According to a recent article by Reuters, scientists have evidence that marijana may help to preserve the levels of a key neurotransmitter that blocks the progression of Alzheimer's disease. The study has found that TCH is more effective at preventing the breakdown of acetylcholine than any commercially available drug. A related article in Molecular Pharmaceutics has also presented research findings that THC is "... more effective at blocking clumps of protein that can inhibit memory and cognition in Alzheimer's patients".
For a better understanding about Alzheimer's disease and who it effects, please check the AIG's website (National Institute on Aging) , or read the following quote from the same page:
Dementia is a brain disorder that seriously affects a person's ability to carry out daily activities. The most common form of dementia among older people is Alzheimer's disease (AD), which initially involves the parts of the brain that control thought, memory, and language. Although scientists are learning more every day, right now they still do not know what causes AD, and there is no cure.
Scientists think that as many as 4.5 million Americans suffer from AD. The disease usually begins after age 60, and risk goes up with age. While younger people also may get AD, it is much less common. About 5 percent of men and women ages 65 to 74 have AD, and nearly half of those age 85 and older may have the disease. It is important to note, however, that AD is not a normal part of aging...
...Scientists also have found other brain changes in people with AD. Nerve cells die in areas of the brain that are vital to memory and other mental abilities, and connections between nerve cells are disrupted. There also are lower levels of some of the chemicals in the brain that carry messages back and forth between nerve cells. AD may impair thinking and memory by disrupting these messages.
Ironically, the typical stereotyped image of a forgetful and dull-witted stoner may quickly become a thing of the past if Marijuana is can overcome historically demonizing stigma to be admitted as a pharmaceutically acceptable plant for medical treatment. Of course, it must also challenge the joint goliath bureaucracies that are the FDA and the DEA if it is ever to be reclassified as a legal food or drug. With the Baby Boomer generation quickly on the heels of retirement, those of the Flower Generation may find comfort in an old friend as the reach a ripe and wise, old age.
And the perception of stoners as being forgetfull and dull-witted won't change. Just because they don't have alzheimer's doesn't mean they aren't forgetful and dull witted.
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FellOnEarth
Temecula, CA
April 2006
OCT 06, 2006 05:10 PM