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THC Prevents Alzeimer's

Discussion in 'Medical Marijuana Usage and Applications' started by alicri, Dec 29, 2010.

  1. #1 alicri, Dec 29, 2010
    I found this through StumbleUpon.com, and thought the City would enjoy:)





    A molecular link between the active component of marijuana and Alzheimer's disease pathology

    Eubanks LM, Rogers CJ, Beuscher AE 4th, Koob GF, Olson AJ, Dickerson TJ, Janda KD.
    Department of Chemistry and Immunology, The Skaggs Institute for Chemical Biology, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, California 92037, USA.



    Alzheimer's disease is the leading cause of dementia among the elderly, and with the ever-increasing size of this population, cases of Alzheimer's disease are expected to triple over the next 50 years. Consequently, the development of treatments that slow or halt the disease progression have become imperative to both improve the quality of life for patients and reduce the health care costs attributable to Alzheimer's disease. Here, we demonstrate that the active component of marijuana, Delta9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), competitively inhibits the enzyme acetylcholinesterase (AChE) as well as prevents AChE-induced amyloid beta-peptide (Abeta) aggregation, the key pathological marker of Alzheimer's disease. Computational modeling of the THC-AChE interaction revealed that THC binds in the peripheral anionic site of AChE, the critical region involved in amyloidgenesis. Compared to currently approved drugs prescribed for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease, THC is a considerably superior inhibitor of Abeta aggregation, and this study provides a previously unrecognized molecular mechanism through which cannabinoid molecules may directly impact the progression of this debilitating disease.


    URL- http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2562334/
     
  2. #2 Storm Crow, Dec 29, 2010
    If you would like to read the full study, click the first link in my sig and scroll down to "ALZHEIMER'S" - the study date is 2006 (my list is in chronological order). I also have a couple of pages more of links to similar studies on Alzheimer's. One of the most recent suggests that cannabis may REVERSE the deposition of amyloid plaque (the physical evidence of Alzheimer's) -

    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 result


    Educate yourself!


    Granny :wave:
     
  3. #3 alicri, Dec 30, 2010
    The Url I provided is to the full study. I just decided to have the abstract as my original post, for easier reading.
     
  4. #4 Storm Crow, Dec 30, 2010
    Sorry! :eek:

    Most folks will just post a link to the abstract and leave it at that! I really do appreciate your posting it up, though!

    My step-mother in Texas is in the later stages of Alzheimer's. Texas, as you know, is not a MMJ state. She was a very conservative, law-abiding woman, so she wouldn't have used cannabis illegally. She no longer even recognizes her daughter and son. I can't help but wonder if this could have been prevented by using cannabinoids in some form.

    Prohibition wastes so many lives, in so many ways. :(


    Granny :wave:
     

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