Marijuana may help stave off Alzheimer’s

Active ingredient in pot may help preserve brain function

[/url][url="http://www.reuters.com/"]http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/i/msnbc/Components/Sources/sourceReuters.gif (http://www.reuters.com/)

Updated: 3:31 p.m. CT Oct 5, 2006
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WASHINGTON - Good news for aging hippies: smoking pot may stave off Alzheimer’s disease.

New research shows that the active ingredient in marijuana may prevent the progression of the disease by preserving levels of an important neurotransmitter that allows the brain to function.

Researchers at the Scripps Research Institute in California found that marijuana’s active ingredient, delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, can prevent the neurotransmitter acetylcholine from breaking down more effectively than commercially marketed drugs.

THC is also more effective at blocking clumps of protein that can inhibit memory and cognition in Alzheimer’s patients, the researchers reported in the journal Molecular Pharmaceutics.

The researchers said their discovery could lead to more effective drug treatment for Alzheimer’s, the leading cause of dementia among the elderly.

Those afflicted with Alzheimer’s suffer from memory loss, impaired decision-making, and diminished language and movement skills. The ultimate cause of the disease is unknown, though it is believed to be hereditary.

Marijuana is used to relieve glaucoma and can help reduce side effects from cancer and AIDS treatment.



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Sip your whiskey, don't inhale it (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15144765/)
Be advised, hemorrhoid cream not for the face (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15144530/)

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From: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15145917/

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"High" Alzheimer patients???? That's kind of scary to think about! :D

BTW, I included the "More Health News" links above because I also found them rather entertaining and amusing as well! :)

New research shows that the active ingredient in marijuana may prevent the progression of the disease by preserving levels of an important neurotransmitter that allows the brain to function. BTW, in case you are wondering why I posted this!

I was wondering if this could explain why ADDers often use marijuana.

Anyone know much about acetylcholine??

Thx! :)

More info from: http://www.scripps.edu/newsandviews/e_20060828/news.html

Marijuana's Active Ingredient Shown to Inhibit Primary Marker of Alzheimer's Disease

By Eric Sauter

Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute have found that the active ingredient in marijuana, tetrahydrocannabinol or THC, inhibits the formation of amyloid plaque, the primary pathological marker for Alzheimer's disease. In fact, the study said, THC is "a considerably superior inhibitor of [amyloid plaque] aggregation" to several currently approved drugs for treating the disease.

The study was published online August 9 in the journal Molecular Pharmaceutics, a publication of the American Chemical Society.

According to the new Scripps Research study, which used both computer modeling and biochemical assays, THC inhibits the enzyme acetylcholinesterase (AChE), which acts as a "molecular chaperone" to accelerate the formation of amyloid plaque in the brains of Alzheimer victims. Although experts disagree on whether the presence of beta-amyloid plaques in those areas critical to memory and cognition is a symptom or cause, it remains a significant hallmark of the disease. With its strong inhibitory abilities, the study said, THC "may provide an improved therapeutic for Alzheimer's disease" that would treat "both the symptoms and progression" of the disease.

"While we are certainly not advocating the use of illegal drugs, these findings offer convincing evidence that THC possesses remarkable inhibitory qualities, especially when compared to AChE inhibitors currently available to patients," said Kim Janda, Ph.D., who is Ely R. Callaway, Jr. Professor of Chemistry at Scripps Research, a member of The Skaggs Institute for Chemical Biology, and director of the Worm Institute of Research and Medicine. "In a test against propidium, one of the most effective inhibitors reported to date, THC blocked AChE-induced aggregation completely, while the propidium did not. Although our study is far from final, it does show that there is a previously unrecognized molecular mechanism through which THC may directly affect the progression of Alzheimer's disease."

As the new study points out, any new treatment that could halt or even slow the progression of Alzheimer's disease would have a major impact on the quality of life for patients, as well as reducing the staggering health care costs associated with the disease.

Alzheimer's disease is the leading cause of dementia among the elderly, and the numbers are growing. The Alzheimer's Association estimates 4.5 million Americans have the disease, a figure that could reach as high as 16 million by 2050. A survey by the National Center for Health Statistics noted that half of all nursing home residents have Alzheimer's disease or a related disorder. The costs of caring for Alzheimer's patients are at least $100 billion annually, according to the National Institute on Aging.

Over the last two decades, the causes of Alzheimer's disease have been clarified through extensive biochemical and neurobiological studies, leading to an assortment of possible therapeutic strategies including interference with beta amyloid metabolism, the focus of the Scripps Research study.

The cholinergic system—the nerve cell system in the brain that uses acetylcholine (Ach) as a neurotransmitter—is the most dramatic of the neurotransmitter systems affected by Alzheimer's disease. Levels of acetylcholine, which was first identified in 1914, are abnormally low in the brains of Alzheimer's patients. Currently, there are four FDA-approved drugs that treat the symptoms of Alzheimer's disease by inhibiting the active site of acetylcholinesterase, the enzyme responsible for the degradation of acetylcholine.

"When we investigated the power of THC to inhibit the aggregation of beta-amyloid," Janda said, "we found that THC was a very effective inhibitor of acetylcholinesterase. In addition to propidium, we also found that THC was considerably more effective than two of the approved drugs for Alzheimer's disease treatment, donepezil (Aricept ®) and tacrine (Cognex®), which reduced amyloid aggregation by only 22 percent and 7 percent, respectively, at twice the concentration used in our studies. Our results are conclusive enough to warrant further investigation."

Other authors of the study, titled "A Molecular Link Between the Active Component of Marijuana and Alzheimer's Disease Pathology," include Lisa M. Eubanks, Claude J. Rogers, and Tobin J. Dickerson of The Scripps Research Institute, the Skaggs Institute for Chemical Biology, and the Worm Institute for Research and Medicine; and Albert E. Beuscher IV, George F. Koob, and Arthur J. Olson of The Scripps Research Institute.

The study was supported by the Skaggs Institute for Chemical Biology at Scripps Research and the National Institutes of Health.

H E L L yeah! That's the only way I can write that word. Hehe :) Curses to the sensorship!!!

It's good to know that my brain is protected! lol.






-V

Well huzzah for this research! I have been *****ing continuously in the last few months regarding the illegality of marijuana :mad: because frankly, its also excellent for bringing a severe hypomania back down off the ceiling and putting people to sleep.

I do not indulge for the simple fact that its illegal, but a few times when I had to wait to see the doctor it was so tempting...:cool:.

"Marijuana, in its natural form, is one of the safest therapeutically active substances known. The evidence in this record clearly shows that marijuana has been accepted as capable of relieving the distress of great numbers of very ill people, and doing so with safety under medical supervision. It would be unreasonable, arbitrary, and capricious for DEA to continue to stand between those sufferers and the benefits of this substance in light of the evidence in this record."<sup>

http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=1071664


</sup> "People who smoke marijuana do not appear to be at increased risk for developing lung cancer, new research suggests.

While a clear increase in cancer risk was seen among cigarette smokers in the study, no such association was seen for regular cannabis users.

Even very heavy, long-term marijuana users who had smoked more than 22,000 joints over a lifetime seemed to have no greater risk than infrequent marijuana users or nonusers.

The findings surprised the study’s researchers, who expected to see an increase in cancer among people who smoked marijuana regularly in their youth.

“We know that there are as many or more carcinogens and co-carcinogens in marijuana smoke as in cigarettes,” researcher Donald Tashkin, MD, of UCLA’s David Geffen School of Medicine tells WebMD. “But we did not find any evidence for an increase in cancer risk for even heavy marijuana smoking.” Carcinogens are substances that cause cancer.

Tashkin presented the findings today at The American Thoracic Society’s 102nd International Conference, held in San Diego."


http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,196678,00.html






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And if it were LEGAL to hold an amount that was decent for cooking into cookies or borwnies, there would be no risk of smoking it at all now would there?

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH HHHHHHHHHHH!!! :soapbox:

OK as is typical of my personality, I have a set of music lyrics just for this thread. Ganja Police, you must have been out your mind.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


Who are you to wave your finger?
You must have been out your head.
Eyehole deep in muddy waters,
You practically raised the dead.

Robbed the grave to snow the cradle,
Then burned the evidence down.
Soapbox house of cards and glass,
So don't go tossin' your stones around.


You must've been high.
You must've been high.

You must've been....


Foot in mouth and head up a**,
So what ya talkin' 'bout?
Difficult to dance 'round this one
'til you pull it out.


Boy, you must have been so high.
You must have been so high!


Steal, borrow, refer...
Save your shady inference!
Kangaroo done hung the jury
With the innocent.

Now you're weeping shades of chosen indigo,
Got lemon juice up in your eye!
When you p*ssed all over my black kettle
You must have been high! high!
You must have been high! high!


Who are you to wave your finger?
So full of it!
Eyeballs deep in muddy waters,
F*ckin' hypocrite!


Liar, lawyer, mirror, show me what's the difference?
Kangaroo done hung the guilty with the innocent.


Now you're weeping shades of chosen indigo.
Got lemon juice up in your eye! eye!
But when you p*ssed all over my black kettle
You must've been...


So who are you to wave your finger?
Who are you to wave your fatty fingers at me?
You must have been out your mind!


Weeping shades of indigo...
I'm trapped without a reason.
Weeping shades of indigo...


Liar, lawyer, mirror for ya, what's the difference?


"Kangaroo be stoned,
He's guilty as the government!"


Now you're weeping shades of chosen indigo,
Got lemon juice up in your eye! eye!
When you p*ssed all over my black kettle

You must've been high!

Eyeballs deep in bloody waters.

Elbows deep in muddy waters.


Ganja police!!

YOU MUST HAVE BEEN OUT YOUR MIND!!!

Good one Crazy :D

It really has allot to do with politics and the cotton industry, oh well.

There are things in this country (USA) that disturb me more then that.

I don't think i can talk about them here though, i wouldn't want too anyway. :mad:

If you want to scream out in anger though, look up "false flag operations".

Pick your country; there are no innocent bystanders here.

Do I get more Coolness Points for the song reference yet Zach? I have been racking them up lately, and I kinda dig it.

I am gonna go listen to some Grateful Dead now and remember when I was young and the Ganja Police didn't scare me as much as they do now. Poop!

lol, I have always been able to wrap police around my finger, no offense to any cop here. They 'can' be allot like dogs, run and they chase you, treat them with fake respect and they will see through it. Understand the system and they are tools with many functions, society’s tools and our tools as individuals.

Believe it or not, I've had police save my life a few times : P

When someone is chasing you with a knife and you run into a patrol car it's like seeing an angel (although I have never seen an angel):rolleyes: <o =""></o>