Over 7 million people in the United States suffer from Alzheimer’s disease, a neurodegenerative disorder that affects people’s memory and cognition. But is it possible that cannabidiol, or CBD, could help patients with the devastating disorder?
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A new study from researchers at Shenzhen University and the Chinese Academy of Sciences, among other institutes, tested an Alzheimer’s mouse model (3xTg-AD mice), or mice that were designed to exhibit several Alzheimer’s-like problems, such as memory changes and synaptic damage. The mice were treated with CBD six days a week, for a total of 45 days. After this period, the researchers observed the mice’s behavior and examined their brains.
This preclinical paper, published in Molecular Psychiatry, showed that CBD-treated mice performed better on memory-related tests and had healthier brain connections. The study found that in mice, CBD improved cognitive and emotional deficits, reduced anxiety, and helped restore synaptic plasticity.
Even more, the CBD did not just affect one part of the brain but also had a positive impact on several aspects of the disease process simultaneously, which the authors view as a signal for future Alzheimer’s research.
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The researchers believe that the CBD may be attaching to a protein called FRS2, which helps switch on another brain-protective system called TrkB, thus reducing Alzheimer’s-related inflammation and damage in the brain. Through molecular simulations, the researchers found that CBD stabilizes the interaction between FRS2 and TrkB, making it easier for TrkB to be activated. In fact, when they ran a simulation with FRS2 turned off, CBD failed to activate the TrkB pathway.
While further research is needed, this preclinical study—based on mouse and molecular models, not human patients or clinical trials—offers preliminary evidence that CBD may strengthen neural pathways associated with Alzheimer’s disease.
Even if CBD does not end up being the most effective Alzheimer’s treatment, it is possible that the disease may need multi-pathway treatments, in which CBD could help.