marijuana

Endocannabinoids effective in treating Parkinson's

Wed, 07 Feb 2007 19:01:39 -0500

Marijuana-like chemicals in the brain may point to a treatment for Parkinson's disease. In a study to be published in the February 8 issue of Nature, researchers from the Stanford University School of Medicine report that endocannabinoids, naturally occurring chemicals found in the brain that are similar to the active compounds in marijuana and hashish, helped trigger a dramatic improvement in mice with a condition similar to Parkinson's.

"The dopamine drug alone did a little bit but it wasn't great, and the drug that targeted the enzyme that degrades endocannabinoids basically did nothing alone," said Anatol Kreitzer at Stanford University school of medicine. "But when we gave the two together, the animals really improved dramatically."

- here's a report on the research from The Guardian
- and here's the release

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Blood pressure meds may help prevent Alzheimer's

Wed, 06 Dec 2006 19:01:39 -0500

New research at Mount Sinai School of Medicine suggests that commonly used therapies for high blood pressure may help prevent the cognitive decline associated with Alzheimer's. Working with animals engineered to produce beta-amyloid, a plaque in the brain that builds up as Alzheimer's develops, researchers injected a series of drugs to see what kind of effect could be achieved. Seven of the drugs that demonstrated an ability to prevent the build-up of beta-amyloid were for high blood pressure. One of the drugs--Diovan--was most effective. Diovan is used to prevent high blood pressure in the elderly, suggesting that they may also be getting an additional benefit from their treatment.

- read the report on Alzheimer's from Forbes

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Marijuana may help prevent Alzheimer's

Wed, 11 Oct 2006 20:01:39 -0400

The active ingredient in marijuana, delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, may help prevent the formation of deposits in the brain which are linked to Alzheimer's. Scientists at Scripps Research Institute concluded that THC does a better job than commercial drugs at preventing the enzyme acetylcholinesterase from forming plaques that occur with Alzheimer's. While controversial, marijuana has a number of medical uses, including relieving glaucoma and pain along with the side effects of therapies for cancer and AIDS. The researchers at Scripps say that their new work in the field may help point the way to new therapies. There have been a number of studies, including one this week, that indicate that existing therapies for Alzheimer's are all but useless.

- here's the report on the study from the San Diego Union-Tribune