New Study Explores the Role Cannabis Plays in Treating Parkinson's, Alzheimer's

Michigan State University researcher Norbert Kaminski has begun a yearlong, preclinical study exploring cannabis compounds and their ability to slow the progress of Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s and other diseases of the brain.

Kaminski, who was recently named interim director of the MSU Centre for Research on Ingredient Safety, will study the safety and effectiveness of these compounds by testing human white blood cells and evaluating the effects the compounds have on the immune system.

“These compounds have the potential to decrease the inflammatory response that occurs in brain tissue that’s associated with diseases like Parkinson’s,” said Kaminski, who is the director of the MSU Institute for Integrative Toxicology and a professor in the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology. “By inhibiting the inflammatory process and slowing the migration of white blood cells across the blood-brain barrier, we hope to slow the neurodegenerative processes of these diseases.”

With more than 25 years of experience working with cannabis, Kaminski and his lab were the first to identify the cellular proteins expressed on white blood cells that the cannabinoid compounds bind to called cannabinoid receptors. Since then, Kaminski has continued to study how they modulate the immune system.


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