The neuroprotective effects of Δ 9 -tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) were examined using an in vitro model in which the AF5 CNS cell line was exposed to toxic levels of N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA), an agonist of the NMDA glutamate receptor. NMDA toxicity was reduced by THC, but not by the more specific cannabinoid receptor agonist, WIN55,212-2. Addition of dibutyryl cAMP (dbcAMP) to the culture medium did not alter the neuroprotective effect of THC and did not unmask a neuroprotective effect of WIN55,212-2. The cannabinoid antagonist SR141716A did not inhibit the neuroprotection induced by THC or alter the response to WIN55,212-2, even in the presence of dbcAMP, indicating...

Abstract Hypothermia is a standard treatment for neonatal encephalopathy, but nearly 50% of treated infants have adverse outcomes. Pharmacological therapies can act through complementary mechanisms with hypothermia improving neuroprotection. Cannabidiol could be a good candidate. Our aim was to test whether immediate treatment with cannabidiol and hypothermia act through complementary brain pathways in hypoxic-ischemic newborn piglets. Hypoxic-ischemic animals were randomly divided into four groups receiving 30 min after the insult: (1) normothermia and vehicle administration; (2) normothermia and cannabidiol administration; (3) hypothermia and vehicle administration; and (4) hypothermia and cannabidiol administration. Six hours after treatment, brains were processed to quantify the number of damaged...

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. The discovery of the psychoactive component of cannabis resin, D9 -tetrahydrocannabinol (D9 -THC) occurred long before the serendipitous identification of a G-protein coupled receptor at which D9...