While THC was responsible for the reduction of the harmful proteins, the chemical also causes the plant’s psychological effects.
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Cannabis or marijuana has often been accused of adversely affecting memory and thinking ability.
They’re also going to have to consider the potential tradeoffs of using marijuana as a drug to stave of neurodegeneration. The study has not further explored the negative effects that marijuana could have on an ageing brain. Salk Institute scientists found out that tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and other compounds in cannabis may promote cellular removal of the toxin amyloid beta associated with Alzheimer’s disease.
To find out more about the role of beta-amyloid in Alzheimer’s, senior author Prof.
The Daily Caller reports that one of the members of the research team, David Schubert from the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in California, mentioned that previous studies provided evidence that the cannabinoids in marijuana could actually be neuroprotective against Alzheimer’s symptoms.
The study was published in the journal Aging and Mechanisms of Disease, and offers new insights into how the brain responds to the buildup of proteins, which form plaque that interrupts neural connections in Alzheimer’s patients.
Back in 2006, researchers at the Scripps Research Institute found that THC inhibits the formation of amyloid plaques by blocking the enzyme in the brain that produces them, and now Schubert and his team have demonstrated that it can also eliminate a unsafe inflammatory response from the nerve cells, ensuring their survival. This is because of the link of amyloid beta to cellular inflammation as well as neuron death.
“It became clear that THC-like compounds that the nerve cells make themselves may be involved in protecting the cells from dying”.
The team said that neurons in the brain have receptors that are activated by lipid molecules called endocannabinoids. But seeing as the study’s findings show that weed has the same effect on slowing Alzheimer’s that physical activity does, if you’re regularly exercising and smoking, you’re already taking the right steps to keep your mind right.
However, when exposed to THC, the levels of amyloid beta decreased, eliminating the “inflammatory response”.
Some research suggests that marijuana use is likely to precede use of other licit and illicit substances44 and the development of addiction to other substances. Therefore it would be premature to assume that marijuana provides a protective measure when it comes to brain associated disorders.
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More than 520,000 people are living with the disease in the UK.
