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Cannabidiol Partially Blocks the Excessive Sleepiness in Hypocretindeficient Rats: Preliminary Data
Eric Murillo-Rodríguez1,2, Diana Millán-Aldaco3, Marcela Palomero-Rivero4
1Laboratorio de Neurociencias Moleculares e Integrativas, Escuela de Medicina, División Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad Anáhuac Mayab, Mérida, Yucatán, Mexico.
CNS & Neurological Disorders Drug Targets
|October 24, 2019
Summary
Cannabidiol (CBD) effectively blocked excessive sleepiness in a rat model of narcolepsy. This suggests CBD may be a potential therapeutic for narcolepsy symptoms, improving wakefulness in sleep disorders.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Pharmacology
- Sleep Medicine
Background:
- Narcolepsy is a sleep disorder characterized by excessive daytime sleepiness and cataplexy, resulting from the loss of hypocretin/orexin (HCRT/OX) neurons in the hypothalamus.
- Current narcolepsy treatments include stimulants like amphetamines and modafinil.
- Cannabidiol (CBD), a non-psychotropic compound from Cannabis sativa, has shown therapeutic potential in neurodegenerative diseases and promotes wakefulness in animal models.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the potential of cannabidiol (CBD) to counteract excessive sleepiness in a rat model of narcolepsy.
- To determine if systemic CBD administration can block sleepiness in narcoleptic rats.
Main Methods:
- Narcolepsy-like behavior was induced in rats by bilateral injection of hypocretin-2-saporin (HCRT2/SAP) into the lateral hypothalamus (LH) to eliminate HCRT neurons.
- CBD (5mg/kg, i.p.) was administered at the onset of the dark phase, coinciding with the period of observed somnolence in HCRT2/SAP-lesioned rats.
- Sleep data was analyzed hourly for 7 hours post-injection.
Main Results:
- CBD administration significantly blocked excessive sleepiness in HCRT2/SAP-lesioned rats during the lights-off period.
- The anti-sleepiness effect of CBD persisted for 7 hours post-injection.
Conclusions:
- These preliminary findings indicate that CBD may effectively prevent sleepiness associated with narcolepsy.
- CBD shows promise as a potential therapeutic agent for managing narcolepsy symptoms.
Keywords:
Cannabidiolhypocretin-deficient ratslateral hypothalamusnarcolepsyneurodegenerative
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