Cannabis Could Hold Key to Preventing Neurodegenerative Diseases Good News Network
go to original August 4, 2022

Marijuana for Neurodegenerative Disease (Dr. Lewis Clarke)

Cannabis could hold the key to preventing neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s, as it contains a chemical that protects brain cells against aging, according to new research.

What’s more, the ‘miracle compound’ CBN (cannabinol) is non-psychoactive. In other words, it doesn’t get people high.

Senior author Professor Pamela Maher said, “We’ve found cannabinol protects neurons from oxidative stress and cell death—two of the major contributors to Alzheimer’s.

“This discovery could one day lead to the development of new therapeutics for treating this disease and other neuro-degenerative disorders—like Parkinson’s disease.”

Studies on medical cannabis have focused on the active substances THC (delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol) and CBD (cannabidiol).

Little is known about the therapeutic powers of CBN - which is molecularly similar but less heavily regulated.

The team at The Salk Institute in California previously identified the neuro-protective properties. Now they have worked out the mechanism.

The study is in Free Radical Biology and Medicine.

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