Scientists have discovered a positive effect of cannabis extract on the brain of HIV-infected people
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Scientists have found that cannabidiol, a non-psychotropic extract of cannabis, can reduce inflammation in HIV-infected brain cells.
Although the immunodeficiency virus can be controlled with special treatment, it can still damage the brain and cause cognitive problems, scientists say.
The latest study suggests that CBD has potential in the treatment of HIV patients, reports MedicalXpress.
Florida International University researchers said CBD’s anti-inflammatory effects may essentially keep HIV-infected cells in the brain in check, preventing them from becoming overactive.
Read also: What to do if you have been diagnosed with HIV – explained at the Central Hospital
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The discovery is important because HIV-related neuroinflammation creates a dangerous “domino effect,” the researchers said.
Inflammation causes infected cells to activate, start the process of replication (making copies) and spread the virus, explained study author Adriana Indart Arias.
A team of scientists showed that CBD at the molecular level helps reduce inflammation and keep these cells in a “sleeping” state.
Inflammation is at the root of many of the cognitive symptoms experienced by people with HIV, says Madhavan Nair, director of Florida International University’s Institute for Neuroimmune Pharmacology.
Sometimes people use cannabis to manage these symptoms.
Cannabidiol or CBD is a non-psychotropic extract of cannabis and a natural substance found in hemp among other cannabinoids. In 2017, the WHO Expert Committee on Drug Dependence (ECDD) concluded that, in its pure form, cannabidiol has no potential for abuse and no harm.
Unlike tetrahydrocannabinol, CBD does not cause euphoric effects or altered states of consciousness.
Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is the main psychoactive component of cannabis that causes a “high”.
Instead, CBD is used in medicine in some countries, has antiemetic, anticonvulsant, antipsychotic and analgesic properties. It is also added to oils, food products, etc.
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Madhavan Nair and his team have already conducted research on how drug abuse affects HIV infection. He noted that this can only exacerbate symptoms.
However, scientists have not yet done much research on how THC and CBD, which come from the same plant, affect the brain at the molecular level.
Graduate student Indart Arias, who works in Naira’s lab, decided to find out.
She tested different concentrations of THC and CBD on hundreds of HIV-infected microglia cells (cells found throughout the brain and spinal cord that act as the first form of active immune defense in the central nervous system).
She then looked for specific markers that showed whether the cells had been activated.
Cells exposed to cannabidiol reduced the number of inflammatory molecules and prevented infected cells from becoming active. The research was published in the journal Nature, Scientific Reports.
Therefore, scientists hope that CBD holds promise in the search for new ways to treat neurocognitive disorders and other inflammatory disorders caused by HIV.
But this requires more research, including clinical trials examining different CBD preparations.
We will remind you that on July 13, the Ukrainian parliament voted for the legalization of medical cannabis in the first reading.
However, the Council recently blocked the adoption of draft law No. 7457 on the legalization of medical cannabis in the second reading, introducing 882 amendments.
Read also: Why do Ukrainians need medical cannabis? German professor on the effect of drugs on PTSD
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