Therapeutic potential of cannabinoids for stroke: scoping review protocol

Introduction: Each year, approximately 795,000 people experience a new or recurrent stroke, either ischemic or hemorrhagic. The current therapeutical approach for acute ischemic stroke includes thrombolysis and mechanical thrombectomy; still, no neuroprotective treatment options currently exist to improve its neurological outcome. Some components of the endocannabinoid system are altered after ischemic stroke. It is considered that cannabinoids may exert neuroprotective effects; however, the use of cannabinoid receptor ligands is a major concern due to its psychotropic properties. Regardless that there are many studies describing the benefit of administering cannabinoids for experimental stroke several unanswered questions remain since most of the information point up in non-human species. A previous systematic review detected significant heterogeneity among studies, so it is appropriate to perform a scoping review to evaluate the feasibility of performing an updated systematic review and meta-analysis. This scoping review aims to evaluate the therapeutic potential of modulating the endocannabinoid system for stroke. Methods: Published studies (all publication types) will be retrieved from Web of Science, PubMed, Scopus, Ovid, EBSCOhost, and Google Scholar. Eligibility criteria: Clinical or preclinical studies reporting endocannabinoid levels or their effects, or reporting administration of cannabinoid modulators (stimulating or inhibiting their synthesis or metabolism, phytocannabinoids, or synthetic cannabinoids), in patients or models of stroke will be considered for inclusion. Studies written in languages different than Spanish or English that could not be appropriately translated, or whose full-text files could not be retrieved will be excluded. Data charting: Results will be summarized in tabular form. This protocol complies with PRISMA-P.