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Marijuana May Slow Alzheimer's
CBS News ^
| October 6th, 2006
| WebMD
Posted on 10/07/2006 9:24:11 AM PDT by cryptical
THC, the key compound in marijuana, may also be the key to new drugs for Alzheimer's disease.
That's because the marijuana compound blocks the formation of brain-clogging Alzheimer's plaques better than current Alzheimer's drugs.
The finding — in test-tube studies — comes from the lab of Kim Janda, Ph.D., director of the Worm Institute of Research and Medicine at Scripps Research Institute.
"While we are certainly not advocating the use of illegal drugs, these findings offer convincing evidence that THC possesses remarkable inhibitory qualities, especially when compared to [Alzheimer's drugs] currently available to patients," Janda says in a news release.
"Although our study is far from final, it does show that there is a previously unrecognized molecular mechanism through which THC may directly affect the progression of Alzheimer's disease."
Janda's team found that THC blocks an enzyme called acetylcholinesterase, which speeds the formation of amyloid plaque in the brains of people with Alzheimer's disease.
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 percent as well as THC, and Cognex blocked plaque formation only 7 percent 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.
The findings appear in the Aug. 9 online edition of the journal Molecular Pharmaceutics, a publication of the American Chemical Society.
TOPICS: Health/Medicine
KEYWORDS: addicted; callingdrleroy; wishfulthinking; wodlist
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1
posted on
10/07/2006 9:24:12 AM PDT
by
cryptical
To: cryptical
But then again, how would you know?
2
posted on
10/07/2006 9:24:45 AM PDT
by
gov_bean_ counter
( I am sitting under my cone of silence, inside a copper wire cage wearing a tin foil hat...)
To: gov_bean_ counter
By conducting clinical trials?
3
posted on
10/07/2006 9:27:06 AM PDT
by
billybudd
To: cryptical
I just forgot what I read, so make with the Nepalese Finger Hash!
4
posted on
10/07/2006 9:29:00 AM PDT
by
Solamente
(Let all the poisons that lurk in the mud hatch out...)
To: billybudd
Actually yes. I forget where but there are certain Maruijana fields that are legal and maybe even grown by the government that are used for these trials
5
posted on
10/07/2006 9:30:19 AM PDT
by
catholicfreeper
(Geaux Tigers SEC FOOTBALL ROCKS)
To: billybudd
Balance your brain chemicals all you want, but the final outcome is still the same.
6
posted on
10/07/2006 9:30:41 AM PDT
by
gov_bean_ counter
( I am sitting under my cone of silence, inside a copper wire cage wearing a tin foil hat...)
To: billybudd
7
posted on
10/07/2006 9:31:18 AM PDT
by
Bratch
To: cryptical
Scrappleface's take on the story.
8
posted on
10/07/2006 9:31:21 AM PDT
by
peyton randolph
(No man knows the day nor the hour of The Coming of The Great White Handkerchief.)
To: gov_bean_ counter
9
posted on
10/07/2006 9:31:22 AM PDT
by
stephenjohnbanker
(Our troops will send all of the worlds terrorists to hell in a handbasket with no virgins!)
To: gov_bean_ counter
"Marijuana May Slow Alzheimer's" But then, marijuana slows the thinking process and lowers intelligence. Ergo, intelligence causes Alzheimers!
10
posted on
10/07/2006 9:31:24 AM PDT
by
Enterprise
(Let's not enforce laws that are already on the books, let's just write new laws we won't enforce.)
To: cryptical
I thought pot was supposed to screw up your memory.
11
posted on
10/07/2006 9:31:32 AM PDT
by
stm
(Katherine Harris for US Senate!)
To: cryptical
I just wish that marijuana was legalized at the national level and then distributed the night before the general elections. Then, the left would forget to vote, and the conservatives would have a better chance for some serious political gains!
To: Enterprise; gov_bean_ counter
"Ergo, intelligence causes Alzheimers!"
By George, I think you've GOT it!!
13
posted on
10/07/2006 9:34:02 AM PDT
by
stephenjohnbanker
(Our troops will send all of the worlds terrorists to hell in a handbasket with no virgins!)
To: stm
I thought pot was supposed to screw up your memory. You won't remember any better, but you won't care.
To: stephenjohnbanker
Like....WOW.................................. man!
15
posted on
10/07/2006 9:35:22 AM PDT
by
stephenjohnbanker
(Our troops will send all of the worlds terrorists to hell in a handbasket with no virgins!)
To: cryptical
Am I stoned or has this story been posted, like a hundred times, dude?
16
posted on
10/07/2006 9:35:43 AM PDT
by
BallyBill
(Serial Hit-N-Run poster)
To: stephenjohnbanker
The next thing we will hear from the "pot cures everything" group is stick a joint up your a$$ for hemorrhoids.
17
posted on
10/07/2006 9:37:24 AM PDT
by
gov_bean_ counter
( I am sitting under my cone of silence, inside a copper wire cage wearing a tin foil hat...)
To: johnthebaptistmoore
The left are always stoned note drive by media.
18
posted on
10/07/2006 9:37:33 AM PDT
by
Vaduz
(and just think how clean the cities would become again.)
To: BallyBill
He can't remember. Has it?
LMAO
19
posted on
10/07/2006 9:37:45 AM PDT
by
DoughtyOne
(Victory will never be achieved while defining Conservatism downward, and forsaking it's heritage.)
To: cryptical
It may slow Alzheimer's but if it burns out your brain in another way what is the point?
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