Mini-review: The therapeutic role of cannabinoids in neuroHIV.

Barkha J Yadav-Samudrala, Sylvia Fitting

Neuroscience letters 2021 Apr 17

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In the era of combined antiretroviral therapy (cART), human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) is considered a chronic disease with an inflammatory component that specifically targets the brain and causes a high prevalence of HIV-1-associated neurocognitive disorders (HAND). The endocannabinoid (eCB) system has attracted interest as a target for treatment of neurodegenerative disorders, due to the potential anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective properties of cannabinoids, including its potential therapeutic use in HIV-1 neuropathogenesis. In this review, we summarize what is currently known about the structural and functional changes of the eCB system under conditions of HAND. This will be followed by summarizing the current clinical and preclinical findings on the effects of cannabis use and cannabinoids in the context of HIV-1 infection, with specifically focusing on viral load, cognition, inflammation, and neuroprotection. Lastly, we present some potential future directions to better understand the involvement of the eCB system and the role that cannabis use and cannabinoids play in neuroHIV. Copyright © 2021 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Citation

Barkha J Yadav-Samudrala, Sylvia Fitting. Mini-review: The therapeutic role of cannabinoids in neuroHIV. Neuroscience letters. 2021 Apr 17;750:135717