Can we turn mice into men?: An Editorial for 'Effects of cannabinoids in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) murine models: a systematic review and meta-analysis' page 284.

The pressure to develop pharmacological therapeutic interventions in the field of the rapidly progressing, fatal disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is traditionally high. Cannabinoids have been discussed for decades as potential neuroprotective agents for ALS because of their antiexcitatory, anti-inflammatory, antiapoptotic and anticatabolic properties. This Editorial highlights a study by Urbi et al in the current issue of the Journal of Neurochemistry, in which the authors performed a Systematic Review and come to the conclusion that cannabinoids seem to have a small, but consistent effect on survival and function of the G93A mice, a standard model for ALS. However, some methodological concerns regarding translation of findings made in G93A mice come to mind, and thus the Systematic Review emphasizes the need to critically assess differences between mice and humans.