cannabisnews.com: High Times for Alzheimers High Times for Alzheimers Posted by CN Staff on September 26, 2002 at 09:51:37 PT By Sophie Petit-Zeman Source: Guardian Unlimited 'A younger sibling of mine accidentally let grandma eat the wrong brownies... You could tell she had AD --Alzheimer's disease -- but nothing so prominent. It was like it took her back 3-4 years." Postings such as this one on the Alzforum website intrigued Dr Nathaniel Milton, a biochemist at London's Royal Free and University College medical school. He was already actively researching compounds which prevent the brain cell death that occurs in Alzheimer's disease, and, with research partner Insight Biotechnology, had taken out patents on some capable of doing this. He was also aware of a few reports suggesting that cannabis preparations, in the hands of doctors, could do for their patients much of what the brownies did for grandma.The brain of an Alzheimer's sufferer contains abnormal deposits called "tangles" and "plaques." Associated with these deposits are proteins, or bits of them, called tau and amyloid-beta (Aß) respectively. Healthy tau plays a structural role in brain cells, but there is good evidence that in Alzheimer's disease, it becomes festooned with atoms of phosphorus and oxygen, like lights on a Christmas tree. It is thought to be this that tips tau into tangles. Milton has evidence that something similar happens to Aß in plaques, and that this, in turn, makes it toxic to brain cells. In research to be published in the journal Neuroscience Letters, and which he will also present at next month's neurobiology of aging conference in Florida, he reports that cannabinoids - cannabis-like compounds that occur naturally in the brain - can stop Aß killing cells. "My basic hypothesis," he says, "is that Aß is taken up into neurons, where it is phophorylated [garlanded, like tau, with phosphorus and oxygen] and kills them. It's this toxic action that cannabinoids prevent." Milton discovered this by incubating human neurons in culture, and then poisoning them with Aß. When he added cannabinoids to the brew, Aß was apparently no longer toxic. Milton describes a complex "protective signalling pathway inside neurons" that he thinks is activated by the cannabinoids. Other compounds with similar properties do exist, and one of particular interest is corticotrophin releasing hormone (CRH). Like cannabinoids, CRH is made within the brain and is reportedly reduced in people with Alzheimer's disease. This is of particular interest to Milton because, he says: "If it turns out that reduced CRH is fundamental to the disease process, then the brain may be losing one of its innate protective mechanisms. People with high natural levels of cannabinoids in their brains might then be protected against Alzheimer's disease." And the next question follows like, well, smoke after lighting up: Are we set to see a generation, or indeed generations, of cannabis smokers immune to Alzheimer's disease?Milton says not, because his research shows not only the ability of cannabinoids to protect against brain cell death in Alzheimer's disease, but also that too much of them is toxic. Dr Richard Harvey, director of research at the Alzheimer's Society, says: "There's no epidemiological data on whether exposure to cannabis in humans affects the risk of developing dementia, and it may be difficult to collect such data." But Harvey calls Milton's research "very interesting", adding that: "Clearly in the test tube, cannabinoids have the ability to block at least one of the probable causal mechanisms in Alzheimer's disease and so become a potential treatment or preventative agent that needs to be tested in humans." Note: Sophie Petit-Zeman on the way cannabinoids could alleviate symptoms of degenerative diseases.Alzheimer's Society helpline: 0845 300 0336 Source: Guardian Unlimited, The (UK)Author: Sophie Petit-ZemanPublished: Thursday, September 26, 2002Copyright: 2002 Guardian Newspapers LimitedContact: letters guardian.co.ukWebsite: http://www.guardian.co.uk/Related Article & Web Site:Alzforum Website - Marijuanahttp://www.alzforum.org/res/adh/hyp/#marijuanaPharmos to Test Cannabis-Like Drug for Memoryhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread13551.shtmlCannabisNews Medical Marijuana Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/medical.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #21 posted by Hope on September 28, 2002 at 12:39:39 PT I hope I'm wrong but I don't believe the papers will print any letters about this. If they did, it would point out the fact that they had not reported this tantalizing news. [ Post Comment ] Comment #20 posted by FoM on September 27, 2002 at 14:45:57 PT delariand I'm sorry to read that you are having serious family health issues. I understand why your mother is having a hard time. [ Post Comment ] Comment #19 posted by delariand on September 27, 2002 at 14:26:42 PT: me too My aunt is dying of breast cancer, my grandmother is losing her memory to Alzheimers, my mom is so stressed from 14 hour workdays she has to drink every night to get to sleep.True, the third problem pales next to the other two, but these are all problems that could be helped by legalizing cannabis. And these are just a few examples of the suffering all over the country due to marijuana prohibition.Thanks, Dubya. Very compassionate. [ Post Comment ] Comment #18 posted by FoM on September 26, 2002 at 19:25:57 PT Alzheimers My mother died from Alzheimer's Disease. It is a very sad thing to watch a parent loss their memory and forget family and everything that was once precious. If Cannabis could help an Alzheimer patient then people need to know. Thank you for getting the word out. [ Post Comment ] Comment #17 posted by idbsne1 on September 26, 2002 at 19:09:44 PT I'm going to hit some Alzheimer's sites.... I believe that they should be getting the info the US won't give them....idbsne1 [ Post Comment ] Comment #16 posted by Hope on September 26, 2002 at 14:10:50 PT should be nothing incriminating in passing on this amazing research! [ Post Comment ] Comment #15 posted by Hope on September 26, 2002 at 14:09:18 PT In the subject line put something like:Bet the ONDCP won't let this be printed in US: Marijuana and Alzheimer'sorBlacked out in US: Marijuana and Alzheimer'sor British scientists find link between Alzheimer's and marijuana!I used: Don't let this go unreported in US: Alzheimer's and Marijuana.Lot's of them will be opened with glee thinking it's something bad about marijuana.Anything that would catch attention. Then paste the article with the url for the Guardian into the body area of the email and fire it off.I went through here, CannabisNews, and Media Awareness Project articles and clicked on the contact urls. Some of them I went to the site. [ Post Comment ] Comment #14 posted by Hope on September 26, 2002 at 14:03:47 PT Afterburner Just sent it to The Drudge Report, too.If anyone is afraid of repercussions then the ideal way is to forward the article with a note. Since you just want attention to the article...no need for address and phone. I'm going to paste a nice copy of the article that folks can copy and paste to e-mail without it being green or having cannabis leaves on it!http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/story/0,3605,798760,00.html High times for Alzheimer's Sophie Petit-Zeman on the way cannabinoids could alleviate symptoms of degenerative diseases Thursday September 26, 2002 The Guardian 'A younger sibling of mine accidentally let grandma eat the wrong brownies... You could tell she had AD [Alzheimer's disease] but nothing so prominent. It was like it took her back 3-4 years." Postings such as this one on the Alzforum website intrigued Dr Nathaniel Milton, a biochemist at London's Royal Free and University College medical school. He was already actively researching compounds which prevent the brain cell death that occurs in Alzheimer's disease, and, with research partner Insight Biotechnology, had taken out patents on some capable of doing this. He was also aware of a few reports suggesting that cannabis preparations, in the hands of doctors, could do for their patients much of what the brownies did for grandma. The brain of an Alzheimer's sufferer contains abnormal deposits called "tangles" and "plaques." Associated with these deposits are proteins, or bits of them, called tau and amyloid-beta (Aß) respectively. Healthy tau plays a structural role in brain cells, but there is good evidence that in Alzheimer's disease, it becomes festooned with atoms of phosphorus and oxygen, like lights on a Christmas tree. It is thought to be this that tips tau into tangles. Milton has evidence that something similar happens to Aß in plaques, and that this, in turn, makes it toxic to brain cells. In research to be published in the journal Neuroscience Letters, and which he will also present at next month's neurobiology of aging conference in Florida, he reports that cannabinoids - cannabis-like compounds that occur naturally in the brain - can stop Aß killing cells. "My basic hypothesis," he says, "is that Aß is taken up into neurons, where it is phophorylated [garlanded, like tau, with phosphorus and oxygen] and kills them. It's this toxic action that cannabinoids prevent." Milton discovered this by incubating human neurons in culture, and then poisoning them with Aß. When he added cannabinoids to the brew, Aß was apparently no longer toxic. Milton describes a complex "protective signalling pathway inside neurons" that he thinks is activated by the cannabinoids. Other compounds with similar properties do exist, and one of particular interest is corticotrophin releasing hormone (CRH). Like cannabinoids, CRH is made within the brain and is reportedly reduced in people with Alzheimer's disease. This is of particular interest to Milton because, he says: "If it turns out that reduced CRH is fundamental to the disease process, then the brain may be losing one of its innate protective mechanisms. People with high natural levels of cannabinoids in their brains might then be protected against Alzheimer's disease." And the next question follows like, well, smoke after lighting up: Are we set to see a generation, or indeed generations, of cannabis smokers immune to Alzheimer's disease? Milton says not, because his research shows not only the ability of cannabinoids to protect against brain cell death in Alzheimer's disease, but also that too much of them is toxic. Dr Richard Harvey, director of research at the Alzheimer's Society, says: "There's no epidemiological data on whether exposure to cannabis in humans affects the risk of developing dementia, and it may be difficult to collect such data." But Harvey calls Milton's research "very interesting", adding that: "Clearly in the test tube, cannabinoids have the ability to block at least one of the probable causal mechanisms in Alzheimer's disease and so become a potential treatment or preventative agent that needs to be tested in humans." [ Post Comment ] Comment #13 posted by afterburner on September 26, 2002 at 13:59:13 PT: Thanks, Hope We all appreciate the extra effort. Rest your hands and relax. There are plenty more of us. The problem with LTE's is that most want address and telephone, which puts some people at risk. All this DEA suppression of information and propagation of old outworn lies must stop. [ Post Comment ] Comment #12 posted by Hope on September 26, 2002 at 13:56:02 PT Do something! Anything! I keep thinking about that brain tumor article that wasn't reported in the US. We've got to help this get in print somehow...anyway...anyhow.Arizona would be another good state to concentrate on. [ Post Comment ] Comment #11 posted by Hope on September 26, 2002 at 13:38:13 PT Afterburner I'm sure you're right about the letters being better than fowarding them the information, but my brain isn't thinking letters as well today as sometimes. Probably need a bit of detangling myself. But I did make a nice pastable format from the original article with it's url and made a note to editors asking them to be sure and see that it is reported in the US or North America or whatever state the paper was in. The implication being that it would not be reported if they didn't. Hope it helps. Made 105 contacts so far, as well as some networks. Hands are numb from typing and have to go to other things now. Let's hope this does some good. Florida papers a great place to pinpoint. Lots of oldsters who really are concerned about Alzheimers and dementia. [ Post Comment ] Comment #10 posted by malleus on September 26, 2002 at 12:15:54 PT This is getting really interesting More and more research coming out about how cannabis can prevent nerve damage, particularly in the brain. The Israelis are studying it's use in preventing long term nerve damage in survivors of nerve agent poisoning. In 1974, in America, it's found that cannabis can retard brain cancers. More and more uses, all the time.And the government says it has no medical value.I don't think of myself as paranoid, but it's obvious that the government does nothing but lie on this issue. and if it lies on something as 'trivial' as pot, who knows how many other things they lie about?And lie is not too strong a word for what these people are doing. They can't all be computer illiterate. And last I heard, you had to read and write English to get onto the civil service rolls. The information is out there, for anybody with the time to read. And people who make policy are morally bound to do that research if what they do affects millions of lives. How many lives could have been saved if they had just stopped lying years ago?What's running America is evil with a shining, clean face. This is just more proof. [ Post Comment ] Comment #9 posted by afterburner on September 26, 2002 at 12:10:10 PT: Hope LTE is really the way to go. These pages contain the truth, but we have to get it out to the mainstream media to reach the non-committed voters. Bye the way Netscape has been extolling the unexpected health benefits of green tea. Is it such a stretch to believe that marijuana has unexpected health benefits? [ Post Comment ] Comment #8 posted by Hope on September 26, 2002 at 11:19:12 PT For sure it needs to be sent to those guys that ridicule the truth that cannabis is medicine. [ Post Comment ] Comment #7 posted by Hope on September 26, 2002 at 11:17:09 PT Editors Think I'll cruise through and find articles from papers that seem to be trying to tell the truth...including some networks and forward this story to them. Perhaps some others on here could do the same. The more they get of this item, the more likely they might show some interest. [ Post Comment ] Comment #6 posted by Hope on September 26, 2002 at 11:14:30 PT DdC "The only problem is with yet another cannabis miracle Ashcroft and Walters profits are in jeopardy so expect an increase in lies from the propaganda ministry." Sadly, I think, this article won't see ink in the US. Same as the tumor shrinking article didn't. I'm going to send it to at least one editor, myself. [ Post Comment ] Comment #5 posted by FoM on September 26, 2002 at 10:57:57 PT Hey DdC Your Mayor was just on MSNBC and I must say he is really a wise young man. You are lucky to have him as your Mayor. I really appreciate Ron making us the preview screen. I'll still make mistakes knowing me though. [ Post Comment ] Comment #4 posted by DdC on September 26, 2002 at 10:51:58 PT I was right...sorta All these years I've seen dementia confusion swept away like cobwebs in patients I've given ganja too, but could never get a doctor to tell me how it worked. And assumed most of them didn't believe it anyway. I assumed it was swelling or pressure caused from the formation of Glutimates, but whatever. It worked. I also think cannabis allowing a good nights sleep helped. Good News...The only problem is with yet another cannabis miracle Ashcroft and Walters profits are in jeopardy so expect an increase in lies from the propaganda ministry. Nice preview feature, thanks FoM & Ron...Peace, Love and Liberty or the Braindead D.E.A.th!...DdCCannabis Prevents Brain Damage http://pub3.ezboard.com/fendingcannabisprohibitionwhyitstimetolegalize.showMessage?topicID=24.topicCannabis Blocks Irreversible Brain Damage http://pub3.ezboard.com/fendingcannabisprohibitionffffhyperlinked.showMessage?topicID=3.topicCannabis Shrinks Tumors: Government Knew in 74 http://pub3.ezboard.com/fendingcannabisprohibitionwhyitstimetolegalize.showMessage?topicID=116.topic"One of marijuana's greatest advantages as a medicine is its remarkable safety" http://pub3.ezboard.com/fendingcannabisprohibitionwhyitstimetolegalize.showMessage?topicID=298.topic Someone Please Get This Village Idiot Stoned!!! [ Post Comment ] Comment #3 posted by Hope on September 26, 2002 at 10:15:30 PT Not only "mind expansion" Brain detangling! [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by Hope on September 26, 2002 at 10:13:35 PT legalization In ten years, not only will you be able to get cannaboids by prescription, in many forms at a head shop or cannabis shop or, perhaps, liquor stores, you will probably he able to buy them as supplements at the health food store or in the vitamin section at Wal-Mart. It really is a good old medicine/supplement that has been ignored and put down for way too many years. Advancing often means "rediscovering". [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by Sam Adams on September 26, 2002 at 10:07:29 PT Someone should have told Reagan So, right around the time Reagan started to "just say no", he could have traded that slicked-back 50's hairdo for some dreads, and started smoking a few huge blunts every day. Right now he'd still be riding his horse around and railing against the liberals, instead of a mindless vegetable.It's a funny thought. What is NOT funny is that America's determination to prevent cannabis medical research has probably cost an entire generation the chance at a life-saving medication. [ Post Comment ] Post Comment