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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