Marijuana Compound Removes Alzheimer’s Plaque From Brain Cells, Study Finds

Alzheimer’s disease may now be added to a list of diseases with promising treatment from cannabis compounds, a new study from the Salk Institute says.

While there has been research and trials to use compounds to treat chronic pain, cancers, epilepsy, and other diseases and illnesses, this laboratory study is the first of its kind to test tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), a main component in marijuana, against the plaque buildup of the brain associated with Alzheimer’s disease.

The researchers took human neurons that they grew in a lab and altered them so that they created the plaque buildup (comprised of proteins such as beta-amyloid). The researchers then subjected the neurons to amounts of THC and other marijuana compounds.
What they found was that not only did the THC cause a breakdown of the protein buildup, but a reduction in inflammation in the cells. ​Inflammation is bad because it makes it harder for your neurons to communicate with one another correctly.

"Although other studies have offered evidence that cannabinoids might be neuroprotective against the symptoms of Alzheimer's, we believe our study is the first to demonstrate that cannabinoids affect both inflammation and amyloid beta accumulation in nerve cells," says Salk Professor David Schubert, the senior author of the paper said in a statement.

This study is also novel because the research also provides a stronger link between protein buildup and the inflammation of the neurons. Some past hypotheses had thought that other immune-like cells had been inflamed, and not the neurons themselves.

The researchers believe that the THC was able to reduce the protein buildup and inflammation by working in the brain’s endocannabinoid receptors, which are naturally occurring in the body. Scientists had already known that exercise engages these receptors, and physical activity can slow the progression of Alzheimer’s disease.

Schubert and his fellow researchers had found in a previous study that the endocannabinoid receptors were involved with the removal of protein buildup and inflammation when testing a new drug. The researchers then decided to investigate the relationship with THC and Alzheimer’s plaque.

Much more study must be conducted before a causal link can be suggested between THC and beta amyloid, the researchers say, including human clinical trials. These exploratory laboratory models are just the beginning.

http://www.popsci.com/marijuana-compound-removes-alzheimers-plaque-from-brain-cells-study

Click to expand...

If only someone had suggested trying this mysterious herb for medical uses - imagine the possibilities?

Reefer Madness has doomed or killed probably millions by now - waiting for big Pharma to announce THEY'D known this for years, but couldn't make any money off it, so they didn't "bother".

What a world, the only thing that seems to really change things is lawsuits. Gay rights were won in the Supreme Court. Maybe it's time our rights are as well. There has to be a case of discrimination ,medical negligence. or something that would make it to them. Either that or a full class action lawsuit, but there would need to a Snowden or Panama Papers type release of documents that could be used to show that the government or big pharmacy actively are stopping access to known beneficial compounds.

weedaholic721 said:

What a world, the only thing that seems to really change things is lawsuits. Gay rights were won in the Supreme Court. Maybe it's time our rights are as well. There has to be a case of discrimination ,medical negligence. or something that would make it to them. Either that or a full class action lawsuit, but there would need to a Snowden or Panama Papers type release of documents that could be used to show that the government or big pharmacy actively are stopping access to known beneficial compounds.

Click to expand...

We keep telling people that the US gov't owns a PATENT on certain medical uses for cannabis, but they DENY that there are ANY medical uses for it.

That's the world we live in - they own the rights to something they say doesn't exist. Soon they'll license (for BIG $$$) that patent to Big Pharma, who will charge us everything we own to access it.

OranguTrump said:

We keep telling people that the US gov't owns a PATENT on certain medical uses for cannabis, but they DENY that there are ANY medical uses for it.

That's the world we live in - they own the rights to something they say doesn't exist. Soon they'll license (for BIG $$$) that patent to Big Pharma, who will charge us everything we own to access it.

Click to expand...

What's the date on that patent?

Patents only protect the holder from infringement for 20 or 25 years. I don't recall right off hand. Then it's a free for all technology.

Patent No. 6630507, held by the United States Department of Health and Human Services, covers the use of cannabinoids for treating a wide range of diseases.

Under U.S. federal law, marijuana is defined as having no medical use. So it might come as a surprise to hear that the government owns one of the only patents on marijuana as a medicine.

The patent (US6630507) is titled “Cannabinoids as antioxidants and neuroprotectants” and was awarded to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) in October 2003.

It was filed four years earlier, in 1999, by a group of scientists from the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), which is part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

What is Patent No. 6630507?

The patent claims exclusive rights on the use of cannabinoids for treating neurological diseases, such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and stroke, and diseases caused by oxidative stress, such as heart attack, Crohn’s disease, diabetes and arthritis.

Cannabinoids are a diverse class of compounds that include many of the unique compounds found in marijuana. A number of experts, including CNN’s chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta, have noted the contradiction between federal marijuana law and the government’s patent.

“The United States government owns a patent on marijuana as a medical application… So we have a patent through our Department of HHS on marijuana as a therapeutic and we also schedule it as a Schedule I.”

It is easy to think of the patent as a patent on marijuana itself. However, this would be inaccurate, since the patent actually covers non-psychoactive cannabinoids (both synthetic and natural), meaning those that don’t cause a high.

The patent also covers only a specific application of these cannabinoids and not the production or use of marijuana and cannabinoids overall.
The Invention

The patent claims to “provide a new class of antioxidant drugs, that have particular application as neuroprotectants.”

According to the description, the inventors recognized “a previously unanticipated antioxidant property of the cannabinoids in general (and cannabidiol in particular).” Importantly, the patent does not cover cannabinoids that act through cannabinoid pathways, also known as receptors.

“This new found property makes cannabinoids useful in the treatment and prophylaxis of wide variety of oxidation associated diseases, such as ischemic, age-related, inflammatory and autoimmune diseases. The cannabinoids are found to have particular application as neuroprotectants, for example in limiting neurological damage following ischemic insults, such as stroke and trauma, or in the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease and HIV dementia.”

CBD and Non-Psychoactive Cannabinoids

The government’s patent does not cover THC, the main ingredient in marijuana. On the other hand, cannabidiol (CBD) is specifically mentioned as an example of a cannabinoid that is covered. The patent describes CBD and other non-psychoactive cannabinoids as superior when taken in higher doses.

“Nonpsychoactive cannabinoids, such as cannabidiol, are particularly advantageous to use because they avoid toxicity that is encountered with psychoactive cannabinoids at high doses.”

According to the description, CBD can be ingested in very large amounts without side effects.

“No signs of toxicity or serious side effects have been observed following chronic administration of cannabidiol to healthy volunteers, even in large acute doses of 700mg/day.”

The patent explains that cannabidiol previously had not been considered useful as a neuroprotectant. However, it cites various studies on cannabidiol as an antiepileptic and as a potential treatment for glaucoma.

http://medicalxpress.com/news/2016-06-cannabinoids-plaque-forming-alzheimer-proteins-brain.html

http://420intel.com/articles/2016/0...laque-forming-alzheimers-proteins-brain-cells

I read that the other day it is very interesting and many could benefit!

just reading this patent that I just found. they explain exactly how to use plants to treat cancer. the plant= cannabis


Phytocannabinoids in the treatment of cancer
US 20130059018 A1
Abstract
This invention relates to the use of phytocannabinoids, either in an isolated form or in the form of a botanical drug substance (BDS) in the treatment of cancer. Preferably the cancer to be treated is cancer of the prostate, cancer of the breast or cancer of the colon.

Thanks for sharing all this information, guys! I read about this a long while back but haven't seen any updates on it until recently. Kind of weird the government holding that patent, seems kind of like they have had plans for Cannabis for a lot longer than we may have realized, which doesn't really surprise me. I think ultimately it's going to be the replacement Tobacco, but at a much higher taxed price and pushed strongly for medicinal use for a very long time.

I do know some individuals with Alzheimers, hopefully this gets further along. Kind of excited to see what happens with these medical Cannabis studies.