“When we were able to identify the molecular basis of the inflammatory response to amyloid beta, it became clear that THC-like compounds that the nerve cells make themselves may be involved in protecting the cells from dying.”

Brain cells have switches known as receptors that can be activated by endocannabinoids, a class of lipid molecules made by the body that are used for intercellular signaling in the brain. The psychoactive effects of marijuana are caused by THC, a molecule similar in activity to endocannabinoids that can activate the same receptors. Physical activity results in the production of endocannabinoids and some studies have shown that exercise may slow the progression of Alzheimer’s disease.

Yeah....let them all get high. That would solve everything.
Maybe let them drink booze on the sidelines between plays.

Originally Posted by: Cheesey 

Yeah....let them all get high. That would solve everything.
Maybe let them drink booze on the sidelines between plays.

Originally Posted by: Cheesey 

Cannabis removes amyloid plaques from the brain.

Originally Posted by: nerdmann 

No. A million times no. This kind of flagrant misrepresentation of science research in the alternative health movement -- and, believe me, it's rampant* -- drives me nuts. It puts people's lives in danger by offering them false hope and encouraging them to avoid therapies, as imperfect as they might be, that can provide real improvement to quality of life.

All this study showed is that THC was associated with a reduction in the number of amyloid plaques in isolated neurons grown in a Petri dish. You simply cannot extrapolate from preliminary bench findings like these to clinical significance. It is unjustifiable to assert, based on this study, that THC would have a similar effect in animal brains. Bleach kills cancer cells very effectively in the lab; that doesn't make it a cure for cancer.

And even if THC does turn out to have this effect in real brains, there's no guarantee that it would slow the progression of, much less reverse, Alzheimer disease. Most of our attempts to treat Alzheimer disease by combating amyloid plaque deposition have resulted in miserable failure.

The unfortunate truth is that we still don't know what the actual significance of amyloid plaques in brain pathology might be. We don't know if amyloid deposition causes Alzheimer, if it's a byproduct of Alzheimer, or if it might even be the brain's protective defense against Alzheimer. Similarly, we don't know whether traumatic brain injuries cause amyloid plaques or the plaques are the brain's response to injury.

You know what there is solid clinical evidence for? The fact that marijuana use causes global reductions in brain bloodflow . Guess where the greatest reduction is? In the hippocampus . . . the very area of the brain Alzheimer disease attacks first, the area responsible for memory coding. Put that in your pipe and smoke it.


Example of a volume rendered brain SPECT image (top down view) of a healthy control compared to an 18-year old daily user of marijuana. While the control subject has symmetric activity, the marijuana user shows overall decreased perfusion.

_________
* I recently watched a presentation by the notorious Joel Wallach, DVM, ND, and I counted literally hundreds of unjustifiable extrapolations, misrepresentations of research, and outright fabrications in the space of less than two hours. It was both infuriating and horrifying. People soak that shit up, because it makes them feel superior and it caters to their sense of disenfranchisement with the establishment, and it ends up hurting them. Sometimes killing them. This kind of vile hucksterism is criminal, as far as I am concerned.

Originally Posted by: Nonstopdrivel 

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I'm not against people baking up. I'm all for drug legalization and letting people do whatever they want to their own bodies. What I'm against is assholes making unwarranted claims that can get the uninformed and deluded hurt or even killed.

There's no evidence that cannabis can prevent or reverse Alzheimer disease. What research does exist has failed to show any prevention of cognitive decline  in cannabis users versus nonusers. Because I don't think there's any plausible mechanism for how cannabis would treat Alzheimer, I'd be willing to bet a week's paycheck that eventually we'll find out pretty conclusively that cannabis doesn't do shit for Alzheimer in the real world. But until the evidence is in, I don't think we should be making wild claims one way or the other.

Originally Posted by: Nonstopdrivel