Marijuana's Key Ingredient May Fight Alzheimer's Disease

Marijuana's Key Ingredient May Fight Alzheimer's Disease
FoxNews / Charles Q Choi / 10,11,2011


AP

AChE is known to help accelerate the formation of abnormal protein clumps in the brain, known as amyloid plaques, during Alzheimer's. The active ingredient of marijuana could be considerably better at suppressing the abnormal clumping of malformed proteins that is a hallmark of Alzheimer's disease than any currently approved prescription drugs.

Scientists report the finding in the Oct. 2 issue of the journal Molecular Pharmaceutics.

About 4.5 million Americans suffer from Alzheimer's disease, which gradually destroys memory. As more people survive into old age, cases of Alzheimer’s disease are expected to triple over the next 50 years. There is no known cure.

The researchers looked at THC, the compound inside marijuana responsible for its action on the brain.

Computer models suggested THC might inhibit an enzyme with the tongue-twisting name of acetylcholinesterase (also called AChE) that is linked to Alzheimer's.

This enzyme also helps break down the brain chemical acetylcholine, which is linked to memory and learning. Acetylcholine levels are reduced during Alzheimer's.

In lab experiments, the scientists found THC was significantly better at disrupting the abnormal clumping of malformed proteins.

THC could completely prevent AChE from forming amyloid , while two drugs approved for use against Alzheimer's, donepezil and tacrine, reduced clumping by only 22 and 7 percent, respectively, at twice the concentration of THC used in the tests.

"We're not advocating smoking dope, but if we can make analogues of THC, it could play a role in treating ," researcher Kim Janda, a chemist at the Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, Calif., told LiveScience. "It would be nice to do more animal studies along these lines."

Past research on human brain tissues and experiments with rats have suggested that synthetic analogues of THC can reduce the inflammation and prevent the mental decline associated with Alzheimer's .

However, marijuana is not necessarily good for the mind.

Prior investigations have shown that years of heavy marijuana use, consisting of four or more joints a week, can impair memory, decision-making and the ability to pay attention to more than one thing at a time.


All investigations that show harm in marijuana are paid for by NIDA and the ONDCP and where does science stop and drug policy begin?
I underlined where drug policy began and science stopped in this article.

Medical Marijuana: Silver Tour Reaches Out To America’s Senior Citizens
October 12th, 2011 / Allen St. Pierre / NORML


The narrative of the popular 1960s song entitled ‘Teach Your Children‘ by Crosby, Stills and Nash was for ‘parents to teach their children well’. Today the children of the World War II generation (the so-called ‘greatest’ generation) are teaching their parents (and their fellow Baby Boomers) about the wonderful utility of naturally-produced, non-toxic medical cannabis to successfully treat and/or manage a wide-range of health ailments.



NORML and High Times’ Medical Marijuana Magazine are the primary sponsors of the Silver Tour, a project of the nascent NORML Senior Alliance. The Silver Tour is championed by Robert Platshorn, one of America’s most successful cannabis smugglers and the nation’s longest serving cannabis prisoner (Robert served twenty eight years in federal prisons).

The basic mission of the Silver Tour is to speak and present at any venues on the topic of medical cannabis where senior citizens are clustered in large numbers–notably at senior living communities, retirement homes, religious centers and hospice.

One of the first public outreach events happened last week in Miami at a Jewish Community Center.


Now they can add this article to their Silver tour presentation.

I am surprised Fox has this on their website. I thought they were going to say it caused Alzheimer's diseases, and gives you the gay bug, and causes you to become a terrorist. But back on topic that is awesome. Smoking everyday keeps the doctor away.

Yay! I love you mary jane

So if I keep puffing I won't be a retard when i get old?

A second, older article from WebMD that puts it in even clearer terms!

Marijuana May Slow Alzheimer's (news - 2006)
[FONT="]Marijuana May Slow Alzheimer's[/FONT]

The Alzheimer's drugs Aricept and Cognex work by blocking acetylcholinesterase. When tested at double the concentration of THC, Aricept blocked plaque formation only 22% as well as THC, and Cognex blocked plaque formation only 7% as well as THC.


"THC and its analogs may provide an improved [treatment for] both the symptoms and progression of Alzheimer's disease," the researchers conclude.

So here we have a safe herbal medicine that puts Aricept to shame and without any nasty side effects! (I don't consider the munchies and cotton-mouth as "nasty"! lol)


And for the science lovers and those with a loved one suffering from this awful condition-

Neuroprotective effect of cannabidiol, a non-psychoactive component from Cannabis sativa, on β-amyloid-induced toxicity in PC12 cells (full - 2004)
Neuroprotective effect of cannabidiol, a non-psychoactive component from Cannabis sativa, on

Prevention of Alzheimer's Disease Pathology by Cannabinoids: Neuroprotection Mediated by Blockade of Microglial Activation (full - 2005) http://www.jneurosci.../full/25/8/1904

FYI- THC stimulates both the CB1 (gets you high) and CB2 Receptors (no high). This next study is VERY important because if a body removes the amyloid plaque (the stuff that "gums up" your brains in Alzheimer's), there is the possibility that Alzheimer's MAY be reversible! -

The activation of cannabinoid CB2 receptors stimulates in situ and in vitro beta-amyloid removal by human macrophages. (abst - 2009)
The activation of cannabinoid CB2 receptors stimul... [Brain Res. 2009] - PubMed - NCBI

FYI- Cannabidiol/ CBD stimulates the CB3/ GPR55 receptors, and works in a different way than CB2 receptors. CBD is amazing, medically, but can't get you high. It does prevent panic attacks.



Cannabidiol and other cannabinoids reduce microglial activation in vitro and in vivo: relevance to Alzheimers' disease (full – 2011) Cannabidiol and other cannabinoids reduce microglial activation in vitro and in vivo: relevance to Alzheimers

Also remember that for cannabis to work, you need functional CB receptors. To make working CB receptors, you need Omega 3! (These dudes were focusing of the effects in the brain and mental problems, but having that G i/o effector protein uncoupled sure doesn't help the CB receptor work!)

Nutritional omega-3 deficiency abolishes endocannabinoid-mediated neuronal functions.
(abst – 2011) Nutritional omega-3 deficiency abolishes endoca... [Nat Neurosci. 2011] - PubMed - NCBI

If you click that first link in my sig, you will find even more on how cannabis can be used to fight Alzheimer's.


Granny

The researchers looked at THC, the compound inside marijuana responsible for its action on the brain.

Computer models suggested THC might inhibit an enzyme with the tongue-twisting name of acetylcholinesterase (also called AChE) that is linked to Alzheimer's.

It's always good to see positive study results with the actual cannabinoids that are present in cannabis (THC, CBD, etc...) rather than synthetic analogues. It's even better when positive results come out of studies using whole plant cannabis (we could use more of that type of study). Of course then we run into the FDA/DEA/NIDA Catch-22.

"We're not advocating smoking dope, but if we can make analogues of THC, it could play a role in treating ," researcher Kim Janda, a chemist at the Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, Calif., told LiveScience. "It would be nice to do more animal studies along these lines."

Right...because creating synthetic analogues of THC is so much cheaper and safer than using the plant.