Can CBD Protect Against Olfactory Inflammation and Neuronal Loss?

As the medicalization of marijuana occurs across the U.S., the main non-psychoactive component, cannabidiol (CBD), has gained recognition for its therapeutic potential. The objective for my project was to access the potential of CBD to mitigate neuroinflammation and neuronal loss following diet-induced obesity. Mice of both sexes were weaned to moderately-high fat diet and received 20 mg/kg CBD or vehicle by intraperitoneal injection at equivalent volume every weekday for four weeks. Mice were fix-perfused, and their brains were cryoprotected. The main olfactory epithelium (MOE) was cryosectioned; the sections were collected on slides and processed for immunocytochemistry. The MOE sections were thereby incubated with several antibodies (Ki67, Iba-1) and imaged on a Zeiss (Axiovert S 100) to quantify signaling molecules marking inflammation and neuronal loss. CBD was not able to mitigate diet- induced inflammation, but was able to prevent neuronal loss in the MOE. Images were only taken of the septum region of the MOE, so more images will be taken of the other regions to see if the data are consistent.This work was supported by the Consortium for Medical Marijuana Clinical Outcomes Research (CMMCOR) and the Bess Ward Scholarship from Florida State University.