Abstract This review is an overview of the recent advances in cannabinoid chemistry with a special emphasis on the patent literature. The term cannabinoid includes analogues of the natural components of cannabis, endocannabinoids and a wide array of chemical structures such as 1,5-diarylpyrazoles, indoles, quinolines and arylsulphonamide derivatives capable of acting as cannabinoid receptor agonists and antagonists. These receptors, discovered in the early nineties, seem to be involved in different biochemical processes and thus represent interesting therapeutic targets for drug research.

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most common form of progressive neurodegenerative disease characterized by cognitive impairment and mental disorders. The actual cause and cascade of events in the progression of this pathology is not fully determined. AD is multifaceted in nature and is linked to different multiple mechanisms in the brain. This aspect is related to the lack of efficacious therapies that could slow down or hinder the disease onset/progression. The ideal treatment for AD should be able to modulate the disease through multiple mechanisms rather than targeting a single dysregulated pathway. Recently, the endocannabinoid system emerged as novel potential therapeutic target to treat...