Evaluation of the therapeutic potential of cannabidiol in Alzheimer’s disease

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a complex, progressive brain disorder that results in profound cognitive impairments, particularly in memory. A key pathological feature of AD is the build-up of hyper-phosphorylated tau and formation of neurofibrillary tangles. Increasing evidence indicates that the early synaptic impairments that occur in AD correlate with accumulation of phosphorylated tau (p-tau). In healthy brain, tau is predominantly expressed on axons, however, AD-related phosphorylation of tau drives movement of tau to synapses where it impairs synaptic physiology and function.

There is currently no cure for AD, and one key unmet challenge is to develop novel drugs that prevent the early synaptic impairments that occur in preclinical stages of AD. One potential target that has been recently identified is cannabidiol, as several studies have shown that cannabidiol has powerful neuroprotective actions. In this proposed study, we aim to establish if cannabidiol has therapeutic potential by evaluating its protective actions in various established cellular models of tau-related synaptic dysfunction. This study is multidisciplinary and will utilise a range of experimental techniques including cell culture, immunocytochemistry, confocal microscopy and electrophysiology.