Might Marijuana help with Alzheimer’s

As if we needed another reason to legalize marijuana:

Cannabinoids May Reduce Alzheimer’s Proteins From Brain Cells
Summary: A new study finds THC reduces amyloid beta proteins in human neurons.

"Source: Salk Institute.

Preliminary lab studies at the Salk Institute find THC reduces beta amyloid proteins in human neurons.

Salk Institute scientists have found preliminary evidence that tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and other compounds found in marijuana can promote the cellular removal of amyloid beta, a toxic protein associated with Alzheimer’s disease.

While these exploratory studies were conducted in neurons grown in the laboratory, they may offer insight into the role of inflammation in Alzheimer’s disease and could provide clues to developing novel therapeutics for the disorder.

“Although other studies have offered evidence that cannabinoids might be neuroprotective against the symptoms of Alzheimer’s, we believe our study is the first to demonstrate that cannabinoids affect both inflammation and amyloid beta accumulation in nerve cells,” says Salk Professor David Schubert, the senior author of the paper.

Alzheimer’s disease is a progressive brain disorder that leads to memory loss and can seriously impair a person’s ability to carry out daily tasks. It affects more than five million Americans according to the National Institutes of Health, and is a leading cause of death. It is also the most common cause of dementia and its incidence is expected to triple during the next 50 years.

It has long been known that amyloid beta accumulates within the nerve cells of the aging brain well before the appearance of Alzheimer’s disease symptoms and plaques. Amyloid beta is a major component of the plaque deposits that are a hallmark of the disease. But the precise role of amyloid beta and the plaques it forms in the disease process remains unclear.

In a manuscript published in June 2016’s Aging and Mechanisms of Disease, the Salk team studied nerve cells altered to produce high levels of amyloid beta to mimic aspects of Alzheimer’s disease.

The researchers found that high levels of amyloid beta were associated with cellular inflammation and higher rates of neuron death. They demonstrated that exposing the cells to THC reduced amyloid beta protein levels and eliminated the inflammatory response from the nerve cells caused by the protein, thereby allowing the nerve cells to survive...."

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Lookout's picture

Both pot and LSD have had positive effects for several health issues. But in the US there are road blocks to research:

The US is far behind many other countries in harnessing the healing power of marijuana. Israel is the marijuana research capital of the world, thanks to Dr. Raphael Mechoulam, who was the first to investigate the medicinal properties of marijuana way back in the 1960s and the first to isolate THC and CBD.

Israel is now using marijuana to treat cancer, epilepsy, Parkinson's disease, Tourette's syndrome, and many other conditions. As shown in the film, even residents of Israeli nursing homes are being treated with marijuana.

But in the US, the fact that marijuana remains classified as a dangerous Schedule 1 drug has all but halted scientific progress. American scientists have to jump through a frustrating array of hoops, which are expensive and time consuming and ultimately discourage the majority of researchers from conducting marijuana studies.

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2015/05/16/research-s...

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“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

detroitmechworks's picture

The reason I bring it up is that many big pharma companies are trying to concentrate on ONLY non-THC research, and of course, they claim that they're doing it for only the best of reasons.

Essentially, every pharmacy is trying to get the benefits of Marijuana... without admitting that the best way to get the treatment is to just use the WHOLE DAMN PLANT. Because you can't trademark and patent natural plants...

Good news, but just jump to the human trials, guys... we KNOW it's not going to kill anybody. If it ever did, it would be headline news...

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I do not pretend I know what I do not know.

CaptainPoptart's picture

we should all be able to use it for whatever purpose we wish. We know it doesn't hurt anybody or as detroitmechworks says it would be headline news. A majority of people approve of it even for recreational purposes. Time for the pols to get behind this, like Bernie has.

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I'd rather learn from one bird how to sing than teach ten thousand stars how not to dance. - e.e.cummings

Pricknick's picture

I believe in the "Whole plant" concept. The combination of THC, CBD and many other compounds in marijuana, will for most, be shown to be more therapeutic together than singly. I also believe that the individual compounds may have their own more specific uses.
I do take offense to the one size fits all approach as in telling everybody that a specific strain or preparation thereof will work for everybody. No two people get the same reaction or relief from one specific strain. It also greatly disappoints me for anybody to say that marijuana cures anything. At this point we just don't know for sure.
I'm fortunate to live in a medical marijuana (or marihuana as the government prefers) state. I get to legally see how marijuana helps so many. I've seen individuals get off of their morphine pills and pumps. I've seen the elderly feel better than they have in years. I myself have gotten completely off pain medications.
Might Marijuana help with Alzheimer’s? I firmly believe it may and I sure as fuck hope so.

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Regardless of the path in life I chose, I realize it's always forward, never straight.

elenacarlena's picture

I know young MJ smokers who can't seem to remember anything. Then again, I know people like that at every age, no smoking required.

Before reading the article, I was going to snark, "No, but it will help their caretakers!"

I hope they do more research on this.

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Please check out Pet Vet Help, consider joining us to help pets, and follow me @ElenaCarlena on Twitter! Thank you.

This one hour explained to me about how we do not even know all of the beneficial compounds in Cannabis yet, CBD is just one and there is still not enough research being done. Kinda ironic his compounds are the source for all U.S. research, all of it. Thank you Dr Mechoulam. Also, thank you for being so free with the knowledge. Let's spread it. Cheers!

“The Scientist” is a documentary that traces the story of Dr Mechoulam from his early days......as a child of the Holocaust in Bulgaria, through his immigration to Israel, and his career as the chief investigator into the chemistry and biology of the world’s most misunderstood plant. Dr. Mechoulam ascertained that THC interacts with the largest receptor system in the human body, the endocannabinoid system (ECS). For further information please visit: http://mechoulamthescientist.com/

Edit: Some nice person posted shortcut links in the tube comments:

14:38 Epilepsy
36:58 Entourage effect
39:56 Milk
40:15 Bones
50:52 ALS
56:25 Old Age and Alzheimers

Watching again I can hardly believe the inaction of our government here's my addition:
33:30 Hashish for Children. (DEA should remove head from arse!)
Please share this video the on-screen transcription is excellent, for me it is difficult because of the animal testing but the information is so important, plus there are plenty of humans willing to participate we can still move ahead. Thanks.

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