A standardized cannabis extract with equal parts CBD and THC shifted immune cells toward anti-inflammatory states, reduced tissue damage, and improved locomotor recovery in rats after spinal cord injury.
Researchers and readers interested in cannabinoids for neurological injury and neuroinflammation.
Treated rats showed improved scores across all three locomotor tests after spinal cord injury
What the researchers found
After acute spinal cord injury, the cannabis extract increased anti-inflammatory (arginase-1 positive) microglial cells at the injury site, decreased pro-inflammatory microglia and reactive astrocytes, downregulated inflammatory genes (IL-1beta, TNF-alpha, IL-6, C3), and upregulated anti-inflammatory markers (ARG-1, MRC). In the chronic phase, it prevented cyst expansion, preserved gray and white matter, and improved locomotor scores across three different movement tests.
Why it matters
Spinal cord injury affects hundreds of thousands of people worldwide, and neuroinflammation in the first days after injury drives much of the secondary damage that worsens outcomes. Finding treatments that can shift the inflammatory response early could significantly improve long-term recovery.
The numbers in context
The extract shifted microglial polarization: increased arginase-1+ (anti-inflammatory) cells at the epicenter, decreased arginase-1- (pro-inflammatory) cells in the epicenter and surrounding regions. Treated rats showed better open field locomotor scores, higher rotarod latency to fall, and fewer hindlimb foot misplacements on the horizontal ladder.
How the study worked
Rats received acute spinal cord injury followed by treatment with a standardized Cannabis sativa extract containing CBD and THC in equimolar concentrations. Researchers analyzed inflammatory cell populations, gene expression, tissue sparing, cyst formation, and locomotor function using open field, rotarod, and horizontal ladder walking tests.
What this study cannot tell us
Single animal study using one extract at presumably one dose. Only the equimolar CBD:THC ratio was tested, so optimal ratios remain unknown. Spinal cord injury models in rats do not fully replicate human injuries. Long-term outcomes beyond the study period are unknown.
How to read the evidence
Single animal study with comprehensive inflammatory, structural, and functional outcome measures, but one extract and dose.
When this study was published
Published in 2025.
The bigger picture
This study adds to growing evidence that cannabinoids can modulate neuroinflammation in a beneficial direction. The fact that both acute inflammation markers and chronic structural damage were reduced, leading to functional improvement, suggests the extract works on multiple phases of the injury cascade.
Questions still open
- Would different CBD:THC ratios produce better or worse results? At what time window after injury does the treatment need to start to be effective? Could this approach work alongside standard surgical interventions for spinal cord injury?
Common questions
What made this extract different from pure CBD or THC?
Did the rats fully recover?
Read the original research
Cannabidiol/tetrahydrocannabinol-enrich extract decreases neuroinflammation and improves locomotor outcome following spinal cord injury.
Neuroscience, 573, 468-481
Citation
Del Core, Julián; Jure, Ignacio; Silva Sofrás, Fresia Melina; Pietranera, Luciana; Ronchetti, Santiago; Roig, Paulina; Desimone, Martin Federico; De Nicola, Alejandro Federico; Labombarda, Florencia. (2025). Cannabidiol/tetrahydrocannabinol-enrich extract decreases neuroinflammation and improves locomotor outcome following spinal cord injury.. Neuroscience, 573, 468-481. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroscience.2025.03.055
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