Endocannabinoid metabolism and Alzheimer’s disease

Alzheimer’s disease(AD)is the most common cause of dementia in the elderly.Unfortunately,there are no effective therapies currently available for prevention and treatment of AD.As it is clear now,the etiology of AD is multifactorial and complex.This means that development of AD is linked to multiple mechanisms or signaling pathways and that a single-target therapy for AD is likely insufficient to achieve therapeutic goals.Therefore,an ideal therapy for AD should be able to modify the disease through multiple signaling pathways.2-Arachidonoylglycerol(2-AG)is an endogenous cannabinoid(endocannabinoid)displayinganti-inflammator y a n d neuroprotective properties,while its metabolites are arachidonic acid(AA)and AA-derived prostaglandins and leukotrienes,which are proinflammatory and neurotoxic(Figure 1).