Some of the components found within cannabis (marijuana) are becoming well known for their anti-inflammatory and other healing properties. Cannabidiol, or CBD as it’s often referred to, is one of them.
Diabetic cardiomyopathy is a disorder of the heart muscle in people with diabetes which can lead to an inability of the heart to properly circulate the blood through the body. This heart failure can lead to accumulation of the blood in the lungs or legs.
This study was performed to determine the effects of cannabidiol (CBD) on myocardial dysfunction, inflammation, oxidative stress, and cell death, using a mouse model of type I diabetes where the heart cells were exposed to high levels of glucose.
Remarkably, CBD reduced heart dysfunction, fibrosis, oxidative stress, cell death and inflammation. The authors state that these benefits, combined with the excellent safety and tolerability in humans could lead to CBD being used as a treatment for diabetic complications and perhaps even other cardiovascular disorders.
