Depression is a multifactorial and highly prevalent disease, with serious consequences to the individual and the society. Despite the wide variety of antidepressant drugs available, they all present a delayed therapeutic effect, and are not effective in about 40% of patients. Thus, research into new drugs with faster onset of action and overall improved therapeutic profile is an urgent need.
Our group recently showed that Cannabidiol (CBD), a non-psychotomimetic cannabinoid present in the Cannabis sativa plant, seems to be a promising compound, since it induced fast and sustained antidepressant effects in animal models. The mechanisms related to CBD effects, however, remain largely unknown. Therefore, our research aims to further investigate the therapeutic potential of CBD in depression models, and understand its molecular mechanisms, using state of the art preclinical techniques, molecular and pharmacological tools.
Since CBD has already proven efficacy for some specific neuropsychiatric conditions in humans, we believe that the study of its complex molecular properties can pave the way for a better understanding of depression neurobiology and the development of the next generation of antidepressants.
Project title:
Investigation on the rapid and sustained antidepressant-like effects of Cannabidiol (CBD) and its mechanisms
Area of research:
Behavioral pharmacology
Fellowship period:
1 Oct 2018 – 31 Mar 2020
Fellowship type:
AIAS-COFUND II Marie Skłodowska-Curie fellow
This fellowship has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement No 754513 and The Aarhus University Research Foundation.
