Glucose and oxygen supply to the brain is crucial for its proper function and when it’s restricted as during a stroke, neurons and glial cells rapidly become necrotic resulting in structural damage as well as functional impairment and even death. Up to now there are few efficient therapies which inhibit the neurodegenerative process and improves the outcome for the affected individual. One achievable goal is the cannabinoid system. Cannabinoid receptor agonists reduce ischemic volume, endogenous cannabinoid levels are raised during neurodegenerative insults and mice devoid of the central cannabinoid receptor are more critically impacted by experimental stroke than wild type mice. The cannabinoids are also ascribed anti-inflammatory properties and post ischemic inflammation has been suggested to help with the evolution of the ischemic damage. Within this dissertation mechanisms which can help with cannabinoid neuroprotection have been analyzed…
Contents: Cannabinoids as neuroprotective agents: a mechanistic study
INTRODUCTION
The cannabinoid system
Background and discovery
Endocannabinoid synthesis and degradation
Cannabinoid receptor ligand
Physiological and patophysiological role of the cannabinoid system
Cannabinoid neuroprotection in vivo
Cannabinoid neuroprotection in vitro
Cannabinoids and inflammation
AIMS
METHODOLOGICAL CONSIDERATIONS
Radioligand binding (Papers I and IV)
Culture of primary chick telencephali neurons (Paper II)
Glutamate toxicity measurements (Paper II)
Cyclic AMP measurement (Paper II)
Endothelial cell model (Paper III)
Neutrophil chemotaxis and transmigration (Paper III)
In vivo stroke model (Paper IV)
Western blotting (Paper IV)
Myeloperoxidase assay (Paper IV)
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
CONCLUSIONS…
Source: Umea University
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