From: unk...@googlegroups.com   
      
   Posted in: Health Studies Posted: November 30, 2014   
      
   Marijuana Could Fight Alzheimer’s Disease, A New Study Claims   
      
      
   This Marijuana Alzheimer's Study Has Some Great News For Patients, Families   
   Marijuana and Alzheimer’s Disease have been linked in a new study, with the   
   popular drug showing that it might be a good weapon in the fight against the   
   deadly disease.   
      
   The study was originally published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease and   
   the findings “strongly suggest that THC [the main active ingredient in   
   marijuana] could be a potential therapeutic treatment option for Alzheimer’s   
   disease through    
   multiple functions and pathways.”   
      
   Alzheimer’s Disease is an affliction that more than five million people are   
   currently living with, and the number is likely to go higher until an   
   effective cure is discovered.   
      
   But as SFGate notes, there is now a promising and (mostly) illegal weapon to   
   rock the disease on its heels.   
      
   “Chuanhai Cao and other researchers at the University of South Florida and   
   Thomas Jefferson University wanted to investigate the ‘potential therapeutic   
   qualities of Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) with respect to slowing or halting   
   the hallmark    
   characteristics of Alzheimer’s disease,” writes David Downs with SFGate.   
      
   That led the researchers to treat Alzheimer’s research cells (N2a-variant   
   amyloid-β protein precursor (AβPP) cells) with THC. They then “examined   
   them for amyloid-β at the 6, 24, and 48-hour time markers. Amyloid-β is a   
   type of protein that is    
   linked to Alzheimer’s symptoms. The researchers found THC ‘to be effective   
   at lowering Aβ levels … in a dose-dependent manner.'”   
      
   Cao weighed in in comments to the website.   
      
   “THC is known to be a potent antioxidant with neuroprotective properties,   
   but this is the first report that the compound directly affects Alzheimer’s   
   pathology by decreasing amyloid beta levels, inhibiting its aggregation, and   
   enhancing mitochondrial    
   function.   
      
   “Decreased levels of amyloid beta means less aggregation, which may protect   
   against the progression of Alzheimer’s disease. Since THC is a natural and   
   relatively safe amyloid inhibitor, THC or its analogs, may help us develop an   
   effective treatment    
   in the future.”   
      
   Marijuana use continues to divide much of the country, though acceptance of it   
   is gaining, and its legalization is likely inevitable. Some of the research   
   passed around doesn’t paint the drug in the best light.   
      
   Take, for instance, this recent study reported on by the Inquisitr claiming   
   that frequent marijuana users had lower IQs than people who stayed away from   
   the drug altogether.   
      
   It has also been blamed for killing motivation and serving as a gateway drug   
   to more serious substance abuse problems. However, in controlled use, it’s   
   also an effective medicine for cancer patients and now, possibly,   
   Alzheimer’s patients. Do you    
   think that marijuana should be legalized completely or just within medical   
   limits?   
      
   [Image via ShutterStock]   
      
      
   http://www.inquisitr.com/1645684/marijuana-could-fight-alzheimer   
   -disease-a-new-study-claims/   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)