[guineapig]

Chapter 18: MEDICAL CANNABIS by Mel Frank:

ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE:

Sufferers experience a gradual mental degeneration late in life and cannabis has been shown to slow down the rate of deterioration in some patients. It is thought to reduce users' risks of developing the disease.

DEMENTIA:

Moderate cannabis use is thought to delay the onset of dementia in elderly patients, but is not recommended for those with cardiovascular problems.

DEPRESSION:

Cannabis has been successfully used to treat depression and is less habit-forming that antidepressant drugs available for prescription. Cannabis has a euphoric effect on the nervous system.

EPILEPSY:

People who have epilepsy suffer from periodic convulsions or fits in which they lose consciousness for either a few seconds or several minutes. The two most common are Grand Mal and Petit Mal. Grand Mal usually affects adults who can froth at the mouth and are in danger of swallowing their tongues. Petit Mal affects young children and teenagers. They can be so brief that the sufferer is unaware they've had a fit, as they only lose consciousness for a few seconds. In 60% of all epilepsy cases cannabis would have a positive effect on the sufferer. The extract of cannabis has been proven to be more effective than prescription drugs in reducing the frequency of fits.

INSOMNIA:

This is the chronic inability to sleep and can range from occasional nights of sleeplessness to regular, prolonged periods. Sufferers have found that cannabis ingested an hour before sleep has a less stupefying effect than prescription drugs, gives the user a better quality of sleep and has no hangover, residual drowsiness or potential for dependency.

MIGRAINES:

This is one of the most common ailments of the nervous system that causes recurrent headaches and other symptoms such as numbness or weakness in one side of the body. The first sign of an attack can be visual disturbance, such as bright spots or jagged lines before the eyes followed by a severe one-sided headache. Migraines stem from a convulsive narrowing of the arteries. The consumption of marijuana eases attacks by reversing this effect.

MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS:

This is a disorder that results from damage to the nerve fibers in the central nervous system. Like electric wire with no insulation, affected fibers cannot function properly. Symptoms can vary from a lack of coordination to slurred speech and incontinence. The muscular spasms and twitches associated with multiple sclerosis can be significantly reduced through cannabis use.

PAIN:

After nausea and omiting, chronic pain is the condition cited most as a medicinal use for marijuana. Research has shown cannabinoids to be beneficial in the control of pain. Cannabinoids can be used alone or combined with opiates.

POST TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER:

Cannabis can be used in the treatment of traumatic stress sufferers who report benefits from using it to treat psychological symptoms such as depression, anger and rage. Cannabis has a euphoric effect on the body and has no hangover or potential for dependency as some prescripion drugs.

SCHIZOPHRENIA:

In a recent study, schizophrenic patients were found to prefer marijuana to other available drugs, including alcohol and cocaine, which were found to be used less frequently than average. The reasons for this are unknown, but schizophrenics may be able to obtain some relief from moderate marijuana use. People with schizophrenia are more likely to suffer adverse psychiatric effects from chronic cannabis use.

TOURETTE SYNDROME:

In extreme cases this psychiatric disorder causes uncontrollable spitting, shouting and swearing. It is very distressing for sufferers, who are otherwise perfectly normal. Researchers have discovered that cannabis use reduces the compulsion to behave in socially inappropriate ways.

Chapter 19: PROHIBITION (cross-referenced with Medical Cannabis)

Many studies have been used to justify the prohibition argument but they have all been discredited, including the most notable among them that suggested cannabis use caused brain damage. The tests that were used to "prove" this were unscientific and unethical. Rhesus monkeys were forced to smoke marijuana vapors through a facemask for five minutes at a time, without any supplementary oxygen. The resulting brain tissue damage, which the scientists tried to say was caused by cannabis smoke, was in fact caused by oxygen starvation.

There have been other studies reporting that cannabis smoke is carcinogenic and twice as harmful as tobacco. These studies have also been disproved. All smoke inhaled into the lungs will cause irritation. However, unlike tobacco, cannabis smoke does not attack the bronchiole airways and any irritation to the larger air passages disappears when cannabis use is discontinued

There are thousands of medical marijuana users throughout the world who have found that cannabis relieves disorders ranging from asthma to cancerous tumors. It is a disgrace that most of these people are denied relief because of unjust and repressive laws. People are still being jailed for growing cannabis plants in the 21st century.

"Necessity hath no law" SPEECH 1664 right on Mel Frank! Thank y'all..

Best Wishes and Good Health to everyone



may the giant guineapig of health shine upon you!
(actually, guineapigs are an ancient Inca symbol
of health and freedom from diseases and ailments)

nice post GP

[guineapig]

Cannabis promotes neuron growth, anti-depressant properties hypothesized...(gp inserted this title, but the following article is verbatim....)

A study by University of Saskatchewan researchers suggests beneficial aspects of smoking marijuana at least among rats, who appear to have sprouted new brain cells and besides benefiting from reduced depression and anxiety.

The study's results appearing in the 'Journal of Clinical Investigation' have actually given a fillip to the traditional and mythological view that associates the addictive weed in some ways with immortality.

The Canadian researchers led by Xia Zhang, suggested that the illicit substance marijuana actually may promote new brain cells in region of the brain called the hippocampus that is associated with memory. They concluded that marijuana was possibly “the only illicit drug whose capacity to produce increased neurons is positively correlated with its (anti-anxiety) and anti-depressant-like effects”.

For the study, the researchers injected laboratory rats two times everyday for 10 days with HU210, a synthetic cannabinoid chemical (obtained from marijuana) and evaluated them against a normal group. The rats that underwent the HU210 injections developed new nerve cells in the brain's hippocampus dentate gyrus region of the brain that facilitates memory development. The injections also appeared to counter depression and anxiety, but could not be held as 100 percent akin to smoking marijuana, which the researchers felt would require additional studies.

Zhang suggested that the study did indicate that marijuana could have its medical uses particularly “for the treatment of anxiety and depression”. But these results are unlikely to buy the favor with the US administration or the possibility of legalization on medical grounds. In fact only recently the US Supreme Court ruled against marijuana growth or possession for medical reasons.

Unlike most addictive drugs that are known to inhibit the development of new neurons, causing loss of memory and impairing learning on chronic use, it appears that marijuana or ganja may actually be the mythological “elixir of eternal life” that Indian gods churned from the oceans. A sharp contrast from ordinary addictive substances, the researchers suggested that marijuana's neurogenetic properties may actually be unique given that the rats showed some correlation between their cannabinoid treatments, the increased nerve genesis and their altered stress or anxiety levels.

Marijuana that has traditionally been used by many cultures over centuries “for medical and recreational purpose”, as the researchers suggest appears to be able to modulate pain, nausea, vomiting, epilepsy, stroke, cerebral trauma and variety of other disorders both for humans and animals alike. But it maybe several more studies before the mysterious benefits of marijuana that currently stand shrouded in tradition and mythology, become accepted by the modern scientific world.

Complete Title: Marijuana May Live Up To Be The Elixir of Life for Brain Cells

[OXOSSI]

Could you post the whole reprint or a homepage pls? thnx

[EsotericMan]

Cool data thread GP
appears we are birds of like feather (or pigs, they're not kosher though )

[guineapig]

do you want the whole scientific paper or just a journalist's regurgitation of it....?

here is the abstract.....the pdf is available too...

Online First Publication

Cannabinoids promote embryonic and adult hippocampus neurogenesis and produce anxiolytic- and antidepressant-like effects
Wen Jiang 1, Yun Zhang 2, Lan Xiao 2, Jamie Van Cleemput 2, Shao-Ping Ji 2, Guang Bai 3, Xia Zhang 4*

1 Neuropsychiatry Research Unit, Department of Psychiatry, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. Department of Neurology, Xijing Hospital, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, People's Republic of China. 2 Neuropsychiatry Research Unit, Department of Psychiatry, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. 3 Department of Biomedical Sciences, Dental School, Program in Neuroscience, University of Maryland, Baltimore, Maryland, USA. 4 Neuropsychiatry Research Unit, 103 Wiggins Road, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada S7N 5E4. Phone: (306) 966-2288; Fax: (306) 966-8830

* Address correspondence to: E-mail: zhangxia@duke.usask.ca

Received for publication April 29, 2005, and accepted in revised form August 9, 2005


Abstract

The hippocampal dentate gyrus in the adult mammalian brain contains neural stem/progenitor cells (NS/PCs) capable of generating new neurons, i.e., neurogenesis. Most drugs of abuse examined to date decrease adult hippocampal neurogenesis, but the effects of cannabis (marijuana or cannabinoids) on hippocampal neurogenesis remain unknown. This study aimed at investigating the potential regulatory capacity of the potent synthetic cannabinoid HU210 on hippocampal neurogenesis and its possible correlation with behavioral change. We show that both embryonic and adult rat hippocampal NS/PCs are immunoreactive for CB1 cannabinoid receptors, indicating that cannabinoids could act on CB1 receptors to regulate neurogenesis. This hypothesis is supported by further findings that HU210 promotes proliferation, but not differentiation, of cultured embryonic hippocampal NS/PCs likely via a sequential activation of CB1 receptors, Gi/o proteins, and ERK signaling. Chronic, but not acute, HU210 treatment promoted neurogenesis in the hippocampal dentate gyrus of adult rats and exerted anxiolytic- and antidepressant-like effects. X-irradiation of the hippocampus blocked both the neurogenic and behavioral effects of chronic HU210 treatment, suggesting that chronic HU210 treatment produces anxiolytic- and antidepressant-like effects likely via promotion of hippocampal neurogenesis.

Here's a Canadian reporter's interpretation:

pot wisdom on its head

By DAWN WALTON

Friday, October 14, 2005 Page A1


CALGARY -- Forget the stereotype about dopey potheads. It seems marijuana could be good for your brain.

While other studies have shown that periodic use of marijuana can cause memory loss and impair learning and a host of other health problems down the road, new research suggests the drug could have some benefits when administered regularly in a highly potent form.

Most "drugs of abuse" such as alcohol, heroin, cocaine and nicotine suppress growth of new brain cells. However, researchers found that cannabinoids promoted generation of new neurons in rats' hippocampuses.

Hippocampuses are the part of the brain responsible for learning and memory, and the study held true for either plant-derived or the synthetic version of cannabinoids.

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"This is quite a surprise," said Xia Zhang, an associate professor with the Neuropsychiatry Research Unit at the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon.

"Chronic use of marijuana may actually improve learning memory when the new neurons in the hippocampus can mature in two or three months," he added.

The research by Dr. Zhang and a team of international researchers is to be published in the November issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation, but their findings are on-line now.

The scientists also noticed that cannabinoids curbed depression and anxiety, which Dr. Zhang says, suggests a correlation between neurogenesis and mood swings. (Or, it at least partly explains the feelings of relaxation and euphoria of a pot-induced high.)

Other scientists have suggested that depression is triggered when too few new brain cells are created in the hippocampus. One researcher of neuropharmacology said he was "puzzled" by the findings.

As enthusiastic as Dr. Zhang is about the potential health benefits, he warns against running out for a toke in a bid to beef up brain power or calm nerves.

The team injected laboratory rats with a synthetic substance called HU-210, which is similar, but 100 times as potent as THC (delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol), the compound responsible for giving marijuana users a high.

They found that the rats treated regularly with a high dose of HU-210 -- twice a day for 10 days -- showed growth of neurons in the hippocampus. The researchers don't know if pot, which isn't as pure as the lab-produced version, would have the same effect.

"There's a big gap between rats and humans," Dr. Zhang points out.

But there is a lot of interest -- and controversy -- around the use of cannabinoids to improve human health.

Cannabinoids, such as marijuana and hashish, have been used to address pain, nausea, vomiting, seizures caused by epilepsy, ischemic stroke, cerebral trauma, tumours, multiple sclerosis and a host of other maladies.

There are herbal cannabinoids, which come from the cannabis plant, and the bodies of humans and animals produce endogenous cannabinoids. The substance can also be designed in the lab.

Cannabinoids can trigger the body's two cannabinoid receptors, which control the activity of various cells in the body.

One receptor, known as CB1, is found primarily in the brain. The other receptor, CB2, was thought to be found only in the immune system.

However, in a separate study to be published today in the journal Science, a group of international researchers have located the CB2 receptor in the brain stems of rats, mice and ferrets.

The brain stem is responsible for basic body function such as breathing and the gastrointestinal tract. If stimulated in a certain way, CB2 could be harnessed to eliminate the nausea and vomiting associated with post-operative analgesics or cancer and AIDS treatments, according to the researchers.

"Ultimately, new therapies could be developed as a result of these findings," said Keith Sharkey, a gastrointestinal neuroscientist at the University of Calgary, lead author of the study.

(Scientists are trying to find ways to block CB1 as a way to decrease food cravings and limit dependence on tobacco.)

When asked whether his findings explain why some swear by pot as a way to avoid the queasy feeling of a hangover, Dr. Sharkey paused and replied: "It does not explain the effects of smoked or inhaled or ingested substances."

(hope this helps.....pm me if you need anything else....-gp)

[OXOSSI]

Thnx

HU-210




HU-210HU-210 is a synthetic cannabinoid that was discovered around 1988 in the group of Dr Raphael Mechoulam at the Hebrew University. HU-210 is 100 to 800 percent more potent than natural THC from Cannabis and has an extended duration of action. HU-210 is the (+)-1,1-dimethylheptyl analog of 7-hydroxy-delta-6-tetrahydrocannabinol. The abbreviation HU stands for Hebrew University.

Per a 2005 article in the Journal Of Clinical Investigation, HU-210 actually stimulates cell growth in the brain's hippocampus region, an opposite effect of drugs like alcohol, nicotine, heroin, and cocaine.

External links
Wen Jiang and others, "Cannabinoids promote embryonic and adult hippocampus neurogenesis and produce anxiolytic- and antidepressant-like effects", The Journal of Clinical Investigation, 2005. Scientific article about nerve cell growth.
Geoff Brumfiel, "Marijuana may make your brain grow. Cannabinoid injections sprout new neurons in mice", Nature, 2005 October (News). Comment in Nature on the article.