Duncan Mackie, PhD,
Director of Pharmacology & Experimental Therapeutics, MedPharm Holdings

Cinnamon Bidwell, PhD,
Institute of Cognitive Science Faculty, Assistant Professor, University of Colorado Boulder

Alzheimer’s disease is a leading cause of dementia and death in Colorado, impacting tens of thousands of families and placing a growing burden on caregivers and the healthcare system. Current treatments offer limited relief, creating an urgent need for innovative therapies that target the root causes of neurodegeneration. Our goal is to determine how cannabis-derived compounds might help reduce inflammation in the brain—a key factor in Alzheimer’s disease and other neurodegenerative conditions. With the number of Coloradans living with Alzheimer’s projected to rise by over 20% in just a few years, the need for new treatment options is urgent. Across three years, the research team successfully isolated several minor cannabinoids and terpenes—compounds found in cannabis that are often overlooked but may hold therapeutic value. Using advanced techniques like winterization, fractional distillation, and analytical testing, these purified compounds are now being used in a series of cellular experiments. To understand how these molecules influence brain health, researchers-built biosensors to monitor interactions between cannabinoids and the CB1/CB2 receptors—endogenous cannabinoid receptors known to regulate inflammation. These biosensors help identify which compounds are active and how they affect brain immune signaling pathways. The team also created robust human cell models that mimic Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases by exposing microglia (brain immune cells) to harmful proteins like Amyloid Beta and Tau. They’ve now expanded to co- and tri-culture systems that include neurons and astrocytes, and recently brain organoids, which better reflect the complexity of the human brain. Early findings show some cannabis compounds may reduce pro-inflammatory responses and promote anti-inflammatory activity. These promising results offer a potential path forward for cannabis-based therapies aimed at slowing or managing brain inflammation associated with Alzheimer’s and similar conditions.