Are you aware that Alzheimer’s disease is one of the most common age-related neuro-degenerative disorders? Many people get affected by this disease and it makes the families and the person suffering from this condition to lead a low quality of life.
There is no cure for Alzheimer’s disease. However, it is worthwhile to know that the use of CBD oil has been steadily getting prominence in treating this disease. So, does CBD oil live up to this expectation? How can CBD help in slowing down the progression of Alzheimer’s disease? What do the experts say? Just read below and check out the opinion provided by the experts on this subject.
An Overview of Alzheimer’s disease –
Alzheimer’s disease is a degenerative condition that affects the brain. It is a chronic disease that leads to the gradual breakdown of the gray matter in the brain. This results in several psychological, cognitive and behavioral changes. The gray matter is the outer part of the brain and responsible for most of what we experience as thoughts.
Check Out The Causes For Alzheimer’s Disease –
Alzheimer’s disease is very common; however, we do not have much information about the causes of this disease.
Cannabidiol or CBD from the Cannabis plant is very beneficial for improving the symptoms of this disease and slowing down its progression. However, it should be noted that nothing has been proven to provide a cure for this disease. You can check out the main theories behind the causes of this disease. It can also help you to understand how CBD can be used for treating this condition.
- Beta-Amyloid Plates In Neurons –
Beta-amyloid can be defined as a sticky substance that is produced in the brain as a by-product of normal neuronal activity. Generally, the glial cells or the special cells in the brain act as a garbage collection team that goes out at night for cleaning these plaques and preventing them from accumulating and causing damage to the neurons.
- As we age, the cleaning team does not work as well as it used to do when we were young. This allows beta-amyloid to accumulate and form thick plaques in the nerve cells. This eventually causes the nerve cells to die.
- As more and more of these cells die, it leads to an increase in the symptoms of the Alzheimer’s disease.
- The primary goal of treatment for the doctors is to prevent the accumulation of the beta-amyloid when they are trying to prevent and treat the disease.
- Tangles of TAU Protein –
Yet another cause of Alzheimer’s disease is the accumulation of another substance in the brain, known as the TAU protein.
It is worthwhile to know that the TAU protein is also associated with many other diseases. The condition that arises as a result of these proteins is called Taupathy.
Do you know that proteins are the main components of life? Most of the substances that make us up can be reduced to protein. Different types of protein make up our body; these TAU proteins are just one type of protein amongst the different ones present in the body. When the TAU protein starts to break, they form disorganized “tangles”. Tangles are the essential knots in the nerve cells that impair your ability to function normally.
Many experimental drugs are currently being tested to target the TAU tangles. It is to be noted that some of the most promising drugs are available from the natural world, in the form of natural chemicals.
- Poor Blood Circulation In The Brain –
Blood flow to the brain can start declining as one starts ageing. Blood carries oxygen and nutrients to the cells. It is also responsible for getting rid of the toxic by-products and the waste from the body.
An Example Will Help To Make Things Clear –
Our cells are the houses and the blood flow represents the roads. If you want to get food and water, then you need to build a road that connects the home with the rest of the city. You also need these roads for the garbage trucks to take away the waste that you have left outside your house. If the roads get blocked, then you will not be able to go out and get food and eventually starve. Also, the garbage outside your house starts piling up because the garbage trucks are not able to pick up the waste as a result of road blockage. If this happens for a long time then one can die of hunger or from an infection that can happen from the rotting waste.
It is the same case with the brain. If blood flow is blocked then neurons will die from the toxic waste and the lack of nutrients and oxygen. Thus, improving the blood flow is one of the main goals of treatment that is used in hospitals for treating this disease.
- Dysfunction Of Glial Cells –
The garbage collection cells of the body are called glial cells. They are the most abundant type found in the brain. However, if it does not function properly, then the neurons start to degenerate and can lead to Alzheimer’s.