Cannabis may halt alzheimer's progression

[thatpatguy]

wow.. is there anything pot can't do?

Cannabinoid May Halt Alzheimer's Progression, Study Says

August 17, 2006 - La Jolla, CA, USA

La Jolla, CA: THC inhibits the formation of amyloid plaque, the primary marker for Alzheimer's disease (AD), far more effectively than approved medications, according to preclinical data to be published in the journal Molecular Pharmaceutics.

Investigators at The Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, California reported that THC inhibits the enzyme responsible for the aggregation of amyloid plaque in a manner "considerably superior" to approved Alzheimer's drugs such as donepezil and tacrine.

"Our results provide a mechanism whereby the THC molecule can directly impact Alzheimer's disease pathology," researchers concluded. "THC and its analogues may provide an improved therapeutic [option] for Alzheimer's disease [by]... simultaneously treating both the symptoms and the progression of [the] disease."

Previous studies have shown cannabinoids to possess anti oxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, both of which may play a role in moderating Alzheimer's.

Last year, investigators at Madrid's Complutense University and the Cajal Institute in Spain reported that the intracerebroventricular administration of the synthetic cannabinoid WIN 55,212-2 prevented cognitive impairment and decreased neurotoxicity in rats. Other cannabinoids were also found to reduce the inflammation associated with Alzheimer's disease in human brain tissue in culture. "Our results indicate that... cannabinoids succeed in preventing the neurodegenerative process occurring in the disease," investigators concluded.

Over 4.5 million Americans are estimated to be afflicted with Alzheimer's disease. That figure is expected to triple over the next 50 years.

Previous human trials of synthetic THC (Marinol) and Alzheimer's found that administration of the drug reduced agitation and stimulated weight gain in patients suffering from the disease.

source: http://www.norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=6977

[Kanada Kev]

Previous human trials of synthetic THC (Marinol) and Alzheimer's found that administration of the drug reduced agitation and stimulated weight gain in patients suffering from the disease.

Reduced agitation and stimulated weight gain seems to be an effect regardless of whether you are diseased or not!! :D

Later . . .

Kanada Kev =8)

[StoneMtn]

I have something to say on this point.

Wait a minute, what was I going to say again?

Hmmm. I'll get back to you.

[bradm]

I have something to say on this point.

Wait a minute, what was I going to say again?

Hmmm. I'll get back to you.

You were going to say how much you looove Cool Ranch Doritos.

Aloha,

Brad

[M.O.B.E]

I have something to say on this point.

Wait a minute' date=' what was I going to say again?

Hmmm. I'll get back to you.[/quote']

You were going to say how much you looove Cool Ranch Doritos.

Aloha,

Brad

Coca-Cola slushies too!

[StoneMtn]

Who are you people? Why do you keep talking to me?

Wait a second, what was I saying again?

[thatpatguy]

Everybody stop talking!

this is like totally the best part of the song

[Large Marge]

Weed therapy has been pretty big on the agenda at the AIDS conference this week as well from what I've heard. Everyone wants a piece of what us Canadians have got it seems

[M.O.B.E]

Everything goes here in Freedonia. If its good for you, I say GO FOR IT!

[bouche]

cannabis GIVES me alzheimers. that's why i rarely touch the stuff anymore.

[bokonon]

Who are you people? Why do you keep talking to me?

Wait a second, what was I saying again?

I think it's obvious that you need more pot, for your health of course.

[bradm]

Who are you people? Why do you keep talking to me?

Wait a second' date=' what was I saying again?[/quote']

I think it's obvious that you need more pot, for your health of course.

Ours, too, of course.

Aloha,

Brad

[bokonon]

Yes, yes, we're all going to smoke to our health!

And I'm going to drink to sobriety tonight at the Jomomma show!

[SteveThe Owl]

Then there's the study released in May that suggested that not only does marijuana use not contribute to lung cancer but that THC may actually shrink tumours.

[color:green]Is there anything it can't do, indeed...

[Nitro Compression]

In Scientific American MIND Magazine Ther is an article called "Natural High"

The brain produces its own marijuanalike chemicals to protect neurons, and researchers hope to exploit these compounds to ease anxiety, obesity and addiction.

Chemically speaking, we are all potheads. Raphael Mechoulam of Hebrew University in Jerusalem discovered that astounding fact in 1992, and now the reasons why are finally emerging. Numerous experiments with genetically altered mice and rats have shown that when natural brain compounds, called endocannabinoids, are missing or their receptors are blocked, the animals are more susceptible to pain, cannot control their appetites, have trouble handling anxiety and are less able to cope with stress.

By fully understanding and then harnessing the endocannabinoid mechanisms, researchers are eager to devise new ways to reduce pain, calm anxiety, fight obesity, stop nicotine addiction and even treat traumatic shock and Parkinson's disease--without the unwanted side effects of smoking marijuana.

[Kanada Kev]

By fully understanding and then harnessing the endocannabinoid mechanisms, researchers are eager to devise new ways to reduce pain, calm anxiety, fight obesity, stop nicotine addiction and even treat traumatic shock and Parkinson's disease--without the unwanted side effects of smoking marijuana.

Here's what a buddy of mine on Long Island sent me the other day. Fuc%ing wonder drug

I was talking to a friend of my brother in law who is a researcher in Massachusetts. He said they are about to break through a diet pill that was based on research from cannibis. I think the working name of the drug has a form of the word cannibis in it.

What got us talking about it was that my brother in law asked why he can make perfectly well thought out decisions with regard to work, but when faced with the option to have a garden salad when he is hungry, he will opt for the burger and fries.

His friend said that there are chemicals in the brain that are "turned on" by the fat in foods. And their research led to the almost instantaneous response of a person who was otherwise not hungry, but when ingesting marijuana, they developed the munchies. And most people who get the munchies, go for tasteful things and not a few carrots.

The isolated this area of the brain, that is responsive to cannibis. Now they think that overweight people have a high sensitivity to this area, even when not ingesting marijuana, and if they can tell that are to close down, they in essence, can stop an overweight person from getting the munchies full time.

He said there might be 3 variations of the drug. One will "turn off" a person from eating fatty foods. They will have a negative reaction to it. Another variation will limit the amount of food they would ingest (ie, turning off the munchie sensor after a time), and finally, one that would supress the munchie sensor totally.

[phorbesie]

where's velvet when i need a cheeseburger.

[timouse]

mmmm....cheeseburger.

[nattyMatty]

This is for anyone who Hasn't seem or read this book.

http://www.jackherer.com/chapters.html

The Emporer Wears No Cloths

[AWeeJig]

cannabis GIVES me alzheimers. that's why i rarely touch the stuff anymore.

My sediments exactly.

[edger]

My sediments exactly.

[color:purple]I thought we were talking about weed, not 'the rock' (or rocks for that matter)

[Dr_Evil_Mouse]

Having spent the last while in medical limbo with my mom (who, I'm beyond ecstatic to say, has now regained lucidity and can actually move not badly on her own, with walker - let's here it for those mundane elements, potassium and magnesium), I'm surprised there's not more of a hue and cry from physicians and nurses, who, when it comes down to it, are often enough conducting running experiments with all sorts of variables when confronted with diseases that nobody can quite put a finger on. Anything that comforts, let alone improves, is just gold.

As usual, I think, it all comes back to the "problem" of the psychoactive properties of the drug, the very idea of which just freaks some people out (I'd venture to say, those whose grasp on their own identities is very important to themselves). That "lateral thinking" dimension, though, in terms of palliative care is a whole other dimension, and proposals for researching that are no doubt nipped pretty early in the bud (bad pun unintended).