Study: Inhaled CBD Reverses Seizure Risk and Brain Inflammation Linked to Chronic Nicotine Pouch Use

The research was published in Nicotine & Tobacco Research by Oxford Academic and conducted by scientists from Augusta University’s Dental College of Georgia. Researchers examined how short-term versus prolonged oral nicotine exposure affects seizure severity, neuroinflammation, and glymphatic function, a system responsible for clearing metabolic waste from the brain. Using a mouse model, the team compared the effects of acute nicotine exposure with seven days of repeated exposure before inducing seizures with kainic acid, a standard experimental method.

The findings showed a clear divergence between short- and long-term nicotine exposure. Acute nicotine use slightly reduced seizure severity, but chronic exposure significantly worsened seizures. Mice exposed to nicotine over seven days showed elevated levels of inflammatory markers including IL-6 and HMGB1, along with increased expression of neuronal activation proteins such as BDNF and c-FOS. Chronic exposure also led to a marked reduction in aquaporin-4 (AQP4), a protein critical to glymphatic fluid movement, and tracer studies confirmed impaired cerebrospinal fluid influx into brain tissue.

When researchers administered inhaled CBD, many of these changes were reversed. CBD reduced seizure severity, restored AQP4 expression, normalized inflammatory markers, and lowered c-FOS protein levels. Additional experiments indicated that nicotine stimulates IL-6 production in brain-derived immune cells, while CBD suppresses this response before IL-6 signaling fully activates.

The authors conclude that repeated nicotine pouch use may heighten neurological risk by driving inflammation and impairing brain clearance mechanisms, and that inhaled CBD shows potential as a therapeutic approach to counteract these effects.