Scientists Discover How Cannabis Slows Alzheimer's TruthOnPot.com
go to original August 26, 2013

What is Alzheimer's disease? (actionalz)

Researchers at the Roskamp Institute in Florida have shown for the first time how cannabinoids – the active chemicals in marijuana – are able to reduce the build-up of a key indicator of Alzheimer’s disease.

For long, scientists have linked the loss of cell and brain tissue in Alzheimer’s to abnormal structures called beta-amyloid (Aß) plaque. Levels of plaque in a patient’s brain can even predict the severity of symptoms and tissue damage suffered.



Clumps of protein known as beta-amyloid plaque are a key trait of Alzheimer's and contribute to the progression and symptoms of the disease. New evidence reveals a role of marijuana in removing the plaque from the brain. (The AD Plan)

Published last week in the Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience journal, the new findings reveal how cannabinoids reverse the build-up of plaque in Alzheimer’s by expelling it from the brain.

The team, led by Corbin Bachmeier, Ph.D, explains that Alzheimer’s is not a result of abnormal production of the plaque, but “the result of impaired Aß clearance from the brain.”

Their results suggest that chemicals in marijuana can aid the plaque in crossing the blood-brain barrier, a process that allows plaque levels to be kept low in healthy people. Previous studies show that this process is blocked in patients with Alzheimer’s disease.

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