It's time to talk about Alzheimer's and Marijuana
Alzheimer's is something that is hard for me to find the proper words for. Most people have a general idea of the disease while many others know firsthand. The purpose of todays blog post is to provide you with real, scientific research being conducted with Medical Marijuana.
There are positive indicators as to the efficacy of MMJ in combating certain aspects of Alzheimer's. To what extent, we aren't sure yet but this is progress and for a disease that has no known cure, progress should be talked about. We aren't going to build it up into something it's not, but it is undoubtedly something and how many people are talking about it?
There are plenty of business people in the Medical Marijuana landscape these days. Plenty of "snake oil" charmers to go around, they can take a minuscule amount of good data and preach it as the saving grace. We are not those people, we are here to educate and we have no financial incentive for providing this information. We hope we can help you or a loved one with more information to arm yourself with in the battle against Alzheimer's.
As we've said all along, allowing research of Medical Marijuana can ultimately lead to new and other medicines. Neel Nabar, co-author of one of the studies below, echoes our feelings -
“It’s important to keep in mind that just because a drug may be effective doesn’t mean it can be safely used by anyone. However, these findings may lead to the development of related compounds that are safe, legal, and useful in the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease.”
The development of treatments that slow or halt the disease progression have become imperative to both improve the quality of life for patients and reduce the health care costs attributable to Alzheimer's disease.
This idea is supported by a 2014 review of the existing research on marijuana; Dutch scientists found two studies showing THC is useful in treating the behavioral symptoms of dementia. Similarly, a very small 2016 study of 11 participants found THC helped decrease symptoms of delusions, agitation or aggression, irritability, apathy and sleep in patients with Alzheimer's disease.
So now we leave you to review a few of these studies and see what the hoopla is about. In our opinion, it's exciting.
If you'd like the plain english (non science lingo) overviews, here are two great articles -
and
Scientific reviews;
CB2 Cannabinoid Receptor As Potential Target against Alzheimer's Disease -
The CB2 receptor is one of the components of the endogenous cannabinoid system, a complex network of signaling molecules and receptors involved in the homeostatic control of several physiological functions. Accumulated evidence suggests a role for CB2 receptors in Alzheimer's disease (AD) and indicates their potential as a therapeutic target against this neurodegenerative disease.
These findings demonstrate a role for ECS in normal and pathological aging that has sustained interest in developing therapies against neurodegenerative diseases based on ECS modulation. Major attention has been focused on the use of cannabinoid agonists, but the psychoactive effects elicited by compounds targeting CB1 receptors have served to limit their potential development in clinical practice. For this reason, the study of specific CB2 agonists which are devoid of psychoactive effects is promising, although detailed clinical evaluation is still needed.
Targeting CB2 receptors has beneficial effects in AD. Specifically, CB2receptor agonists reduce inflammatory responses linked to Aβ production and deposition, facilitate Aβ clearance, increase cell viability in the presence of Aβ, and promote glucose uptake in brain. Moreover, CB2 activity likely reduces tau hyper-phosphorylation and oxidative stress damage caused by Aβ peptides. As a result of the combination of these effects, among others, CB2 receptor agonists induce cognitive improvement in AD models.
Front Neurosci. 2016; 10: 243 (Frontiers in Neuroscience) Published online 2016 May 31
A Molecular Link Between the Active Component of Marijuana and Alzheimer's Disease Pathology - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2562334/
Here, we demonstrate that the active component of marijuana, Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), competitively inhibits the enzyme acetylcholinesterase (AChE) as well as prevents AChE-induced amyloid β-peptide (Aβ) aggregation, the key pathological marker of Alzheimer's disease.
Therefore, AChE inhibitors such as THC and its analogues may provide an improved therapeutic for Alzheimer's disease, augmenting acetylcholine levels by preventing neurotransmitter degradation and reducing Aβ aggregation, thereby simultaneously treating both the symptoms and progression of Alzheimer's disease.
Mol. Pharm. , 2006, 3 (6), pp 773–777 (Molecular Pharmaceuticals)
The Potential Therapeutic Effects of THC on Alzheimer's Disease - Study abstract
The purpose of this study was to investigate the potential therapeutic qualities of Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) with respect to slowing or halting the hallmark characteristics of Alzheimer's disease.
These sets of data strongly suggest that THC could be a potential therapeutic treatment option for Alzheimer's disease through multiple functions and pathways.
Journal: Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, vol. 42, no. 3, pp. 973-984, 2014
Amyloid proteotoxicity initiates an inflammatory response blocked by cannabinoids
It is shown that intracellular Aβ initiates a toxic inflammatory response leading to the cell's demise. Aβ induces the expression of multiple proinflammatory genes and an increase in both arachidonic acid and eicosanoids, including prostaglandins that are neuroprotective and leukotrienes that potentiate death. Cannabinoids such as tetrahydrocannabinol stimulate the removal of intraneuronal Aβ, block the inflammatory response, and are protective. Altogether these data show that there is a complex and likely autocatalytic inflammatory response within nerve cells caused by the accumulation of intracellular Aβ, and that this early form of proteotoxicity can be blocked by the activation of cannabinoid receptors.
Cannabinoids and other drugs that block inflammation in neurons could help thwart the progression of Alzheimer‘s disease. One of the hallmarks of this neurodegenerative disorder is the accumulation of clumps of amyloid-β protein within brain cells. Researchers led by David Schubert of the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in the USA used a tissue culture model to study the toxic effects of these protein aggregates. They determined that the production of amyloid-β initiates an inflammatory response that ultimately leads to neuronal death. However, the researchers also identified important protective mechanisms. For example, the brain produces compounds called endocannabinoids that help eliminate amyloid-β. Treatment with related chemical compounds like tetrahydrocannabinol–the active ingredient in marijuana–also reduced inflammation and prevented cell death, suggesting a potential avenue for preventing neurological damage from this devastating disease
npj Aging and Mechanisms of Disease 2, Article number: 16012 (2016)
