Kary Mullis, Noble Prize in Chemistry for the Polymerase Chain Reaction.
Known for his fondness of recreational chemicals.
Posted on 10/13/2005 2:38:13 PM PDT by Wolfie
Marijuana Compound Spurs Brain Cell Growth
In rat study, synthetic cannabinoid also boosted rodents' mood
THURSDAY, Oct. 13 (HealthDay News) -- When it comes to the controversy surrounding medical marijuana, an international team of researchers is busy stirring the pot by releasing findings that suggest the drug helps promote brain cell growth while treating mood disorders.
According to the study in rats, a super-potent synthetic version of the cannabinoid compound found in marijuana can reduce depression and anxiety when taken over an extended period of time.
This mood boost seems to be the result of the drug's ability to promote the growth of new brain cells, something no other addictive drug appears able to do, the researchers say.
The findings, which appear in the November issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation, remain preliminary, however.
"Our results were obtained from rats, and there's a big difference between rats and humans," said study co-author Dr. Xia Zhang, of the neuropsychiatry research unit in the department of psychiatry at the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon, Canada. "So, I don't really don't know yet if our findings apply to humans. But our results indicate that the clinical use of marijuana could make people feel better by helping control anxiety and depression."
The new findings come on the heels of a U.S. Supreme Court ruling in June granting federal authorities the power to stop doctors from prescribing marijuana. That decision also bars individuals from cultivating the herb for medical purposes.
The decision overrides laws currently on the books in 11 states which had legalized the use of marijuana for patients receiving a doctor's approval. According to the ruling, the Supreme Court justices made their decision on the basis of interstate commerce regulations rather than on an evaluation of the pros and cons of medical marijuana use.
But does medical marijuana work? To help settle that question, Zhang's team focused on the potential of a synthetic laboratory-produced form of the cannabinoid compound naturally found in the marijuana plant.
Humans and other animals also naturally produce the compound, and are known to have cannabinoid receptors lying on the surface of cells in the nervous system and the immune system.
Prior research has shown that, when exposed to cannabinoids, these receptors can provoke an anti-inflammatory and anti-convulsive response. They can also instigate a range of psychotropic effects such as euphoria.
The current study focused on a particular formulation of synthetic cannabinoid known as HU210 -- a compound which Zhang described as the most powerful cannabinoid in the world.
The authors explored both the short-term and long-term effects of exposure to HU210 in rats.
To measure the drug's short-term response, they gave adult rats a single injection of HU210. To study the same drug's effect over the longer term, the researchers gave a separate group of adult rats twice-daily injections of the cannabinoid over a two-week period.
Autopsies revealed that by the end of the 10-day HU210 treatment regimen, new neurons had been generated and integrated into the circuitry of the hippocampus region of the rat's brains. This process, known as neurogenesis, was still in evidence a full month after treatment had been initiated.
Neurogenesis was not triggered in response to brain cells being killed through cannabinoid exposure, the researchers add. In fact, HU210 injections did not appear to prompt any loss of neurons in the hippocampus.
Cannabinoid use appeared to boost mood, as well: According to the scientists, behavioral tests suggest that long-term treatment reduced the rodent's anxiety- and depression-linked behaviors.
For example, one month post-treatment, treated rats deprived of food for 48 hours were quicker than similarly deprived, non-treated rats to begin eating food when it was finally offered to them in an unfamiliar environment.
The researchers believe treated rats may have been less anxious in the manner they handled this novel situation. They stress the results were not related to cannabinoids' appetite-stimulating effects, since the treated rats' eating behavior was similar to that of untreated rats when they were offered food in a familiar setting.
Treated rats also responded in a less anxious manner to swimming and climbing tests, and displayed shorter periods of immobility compared with untreated rats. The latter finding was interpreted to mean that HU210 had an antidepressant effect on rats receiving the cannabinoid over the longer term.
However, while long-term administration of higher doses worked to reduce anxiety and depression, lower doses did not appear to have the same effect, the researchers added.
Zhang and his associates credit cannabinoid-linked neurogenesis with the apparent mood shifts seen in the animals.
The hippocampus area of the brain where the neuronal growth occurred is key to the regulation of stress and other mood disorders, Zhang's team point out. This region is also important to the control of cognitive processes such as learning and memory.
Among the common addictive drugs, marijuana alone appears able to promote neurogenesis when used over time and in the right dosage, the researchers say. In contrast, prior research has demonstrated that chronic administration of cocaine, opiates, alcohol and nicotine inhibits brain cell growth.
"If our results can be confirmed in humans, we should anticipate the chronic use of marijuana as a medical treatment for anxiety and depression," Zhang said.
However, he cautioned that "this treatment is not the same as smoking marijuana. Whether smoking marijuana can produce the same effect, we just don't know."
Dr. Perry G. Fine, a professor of anesthesiology at the University of Utah School of Medicine Pain Research Center, said more than enough data has already been gathered to confirm medical marijuana's potential benefits.
"It's great that there's new science, but to me this is no longer an epiphany," he said. "It's just proving what's been long-suspected. We're behind the curve with the cannabinoids largely because of the stigma of marijuana going years and years back."
"I think most people with clinical expertise in the area of palliative medicine know that if patients had access to all the tools we currently have, we could certainly do a whole lot better to help people live with multiple chronic diseases," he added. "The social policies are way behind our technology, and that's where we need some catching up."
Maybe it's 'the munchies' that "spurs brain cell growth" - it certainly spurs other cell growth...
;>)
"Wow. I guess that explains why every pot-head I've ever known has been a complete genius..."
I have a good friend, smokes everyday, who won the Nobel prize in physics. Smart enough for you?
***Prove it!
I have an acquaintance who was always stupid, smoked MJ everyday for 15 years or more, and is as stupid as ever, ekes by on SSI. To him EVERYTHING (and his failures) is the American society's fault, therefore, he rejects society and America. Yeah, he's a "liberal." Otherwise very unsocial, he does go to leftists protests and leftist protest workshops. Yes, there are leftist protest workshops available for willing fools.
"Since it is illegal, I will not give his name. If you think I'm lying to you, ignore me, and proceed with your prejudices."
Well, I am addressing what appears to be YOUR prejudice as well as the probability of your asserting a *substantiating* fiction as a basis of your argument.
You can ignore my challenge, but then you default.
Yep. There are reprobates all over the place. I have several friends who are teachers, lawyers, doctors and professors...all who smoke MJ regularly. I've lived in SF, Berkeley, Baltimore, NYC and the Midwest---there seems to be no exception. Some people who smoke MJ are dumber than stumps and others are brilliant and productive.
So if you believe that all people who smoke MJ are stupid then it must be true---correct?
"Some people who smoke MJ are dumber than stumps and others are brilliant and productive."
There is no doubt in my mind that moderate MJ use coincides with creativity - especially in the arts.
Hence, the vast intellectual superiority of libertarians over conservatives (ducking for cover).
I tend to agree, but I don't think MJ makes a silk purse out of a sow's ear.
From a lot of "art" I have seen, it appears they were stoned when they made it ...
I think the study showed it made them high and hungry ...
Kary Mullis, Noble Prize in Chemistry for the Polymerase Chain Reaction.
Known for his fondness of recreational chemicals.
Prove it!
My son was an engineering major at Va.Tech . One of his comments I'll never forget is : " Dad, you will not believe how many kids in the engineering track smoke weed." And he added, "they are so frickin smart !BTW , he did graduate and land an enginneering job before he ahd commencement .
Other benefits: Cheeto and pizza sales double and gasoline usage plummets as happy people with big brains order out and never leave bed. Maybe tomorrow.
(cannibisculture.com)
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Gould was also a signatory to a 1998 advertisement in the New York Times, which took two full pages to appeal for a new international drug policy. "We believe the global war on drugs is now causing more harm than drug abuse itself," the ad claimed.
(Other signatories to the ad included Walter Cronkite, former US Surgeon General Joycelyn Elders, former Attorney General Nicholas Katzenbach, former Secretary of State George Shultz, Mayor Willie Brown of San Francisco, Mayor Kurt Schmoke of Baltimore, Mayor Susan Hammer of San Jose, Milton Friedman, and a variety of judges, police, academics and other prominent citizens.)
-------------------------------
Yes.
As in DemoRats?
My cousin did some heavy toking at MIT. Now he is a nuclear physicist at Los Alamos, an avid skiier, and tennis afficianto. My brother did maryjane and even some LSD. Now he owns his own business building heliports all over the world ... has 6 patents.
"From a lot of "art" I have seen, it appears they were stoned when they made it ..."
Drugs like MJ and LSD allow for synapses to connect in novel ways - thus promoting thinking out of the box. All the jazz musicians and blues musicians and rock musicians were heavy MJ users - small price to pay for lifetime royalty rights to "Family Tradition " or such.
Good for you!
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