The research could open up pathways for the development of treatments for multiple sclerosis (MS) and other such neuro-inflammatory disorders.
The researchers reported experiments showing how the endocannabinoid anandamide (AEA) protects brain cells from inflammation. The scientists reported their findings in the journal Neuron.
When the researchers analyzed brain tissue from people with MS, they found elevated levels of AEA, compared to healthy tissue. And in studies with mouse brain slices, they found that inducing damage with a brain-cell-exciting chemical, called NMDA, caused an invasion of the brain’s immune cells, called microglia, and an increase in AEA levels.
Importantly, they found that adding AEA to such damaged brain tissue abolished inflammatory damage to the brain cells, but did not reduce the primary “excitotoxic” damage from the chemical. They found similar effects of AEA when they damaged the brain tissue by depriving it of oxygen and glucose.