CBD altered brain copper distribution in healthy mice but not in Alzheimer's model mice

CBD elevated whole-brain copper in wild-type mice but not APP/PS1 transgenic mice. Zinc and iron did not differ significantly, though regional effect-size trends emerged for copper and zinc in the hippocampus. Correlation analysis revealed coordinated inter-regional metal regulation in healthy and vehicle-treated Alzheimer's mice, but this coordination was disrupted in CBD-treated Alzheimer's mice.

Twelve-month-old female wild-type and APP/PS1 transgenic mice received chronic CBD or vehicle treatment. High-resolution laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) was used to map copper, zinc, and iron distributions across sagittal brain sections, analyzing regional patterns, correlations, and variability.

Disrupted metal homeostasis contributes to Alzheimer's pathology through amyloid-beta aggregation and oxidative stress. Understanding how CBD interacts with brain metals is crucial because copper and zinc are directly involved in amyloid plaque formation, and any treatment that alters their distribution could have either beneficial or harmful effects.

The different response between healthy and Alzheimer's brains is striking. CBD's inability to alter copper in the diseased brain may reflect the profound disruption of metal regulation in Alzheimer's, or it could mean that the disease blocks CBD's mechanism of action. Either way, this suggests CBD may work differently in healthy versus diseased brains, which has implications for both prevention and treatment approaches.

Only female mice were studied. The Alzheimer's transgenic model does not fully replicate human disease. The functional significance of altered copper distribution is unclear. CBD dose and duration were specific to this study and may not translate to human dosing.