Marijuana Compound Mitigates Diabetic Cardiomyopathy
Dec 17, 2010 -
Bethesda, MD: The administration of the cannabidiol (CBD), a non-psychotropic component of marijuana, reduces various symptoms of diabetic cardiomyopathy (weakening of the heart muscle), according to preclinical data published online by the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.
An international team of researchers from the United States, Switzerland, and Israel assessed the effects of CBD on myocardial dysfunction, inflammation, oxidative/nitrative stress, cell death, and interrelated signaling pathways, using a mouse model of type I diabetic cardiomyopathy.
Authors reported: "CBD attenuated myocardial dysfunction, cardiac fibrosis, oxidative/nitrative stress, inflammation, cell death, and interrelated signaling pathways. ... [T]hese results coupled with the excellent safety and tolerability profile of CBD in humans, strongly suggest that it may have great therapeutic potential in the treatment of diabetic complications, and perhaps other cardiovascular disorders, by attenuating oxidative/nitrative stress, inflammation, cell death and fibrosis."
Previous preclinical data published in 2006 in the journal Autoimmunity reported that the administration of CBD in mice significantly reduced incidences of diabetes compared to controls. Cannabidiol has also been shown to be protective in an animal model of cardiac ischemia.
Full text of the study, "Cannabidiol Attenuates Cardiac Dysfunction, Oxidative Stress, Fibrosis, and Inflammatory and Cell Death Signaling Pathways in Diabetic Cardiomyopathy," is available online from the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.
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