Cannabinoid signalling and atrial fibrillation

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common, sustained form of irregular heartbeat. AF results in complications including heart attacks, stroke, and heart failure. Treatment approaches such as drugs and surgery do exist, but these are limited in effectiveness. The endocannabinoid system is of interest as a therapeutic target for a variety of disorders. We will focus on the cannabinoid (CB) receptors, as we found that drugs which activate CB receptors block signals in the heart that contribute to AF. We hypothesize that these drugs will protect against AF. We will study the mechanisms that mediate the ability of CB activators to inhibit AF using an established model of AF – heart muscle cells. We will also verify that findings realized in cells are relevant to intact animals. TO BE CONT’D

Faculty Supervisor:

Hope Anderson

Student:

Partner:

Ben-Gurion University of the Negev

Discipline:

Life Sciences

Sector:

Education

University:

University of Manitoba

Program: