Marijuana May Prevent Alzheimer's

Ivanhoe Newswire
Wednesday, October 11, 2006; 12:00 AM

(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- If you can't remember where you put your keys, maybe you should try smoking more pot -- at least that's what new research suggests! Marijuana use has long been associated with short-term memory loss, but now there's evidence that it may actually stave off Alzheimer's disease.

Alzheimer's disease is the leading cause of dementia among the elderly and afflicts more than 20 million people worldwide. The cost of caring for Alzheimer's patients is at least $100 billion annually, according to the National Institute of Aging. Alzheimer's cases are expected to triple over the next fifty years.

New research from the Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, California, reveals tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), an active component in marijuana, can block the formation of brain clogging amyloid plaque in parts of the brain important for memory and cognition.

Even more surprising, is that THC's blocking power is possibly more effective than some prescription Alzheimer's drugs. The test-tube studies show that THC blocks an enzyme called acetylcholinesterase (AChE), which speeds the formation of amyloid plaque in the brain of people with Alzheimer's disease.

Prescription Alzheimer's drugs such as donepezil (Aricept) and tacrine (Cognex) both work on the same enzyme-blocking principal. When researchers compared drugs to twice the concentration of THC, Aricept blocked plaque formation only 22 percent as well as THC. Cognex blocked plaque formation only 7 percent as well.

Medicinal marijuana is currently used to relieve glaucoma and reduce the nausea brought on by cancer and AIDS treatments.

"While we are certainly not advocating the use of illegal drugs, these findings offer convincing evidence that THC possesses remarkable inhibitory qualities, especially compared to AChE inhibitors currently available to patients," said Kim Janda, Ph.D., Professor of Chemistry at Scripps Research.

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SOURCE: Molecular Pharmaceutics, online 2006