Aix-Marseille Univ, NICN, UMR 7259, 13344, Marseille, France.
J Neuroinflammation. 2012 Jan 16;9:10. doi: 10.1186/1742-2094-9-10.
Alzheimer's disease has become a growing socio-economical concern in developing countries where increased life expectancy is leading to large aged populations. While curing Alzheimer's disease or stopping its progression does not appear within reach in a foreseeable future, new therapies capable of delaying the pathogenesis would represent major breakthroughs.
The growing number of medical benefits of cannabinoids, such as their ability to regulate age-related processes like neuroinflammation, neurogenesis and memory, raise the question of their potential role as a preventive treatment of AD.
To test this hypothesis, epidemiological studies on long term, chronic cannabinoid users could enlighten us on the potential benefits of these compounds in normal and pathological ageing processes. Systematic pharmacological (and thus more mechanistic) investigations using animal models of Alzheimer's disease that have been developed would also allow a thorough investigation of the benefits of cannabinoid pharmacotherapy in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease.
The chronic administration of non-selective cannabinoids may delay the onset of cognitive deficits in AD patients; this will dramatically reduce the socio-economic burden of AD and improve the quality of life of the patients and their families.
在发展中国家，阿尔茨海默病已成为一个日益严重的社会经济问题，因为预期寿命的延长导致老年人口增加。虽然在可预见的未来，治愈阿尔茨海默病或阻止其进展似乎还遥不可及，但能够延缓发病机制的新疗法将是重大突破。
大麻素的医疗益处越来越多，例如它们能够调节与年龄相关的过程，如神经炎症、神经发生和记忆，这引发了它们作为 AD 预防治疗的潜在作用的问题。
为了检验这一假说，对长期、慢性大麻素使用者的流行病学研究可以让我们了解这些化合物在正常和病理性衰老过程中的潜在益处。使用已经开发的阿尔茨海默病动物模型进行系统的药理学（因此更具机制性）研究，也将允许对大麻素药物治疗在阿尔茨海默病发病机制中的益处进行彻底调查。
非选择性大麻素的慢性给药可能会延迟 AD 患者认知障碍的发作；这将极大地减轻 AD 的社会经济负担，并提高患者及其家人的生活质量。
