The Effects of Marijuana on Alzheimers

[laughingwillow]

Had to bring this one to the community. Not sure if its been posted here or not. hehe

http://www.livescience.com/humanbiology ... juana.html

Marijuana's Key Ingredient Might Fight Alzheimer's

By Charles Q. Choi
Special to LiveScience
posted: 05 October 2006
10:04 am ET
   
The active ingredient of marijuana could be considerably better at suppressing the abnormal clumping of malformed proteins that is a hallmark of Alzheimer's than any currently approved drugs prescribed for the treatment of the disease.

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 with Alzheimer's.

AChE is known to help accelerate the formation of abnormal protein clumps in the brain known as amyloid plaques during 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 plaques, 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 Alzheimer's," 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 disease.

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.

[judih]

so, if doing t'ai chi when i'm 90, or learning how to count in chinese backwards fails to stimulate my mind, i might just have to try this THC stuff.

thanks, lw.

[fuzz]

Chinese backwards!!! now that's a task that could take a few lives;)

Here is more on the effects of weed, with a superbe british documentary.
The video is a nice change from the myth of the lone and lazy teenager.
Favorite line is when grand ma baking chicken pot pies for her community of elders, says : "i only use pure bud"! Grand ma sure knows her stuff.

Check the video "Stoned in Suburbia "here:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid ... =undefined
"Stoned In Suburbia is a social history film, examining the change in people's opinions to cannabis over the past 50 years. Discussing the all impact of the 60's sexual revolution, the Hippie movement, the emergence of the Punks right up until the modern day."

Roll one up and enjoy  those 40 mns of pure fun