental evidence, mainly obtained at the preclinical level, supporting that different cannabinoid compounds may be neuroprotective in adult and neonatal ischemia, brain trauma, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, Huntington’s chorea, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.
This increasing experimental evidence demands a prompt clinical validation of cannabinoid-based medicines for the treatment of all these disorders, which, at present, lack efficacious treatments for delaying/arresting disease progression…”
“Inflammation plays a pivotal role in the pathogenesis of many diseases in the central nervous system.
Caudate nucleus (CN), the largest nucleus in the brain, is also implicated in many neurological disorders.
2-Arachidonoylglycerol (2-AG), the most abundant endogenous cannabinoid and the true natural ligand for CB1 receptors, has been shown to exhibit neuroprotective effects through its anti-inflammatory action from proinflammatory stimuli in hippocampus.
In the present study, we discovered that 2-AG significantly protects CN neurons in culture against lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced inflammatory response.
Our study suggests the therapeutic potential of 2-AG for the treatment of some inflammation-induced neurological disorders and pain.”
“Homocysteine (Hcy) is a high risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Caudate nucleus (CN), the major component of basal ganglia in the brain, is also involved in many neurological disorders.
2-Arachidonoylglycerol (2-AG), the true natural ligand for cannabinoid type-1 (CB1) receptors and the most abundant endogenous cannabinoid, has been shown to exhibit neuroprotective effects through its anti-inflammatory action from proinflammatory stimuli in the hippocampus and CN.
In the present work, we explored that 2-AG significantly protects CN neurons in culture against Hcy-induced response.
2-AG is capable of inhibiting elevation of Hcy-induced cyclooxygenase-2 expression associated with nuclear factor-kappaB/p38MAPK/ERK1/2 signaling pathway through CB1 receptors-dependent way in primary cultured CN neurons.
Our study reveals the therapeutic potential for 2-AG for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases, such as AD.”
“Homocysteine (Hcy) is an important risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and other neurodegenerative diseases. Caudate nucleus (CN), the largest nucleus in the brain, is also implicated in many neurological disorders.
2-Arachidonoylglycerol (2-AG), the most abundant endogenous cannabinoid, has been shown to exhibit neuroprotective effects from many stimuli in the central nervous system (CNS).
Furthermore, it has been reported that voltage-gated sodium channels (VGSCs) are the common targets of many neuronal damages and drugs.
However, it is still not clear whether VGSCs are involved in the neurotoxicity of Hcy and the neuroprotective effect of 2-AG in CN neurons. In the present study, whole-cell patch clamp recording was used to invest the action of Hcy on sodium currents in primary cultured rat CN neurons and its modulation by 2-AG.
The results showed that in cultured CN neurons, pathological concentration of Hcy (100 μM) significantly increased the voltage-gated sodium currents (I Na) and produced a hyperpolarizing shift in the activation-voltage curve of I Na.
The further data demonstrated 2-AG is capable of suppressing elevation of Hcy-induced increase in I Na and hyperpolarizing shift of activation curves most partly through CB1 receptor-dependent way.
Our study provides a better understanding of Hcy-associated neurological disorders and suggests the therapeutic potential for 2-AG for the treatment of these diseases.”
“In Alzheimer’s disease (AD), one of the early responses to Aβ amyloidosis is recruitment of microglia to areas of new plaque. Microglial receptors such as cannabinoid receptor 2 (CB2) might be a suitable target for development of PET radiotracers that could serve as imaging biomarkers of Aβ-induced neuroinflammation…
The presence of CB2 immunoreactivity in neurons does not likely contribute to the enhanced CB2 PET signal in amyloid-bearing mice due to a lack of significant neuronal loss in this model. However, significant loss of neurons as seen at late stages of AD might decrease the CB2 PET signal due to loss of neuronally-derived CB2.
Thus this study in mouse models of AD indicates that a CB2-specific radiotracer can be used as a biomarker of neuroinflammation in the early preclinical stages of AD, when no significant neuronal loss has yet developed.”
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26086915
http://www.thctotalhealthcare.com/category/alzheimers-disease-ad/
“The Cannabis sativa plant has been exploited for medicinal, agricultural and spiritual purposes in diverse cultures over thousands of years.
Cannabis has been used recreationally for its psychotropic properties, while effects such as stimulation of appetite, analgesia and anti-emesis have lead to the medicinal application of cannabis.
Indeed, reports of medicinal efficacy of cannabis can been traced back as far as 2700 BC, and even at that time reports also suggested a neuroprotective effect of the cultivar.
…alterations in the endocannabinoid system have been extensively investigated in a range of neurodegenerative disorders.
In this review we examine the evidence implicating the endocannabinoid system in the cause, symptomatology or treatment of neurodegenerative disease. We examine data from human patients and compare and contrast this with evidence from animal models of these diseases. On the basis of this evidence we discuss the likely efficacy of endocannabinoid-based therapies in each disease context.
There has been anecdotal and preliminary scientific evidence of cannabis affording symptomatic relief in diverse neurodegenerative disorders. These include multiple sclerosis, Huntington’s, Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s diseases, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.
This evidence implied that hypofunction or dysregulation of the endocannabinoid system may be responsible for some of the symptomatology of these diseases.”
“Cannabinoids exert a neuroprotective influence on some neurological diseases, including Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, Huntington’s, multiple sclerosis and epilepsy.
Synthetic cannabinoid receptor agonists/antagonists or compounds can provide symptom relief or control the progression of neurological diseases. However, the molecular mechanism and the effectiveness of these agents in controlling the progression of most of these diseases remain unclear.
Cannabinoids may exert effects via a number of mechanisms and interactions with neurotransmitters, neurotropic factors and neuropeptides.
Leptin is a peptide hormone involved in the regulation of food intake and energy balance via its actions on specific hypothalamic nuclei. Leptin receptors are widely expressed throughout the brain, especially in the hippocampus, basal ganglia, cortex and cerebellum. Leptin has also shown neuroprotective properties in a number of neurological disorders, such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s.
Therefore, cannabinoid and leptin hold therapeutic potential for neurological diseases.
Further elucidation of the molecular mechanisms underlying the effects on these agents may lead to the development of new therapeutic strategies for the treatment of neurological disorders.”