The aim of this study was to determine if chronic, low-dose administration of a nonspecific cannabinoid receptor agonist could\nprovide cardioprotective effects in a model of type I diabetes mellitus. Diabetes was induced in eight-week-old maleWistar-Kyoto\nrats via a single intravenous dose of streptozotocin (65mg kgâË?â??1). Following the induction of diabetes, Ã?â?9-tetrahydrocannabinol was\nadministered via intraperitoneal injection (0.15mg kgâË?â??1 dayâË?â??1) for an eight-week period until the animals reached sixteen weeks of\nage.Upon completion of the treatment regime, assessments of vascular reactivity and left ventricular function and electrophysiology\nwere made, as were serum markers of oxidative stress and lipid peroxidation. Ã?â?9-Tetrahydrocannabinol administration to diabetic\nanimals significantly reduced blood glucose concentrations and attenuated pathological changes in serum markers of oxidative\nstress and lipid peroxidation. Positive changes to biochemical indices in diabetic animals conferred improvements in myocardial\nand vascular function. This study demonstrates that chronic, low-dose administration of Ã?â?9-tetrahydrocannabinol can elicit\nantihyperglycaemic andantioxidant effects indiabetic animals, leading to improvements in end organ function of the cardiovascular\nsystem. Implications from this study suggest that cannabinoid receptors may be a potential new target for the treatment of diabetesinduced\ncardiovascular disease.
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