Another study by Ohio State University scientists find that specific elements of marijuana can be good for the aging brain by reducing inflammation there and possibly even stimulating the formation of new brain cells. Although the exact cause of Alzheimer’s remains unknown, chronic inflammation in the brain is thought to contribute to memory impairment.
Relax – I’m not advocating that people smoke marijuana regularly in moderation to improve their memory or enhance brain functions or stave off Alzheimer’s – that’s against the law! And smoking anything is bad for your health.
“It’s just that there are some substances that millions of people for thousands of years have used in billions of doses,” says Gary Wenk, professor of psychology at Ohio State and principal investigator on the research. It might be wise to learn a lot more about this plant’s beneficial properties.
According to Ohio State research, THC, the psychoactive part of Marijuana joins nicotine, alcohol and caffeine as agents that, in moderation, have shown some protection against inflammation in the brain that might translate to better memory later in life.
“It’s not that everything immoral is good for the brain. It’s just that there are some substances that millions of people for thousands of years have used in billions of doses, and we’re noticing there’s a little signal above all the noise,” said Gary Wenk, professor of psychology at Ohio State and principal investigator on the research.
Wenk’s work has already shown that a THC-like synthetic drug can improve memory in animals by activating receptor proteins within the brain’s endocannabinoid system, which is involved in memory as well as physiological processes associated with appetite, mood and pain response.
“When we’re young, we reproduce neurons and our memory works fine. When we age, the process slows down, so we have a decrease in new cell formation in normal aging. You need those cells to come back and help form new memories, and we found that this THC-like agent can influence creation of those cells,” said Yannick Marchalant, a study coauthor and research assistant professor of psychology at Ohio State.
Marchalant described the research in a poster presentation Nov 11 through 19, 2008 at the Society for Neuroscience meeting in Washington, D.C.
“Could people smoke marijuana to prevent Alzheimer’s disease if the disease is in their family? We’re not saying that, but it might actually work. What we are saying is it appears that a safe, legal substance that mimics those important properties of marijuana can work on receptors in the brain to prevent memory impairments in aging. So that’s really hopeful,” Wenk said.
Once memory impairment is evident, the treatment is not effective. Reducing inflammation and preserving or generating neurons must occur before the memory loss is obvious, Wenk said.
The researchers are continuing to study the endocannabinoid system’s role in regulating inflammation and neuron development. They are trying to zero in on the receptors that must be activated to produce the most benefits from any newly developed drug.
What they already know is THC alone isn’t the answer.
“The end goal is not to recommend the use of THC in humans to reduce Alzheimer’s,” Marchalant said. “We need to find exactly which receptors are most crucial, and ideally lead to the development of drugs that specifically activate those receptors. We hope a compound can be found that can target both inflammation and neurogenesis, which would be the most efficient way to produce the best effects.”
The National Institutes of Health supported this work.
Coauthors on the presentation are Holly Brothers and Lauren Burgess, both of Ohio State’s Department of Psychology.
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