Alzheimer’s Disease THC vs A.D

Another new study on Alzheimer's and how the cannabinoids fight it and it's a "goodie"! It actually comes out and says that THC fights Alzheimer's! And they have the full study free online! (Usually you have to pay $35- $75 to read new studies. And this is an important study, so it IS a big deal! ) Here's the "money shot" quote-

"Cannabinoids such as tetrahydrocannabinol stimulate the removal of intraneuronal Aβ, block the inflammatory response, and are protective."

Not MAY BE neuroprotective, but ARE neuroprotective. Scientists are really cautious about making solid statements like that. They don't do it unless they have dang good proof! So next time you get flack about smoking cannabis, you can refer to this study and say you are protecting yourself against a possible case of Alzheimer's in the future (If you live to 85 you have about a 50/50 chance of having Alzheimer's. )

For those of you who are not science nerds, there is a news article about this study-

Cannabinoids remove plaque-forming Alzheimer's proteins from brain cells http://medicalxpress.com/news/2016-06-cannabinoids-plaque-forming-alzheimer-proteins-brain.html

OK, on to the good stuff!

Amyloid proteotoxicity initiates an inflammatory response blocked by cannabinoids Amyloid proteotoxicity initiates an inflammatory response blocked by cannabinoids : npj Aging and Mechanisms of Disease


The beta amyloid (Aβ) and other aggregating proteins in the brain increase with age and are frequently found within neurons. (I don't think I need to translate that- it's fairly clear.)


The mechanistic relationship between intracellular amyloid, aging and neurodegeneration is not, however, well understood. (Scientists don't really understand the connection between your brain getting gummed up with amyloid plaque, aging and brain degeneration, but they are looking into it)

We use a proteotoxicity model based upon the inducible expression of Aβ in a human central nervous system nerve cell line to characterize a distinct form of nerve cell death caused by intracellular Aβ.
(They used cloned brain cells that had been "infected" with amyloid plaque to show that amyloid plaque kills brain cells in a certain fashion.)

It is shown that intracellular Aβ initiates a toxic inflammatory response leading to the cell's demise. (It was shown that amyloid plaque causes a severe inflammatory reaction and that kills the brain cell.)

Aβ induces the expression of multiple proinflammatory genes and an increase in both arachidonic acid and eicosanoids, including prostaglandins that are neuroprotective and leukotrienes that potentiate death. (The presence of amyloid plaque causes inflammation in the brain which starts a bunch of actions, some that protect cells, others that kill damaged cells.)

Cannabinoids such as tetrahydrocannabinol stimulate the removal of intraneuronal Aβ, block the inflammatory response, and are protective. (THC and other cannabinoids REMOVE the amyloid plaque, block the inflammation, and PROTECT your brain from Alzheimer's damage! )

Altogether these data show that there is a complex and likely autocatalytic inflammatory response within nerve cells caused by the accumulation of intracellular Aβ, and that this early form of proteotoxicity can be blocked by the activation of cannabinoid receptors. (This study shows that there is a complex, catalytic action in brain cells caused by the amyloid plaque, and that this can be prevented with THC and other cannabinoids by activating the CB1, CB2 and other G-coupled receptors.)



This study's finding are supported by this earlier study on the CB2 receptors-

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 stimulates in situ and in vitro beta-amyloid removal by human macrophages. - PubMed - NCBI

And removing the amyloid plaque can apparently REVERSE some of the memory loss!
Activation of the CB(2) receptor system reverses amyloid-induced memory deficiency. (abst – 2013) Activation of the CB2 receptor system reverses amyloid-induced memory deficiency. - PubMed - NCBI


And guess what? At just a month shy of being 69 years old, I do NOT fear Alzheimer's!


Granny (puff, puff)

 

TeeJay, It is totally anecdotal, but years ago there was a post by someone who had familial Alzheimer's in their family. There were two in the family who were in their 50s yet had no signs of Alzheimer's,the poster and his brother, and they both used cannabis!

If you aren't already, start taking Omega 3! It is needed to properly make the CB receptors that cannabis activates to remove the plaque from your brain. Fish oil works better for men than flax seed oil. (Many women have a gene that makes us more able to transform the vegetable forms of Omega 3 into the more potent animal forms)

Nutritional omega-3 deficiency abolishes endocannabinoid-mediated neuronal functions. (abst – 2011) Nutritional omega-3 deficiency abolishes endocannabinoid-mediated neuronal functions. - PubMed - NCBI

Here’s the key sentence- “In n-3-deficient mice, presynaptic cannabinoid CB(1) receptors (CB(1)Rs) normally responding to endocannabinoids were uncoupled from their effector G(i/o) proteins.”

It's rather like a speaker that has a loose wire- everything is there, but no "music" happens!

Cut back on the Omega 6 oils- corn, soy and "mixed vegetable" oils, and switch to using canola oil for frying and hemp seed for salad dressing. Olive oil and coconut oil aren't rich in Omega 3, but have other health benefits, so they are good to use, also. I take about 4 grams of Omega 3 per day (the amount many heart studies have used with few problems.) FYI- too much Omega 3 can cause you to bruise more easily. If you start bruising, cut back on it. Everyone's body works a bit differently, so I can't say exactly how much you should take.

And don't be afraid to go to PubMed and start getting the latest info on Alzheimer's! Just click the link below, then type in Alzheimer's in the search bar, and start getting the very latest info! PubMed is free and very easy to use!

APOE ε4 and the associations of seafood and long-chain omega-3 fatty acids with cognitive decline.
APOE ε4 and the associations of seafood and long-chain omega-3 fatty acids with cognitive decline. - PubMed - NCBI

Hope that helps!

Granny