Cannabinoid Receptor 2 Signaling in Neurodegenerative Disorders : From Pathogenesis to a Promising Therapeutic Target Tommaso Cassano, Silvio Calcagnini, Lorenzo Pace, Federico De Marco, Adele Romano and Silvana Gaetani Frontiers in Neuroscience, 2017, 11, article 30 DOI : 10.3389/fnins.2017.00030   Abstract : As a consequence of an increasingly aging population, the number of people affected by neurodegenerative disorders,such as Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease and Huntington’s disease, is rapidly increasing. Although the etiology of these diseases has not been completely defined, common molecular mechanisms including neuroinflammation, excitotoxicity and mitochondrial dysfunction have been confirmed and can be targeted therapeutically. Moreover, recent studies have shown that endogenous cannabinoid signaling [...]

A Molecular Link Between the Active Component of Marijuana and Alzheimer's Disease Pathology Lisa M. Eubanks, Claude J. Rogers, Albert E. Beuscher IV, George F. Koob, Arthur J. Olson, Tobin J. Dickerson, and Kim D. Janda Molecular Pharmacology, 2006, 3, 6, 773–777. doi:10.1021/mp060066m Abstract : Alzheimer's disease is the leading cause of dementia among the elderly, and with the ever-increasing size of this population, cases of Alzheimer's disease are expected to triple over the next 50 years. Consequently, the development of treatments that slow or halt the disease progression have become imperative to both improve the quality of life for patients as well as reduce [...]

Symptom-relieving and neuroprotective effects of the phytocannabinoid Δ9-THCV in animal models of Parkinson's disease C. García, C. Palomo-Garo, M. Garcia-Arencibia, J.A. Ramos, R.G. Pertwee, J. Fernandez-Ruiz British Journal of Pharmacology, 2011, 163, 1495-1506. (Themed Issue : Cannabinoids on Biology and Medicine, Part 1) DOI : 10.1111/j.1476-5381.2011.01278.x   Abstract BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Previous findings have indicated that a cannabinoid, such as Δ9-THCV, which has antioxidant properties and the ability to activate CB2 receptors but to block CB1, might be a promising therapy for alleviating symptoms and delaying neurodegeneration in Parkinson's disease (PD). EXPERIMENTAL APPROACH The ability of Δ9-THCV to reduce motor inhibition and provide neuroprotection was investigated in rats lesioned with [...]

Biphasic effects of THC in memory and cognition Edward J. Calabrese, Alberto Rubio-Casillas European Journal of Clinical Investigation, 2018, 48, e12920. DOI: 10.1111/eci.12920 Abstract : A generally undesired effect of cannabis smoking is a reversible disruption of short-term memory induced by delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the primary psychoactive component of cannabis. However, this paradigm has been recently challenged by a group of scientists who have shown that THC is also able to improve neurological function in old animals when chronically administered at low concentrations. Moreover, recent studies demonstrated that THC paradoxically promotes hippocampal neurogenesis, prevents neurodegenerative processes occurring in animal models of Alzheimer’s disease, protects from inflammationinduced [...]

A chronic low dose of Δ9 tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) restores cognitive function in old mice Andras Bilkei-Gorzo, Onder Albayram, Astrid Draffehn, Kerstin Michel, Anastasia Piyanova, Hannah Oppenheimer, Mona Dvir-Ginzberg, Ildiko Rácz, Thomas Ulas, Sophie Imbeault, Itai Bab, Joachim L Schultze & Andreas Zimmer Nature Medicine, 2017, 23, 782-787. DOI : 10.1038/nm.4311 Abstract : The balance between detrimental, pro-aging, often stochastic processes and counteracting homeostatic mechanisms largely determines the progression of aging. There is substantial evidence suggesting that the endocannabinoid system (ECS) is part of the latter system because it modulates the physiological processes underlying aging. The activity of the ECS declines during aging, as CB1 receptor expression [...]

Amyloid proteotoxicity initiates an inflammatory response blocked by cannabinoids Antonio Currais, Oswald Quehenberger, Aaron M Armando, Daniel Daugherty, Pam Maher and David Schubert NPJ, Aging and Mechanisms of Disease, 2016, 2, 16012; doi:10.1038/npjamd.2016.12; published online 23 June 2016 Nature Partner Journals;  www.nature.com/npjamd   Abstract : The beta amyloid (Aβ) and other aggregating proteins in the brain increase with age and are frequently found within neurons. The mechanistic relationship between intracellular amyloid, aging and neurodegeneration is not, however, well understood. We use a proteotoxicity model based upon the inducible expression of Aβ in a human central nervous system nerve cell line to characterize a distinct form of nerve [...]