After the tests, the rats' brains were analyzed and researchers found
less Alzheimer's-type inflammation in the treated animals. The most
pronounced differences were in the older rats, Wenk said.
"It's a pretty good prediction of how a human would respond to this
drug," he said.
The compound is not a candidate for human use because it contains
substances that could trigger psychoactive effects. Wenk and his team
hope to develop a drug with just the anti-inflammatory properties of
marijuana.
"We don't use marijuana in our experiments because we're trying to
find a compound that isn't psychoactive," Wenk said. "Using synthetic
compounds may eventually help us to separate the beneficial effects
from the psychoactive effects."
The studies also found that caffeine helps reduce brain inflammation
as well, but mostly in the younger rats.
