Can Cannabidiol Drug Help Clear Alzheimer's Dark Tangles?

Neuronal inflammation could damage nerves and significantly contributes to neurodegenerative disease like Alzheimer's (1^✔ ✔Trusted Source
Rethinking Alzheimer's: Harnessing Cannabidiol to Modulate IDO and cGAS Pathways for Neuroinflammation Control

Go to source). Cannabidiol (CBD), a natural compound, has anti-inflammatory power that fights against brain's chronic inflammation and also helps clear amyloid plaques and tangles.

The discovery was made by a research team at Augusta University, published in eNeuro.

Plaques, Tangles, and the Role of Inflammation: Three Drivers of Alzheimer's Disease

Alzheimer's disease, a brain disorder, slowly affects cognitive skills and memory, and intensifies in the long course of time. Tiny clumps of neural plaques (amyloid plaques) and twisted angles of tau protein are found in the brain's wiring of Alzheimer's disease.

But experts now consider neuroinflammation as a central factor of Alzheimer's disease parallel to the features of amyloid plaques and tangles in the nerves, speeding up memory loss and nerve cell death.

Molecular and Genetic Insights into Cannabidiol's Action

The researchers assessed two distinct mechanisms for shaping immune responses and regulating neuroinflammation in the central nervous system following CBD treatment via inhalation.

With several molecular and genetic measures, they discovered that CBD reduced expression of key regulators for neuroinflammation in Alzheimer’s mice, which was associated with less proinflammatory molecules. Baban et al. also identified distinct regulators of the immune response and neuroinflammation with which CBD interacted.

Moving Beyond Plaques: Inflammation as a Core Driver for Alzheimer's Disease

“Alzheimer’s work has long centered on plaques and tangles,” says Baban.

“But our study shows that chronic autoinflammation is also a core driver of the disease.”

“What’s exciting is that CBD not only calms this immune overactivation but, in earlier work, we’ve shown it can also help clear plaques and tangles through a different mechanism. Together, this points to a multitarget approach with real therapeutic potential.”

Reference:

1. Rethinking Alzheimer’s: Harnessing Cannabidiol to Modulate IDO and cGAS Pathways for Neuroinflammation Control - (https://www.eneuro.org/content/early/2025/09/26/ENEURO.0114-25.2025)

Source-EurekAlert! and AAAS