Marijuana May Grow Neurons in the Brain

Medpage Today

“Advocates for medical marijuana can take heart over the findings of two Canadian research teams.

A synthetic cannabinoid — similar to the compounds found in marijuana, but substantially stronger — causes the growth of new neurons and reduces anxiety and depression, investigators at the University of Saskatchewan here reported.

And researchers at the University of Calgary said they’ve found evidence that the brain contains so-called CB2 cannabinoid receptors, previously seen in immune tissue but thought not to exist in brain tissue. The discovery, they added, could lead to new drugs to treat nausea associated with cancer or AIDS.

Most so-called drugs of abuse — such as alcohol or cocaine — inhibit the growth of new neurons, according to Xia Zhang, M.D., Ph.D., of the University of Saskatchewan.

“Only marijuana promotes neurogenesis,” Dr. Zhang said.”

http://www.medpagetoday.com/Psychiatry/AnxietyStress/1934

“Cannabinoids promote embryonic and adult hippocampus neurogenesis and produce anxiolytic- and antidepressant-like effects… In summary, since adult hippocampal neurogenesis is suppressed following chronic administration of opiates, alcohol, nicotine, and cocaine, the present study suggests that cannabinoids are the only illicit drug that can promote adult hippocampal neurogenesis following chronic administration.”  http://www.jci.org/articles/view/25509

University Of Saskatchewan Research Suggests Marijuana Analogue Stimulates Brain Cell Growth

ScienceDaily: Your source for the latest research news

“A synthetic substance similar to ones found in marijuana stimulates cell growth in regions of the brain associated with anxiety and depression, pointing the way for new treatments for these diseases, according to University of Saskatchewan medical research published today in The Journal of Clinical Investigation.

Xia Zhang, an associate professor in the U of S neuropsychiatry research unit, led the team that tested the effects of HU-210, a potent synthetic cannabinoid similar to a group of compounds found in marijuana. The synthetic version is about 100 times as powerful as THC, the compound responsible for the high experienced by recreational users.

The team found that rats treated with HU-210 on a regular basis showed neurogenesis – the growth of new brain cells in the hippocampus. This region of the brain is associated with learning and memory, as well as anxiety and depression.

The effect is the opposite of most legal and illicit drugs such as alcohol, nicotine, heroin, and cocaine.

“Most ‘drugs of abuse’ suppress neurogenesis,” Zhang says. “Only marijuana promotes neurogenesis.””

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2005/10/051016083817.htm

“Cannabinoids promote embryonic and adult hippocampus neurogenesis and produce anxiolytic- and antidepressant-like effects… In summary, since adult hippocampal neurogenesis is suppressed following chronic administration of opiates, alcohol, nicotine, and cocaine, the present study suggests that cannabinoids are the only illicit drug that can promote adult hippocampal neurogenesis following chronic administration.”  http://www.jci.org/articles/view/25509

Researchers study neuroprotective properties in cannabis

“With more states opting to legalize the sale of medical marijuana, researchers are taking a closer look at the use of cannabis to treat chronic illnesses.

Dr. Manny Alvarez, senior managing health editor of FoxNews.com, recently sat down with the Medicine Hunter, Chris Kilham, to find out how it’s being studied.

Dr. Manny: Now from the medical marijuana perspective, as far as the treatment of chronic illnesses, what is it about cannabis that makes it that special?

Medicine Hunter: Well, it seems that there are primarily two things – there’s the THC, that’s what people associated with getting high. And that appears to have a saliatory effect on the eyes in case of glaucoma. For people who are suffering from chemotherapy and can’t eat, it helps to get their appetite back. And we also know that it is a potent pain reliever – and science on that goes back to the 1890s.

But there’s another agent in cannabis that is getting more attention now, and that is called cannabidiol. And this is something that you can swallow by the bucket-full, and it won’t get you high at all. But it appears to have profound nerve-protective and brain-enhancing properties. And interestingly enough, it also induces an anti-anxiety effect.

So this appears to be a very important agent, perhaps useful in the treatment of neurodegenerative disorders.

DM: Are they extracting that particular chemical off the marijuana?

MH: There seem to be two pathways that people are taking.  You’ve got G.W. pharmaceuticals in Britain that has come out with a whole cannabis fluid spray. You’ve got people also isolating cannabidiol and playing with that in the lab.

I don’t know how this is all going to settle out – I mean, as a whole-plant person, I’m inclined toward the whole extract. But it does appear that this may also have anti-cancer properties, and that’s very intriguing.

DM: Is marijuana addictive?

MH: I would say that people can absolutely become dependent upon it.  But not physiologically addictive.  And, as you know, that’s not just parsing terms – I mean physiological addiction, you go through very grave withdrawal.

But people can become dependent on it just as they can on any substance.

DM: Tell me about this study in the American Journal of Pediatrics talking about pregnant Jamaican women and the use of pot.

MH: Melanie Dreher, who is the dean of nursing at Rush Medical Center inChicago, did a study in Jamaica. It was actually published in the American Journal of Pediatrics in 1994, but now it’s re-circulating because of all the interest in the neuroprotective properties.

Basically, she studied women during their entire pregnancy, and then studied the babies about a year after birth. And what she studied was a group of women who did smoke cannabis during pregnancy and those who didn’t. She expected to see a difference in the babies as far as birth weight and neuro tests, but there was no difference whatsoever. The differences that the researchers did notice, that are unexplained and kind of curious are that the babies of the women who had smoked cannabis — and we’re talking about daily use during their pregnancy — socialized more quickly, made eye contact more quickly and were easier to engage.

We don’t know why this is so, but all the old saws of smoking during pregnancy will result in low birth weight did not show up — at least in the Jamaican study. In U.S. studies where we’ve seen a similar investigation, women have concurrently been abusing alcohol and other drugs as well.

Alvarez said it’s interesting to note that there may be neuroprotective properties present in cannabis and the cannibidiol extract, but that smoking of any kind in pregnant women is discouraged.”

More research is needed when it comes to medical marijuana, he added.”

http://www.foxnews.com/health/2012/03/20/researchers-study-neuroprotective-properties-in-cannabis/

“Study: Cannabis may prevent brain damage” http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/06/06/study-cannabis-may-prevent-brain-damage/

Cannabinoid as a neuroprotective strategy in perinatal hypoxic-ischemic injury.

“Perinatal hypoxia-ischemia remains the single most important cause of brain injury in the newborn, leading to death or lifelong sequelae.

Because of the fact that there is still no specific treatment for perinatal brain lesions due to the complexity of neonatal hypoxic-ischemic pathophysiology, the search of new neuroprotective therapies is of great interest.

In this regard, therapeutic possibilities of the endocannabinoid system have grown lately.

The endocannabinoid system modulates a wide range of physiological processes in mammals and has demonstrated neuroprotective effects in different paradigms of acute brain injury, acting as a natural neuroprotectant.

Concerning perinatal asphyxia, the neuroprotective role of this endogenous system is emerging these years.

The present review mainly focused on the current knowledge of the cannabinoids as a new neuroprotective strategy against perinatal hypoxic-ischemic brain injury.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21788999

[The cannabinoid system and its importance in the perinatal period].

“The cannabinoid system has been recently described, including the endogenous ligands, mainly arachidonic acid derivatives, and their specific receptors. Endocannabinoids are involved in the modulation of synaptic transmission, through which they exert their psychoactive, motor and antinociceptive effects, among others; they also exert extraneural effects, mainly immunomodulation and vasodilation.

Recent data suggest that the cannabinoid system might play an important role in human ontogeny and could participate in the implantation and early development of the embryo, in fetal brain development, and in the beginning of breast feeding after birth.

In addition, the vasodilatory effect of cannabinoids, together with inhibition of the release of excitotoxic amino acids and cytokines, as well as modulation of oxidative stress and the toxic production of nitric oxide, justify the growing evidence pointing to a possible neuroprotective effect of cannabinoids in perinatal asphyxia.”

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16266619

Cannabinoids: well-suited candidates for the treatment of perinatal brain injury.

“Perinatal brain injury can be induced by a number of different damaging events occurring during or shortly after birth… the number of clinical interventions available for the treatment of the affected newborn babies is extremely limited. Hence, there is a dramatic need to develop new effective therapies aimed to prevent acute brain damage and enhance the endogenous mechanisms of long-term brain repair.

The endocannabinoid system is an endogenous neuromodulatory system involved in the control of multiple central and peripheral functions. An early responder to neuronal injury, the endocannabinoid system has been described as an endogenous neuroprotective system that once activated can prevent glutamate excitotoxicity, intracellular calcium accumulation, activation of cell death pathways, microglia activation, neurovascular reactivity and infiltration of circulating leukocytes across the blood-brain barrier.

The modulation of the endocannabinoid system has proven to be an effective neuroprotective strategy to prevent and reduce neonatal brain injury in different animal models and species.

Also, the beneficial role of the endocannabinoid system on the control of the endogenous repairing responses (neurogenesis and white matter restoration) to neonatal brain injury has been described in independent studies.”

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24961520

Marijuana & Stroke: Pot Compounds Protect Brain, New Meta-Study Shows

“Cannabinoids, chemicals related to those found in cannabis could be effective in restoring neurological function by shrinking the area of the brain affected by stroke, according to a new study led by Dr. Tim England, Honorary Consultant Stroke Physician at the University of Nottingham and Royal Derby Hospital.

Stroke, a leading cause of adult disability in the UK leaves over half of all survivors dependent on others for life. Over one million people are living with the effects of stroke and it is reported that in the UK alone, over 150,000 people have a stroke every year. Finding new treatments to help survivors recover quickly has never been more important.

The authors examined 94 studies evaluating the effects of cannabinoids on 1022 mice, monkeys, and male rats. Cannabinoids can be classified into endocannabinoids that occur naturally in the body, phytocannabinoids that are obtained from plant extracts, and synthetic cannabinoids.

A meta-analysis of experimental studies conducted by the researchers at the University of Nottingham identifies the potential of all three categories of these compounds potential to reduce brain damage caused by stroke and help improve brain function after an attack.

The U.S. government sought a patent in 2001 for the naturally occuring marijuana molecule, cannabidiol, for use as a brain protector during stroke. ”

http://blog.sfgate.com/smellthetruth/2013/12/11/marijuana-stroke-pot-compounds-protect-brain-new-meta-study-shows/

The Cannabinoid WIN55212-2 Promotes Neural Repair After Neonatal Hypoxia–Ischemia

Figure 1.

“In the last years, cannabinoids have emerged as promising neuroprotective agents in several animal paradigms of acute and degenerative brain damage. Most neuroprotective effects of cannabinoids result from the activation of cannabinoid Type 1 (CB1R) and Type 2 (CB2R) receptors in neural and immune cells.

Besides, the stimulating effect of cannabinoids on proliferation, survival, and differentiation of neural progenitor cells provides interesting prospects for long-term neural repair after acute brain damage.

The endocannabinoid system has been involved in the modulation of neural stem cells proliferation, survival and differentiation as well as in the generation of new oligodendrocyte progenitors in the postnatal brain. The present work aims to test the effect of the synthetic Type 1 and Type 2 cannabinoid receptor agonist WIN55212-2 on these processes in the context of neonatal rat brain hypoxia–ischemia (HI)…

Our results suggest that the activation of the endocannabinoid system promotes white and gray matter recovery after neonatal HI injury…

In conclusion, we have demonstrated that the synthetic cannabinoid WIN55212-2 enhances SVZ cell proliferation, oligodendrogenesis, white matter remyelination, and neuroblast generation after neonatal HI.

These findings, summed to the previously described neuroprotective properties of cannabinoids after acute brain damage, may possess therapeutic repercussions in the long-term management of neonatal HI encephalopathy, a prevalent and devastating condition for which no pharmacological treatments are yet available.”

http://stroke.ahajournals.org/content/41/12/2956.full

 

Medical Marijuana Helps Cure Chronic Disease

Medical Marijuana Helps Cure Chronic Disease

“The medicinal power of Marijuana is well documented throughtout history

Back in 2700 BC, According to Chinese lore, the Emperor Shen Nung, considered the Father of Chinese medicine, in 2700 BC ,discovered the healing properties of Marijuana as well as Ginseng and Ephedra.

Throughout recorded history, the use of Medical Marijuana  has been linked to the ancient Egyptians, Persians, Greek civilizations, George Washington, Queen Victoria and even mainstream medicine by the 1840s.

From the 1850s to Y 1942, Marijuana was listed in the United States Pharmacopeia, an official public standards-setting authority for all prescription and over-the counter medicines, as a treatment for tetanus, cholera, rabies, dysentery, alcoholism, opiate addiction, convulsive disorders, insanity, excessive menstrual bleeding and many other health problems. My father was a Dental doctor and had a license to dispense the drug, pharmacies carried it back then.

During that same time frame prohibition gained popularity, that along with a growing “faith” in federal government.

By Y 1937, the United States passed its 1st federal law against Marijuana despite objections by the American Medical Association (AMA).

In fact, Dr. William C. Woodward, testifying on behalf of the AMA, told the US Congress:

“The American Medical Association knows of no evidence that Marijuana is a dangerous drug.”

He warned that a prohibition “loses sight of the fact that future investigation may show that there are substantial medical uses for Cannabis.”

Today, we see a growing trend of acceptance of Marijuana for its medicinal purposes.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN’s chief medical correspondent, reversed his Y 2009 opinion against Marijuana when he said, “We have been terribly and systematically misled for nearly 70 yrs in the United States, and I apologize for my own role in that.”

Now people including lawmakers are seeing the legalization of Marijuana in states like Colorado and Washington for “recreational” purposes. Most Americans are in favor of Medical Marijuana,  and the legalization of this drug.

The Big Q: why does the federal government want to ban its usage?

The Big A: it is all about control and money, and there is a major market for it, plus it poses a major threat to the pharmaceutical industry.

Below are just a few of the many health benefits associated with Medical Marijuana:

1. It can stop HIV from spreading throughout the body.
2. It slows the progression of Alzheimer’s.
3. It slows the spread of cancer cells.
4. It is an active pain reliever.
5. It can prevent or help with opiate addiction.
6. It combats depression, anxiety and ADHD.
7. It can treat epilepsy and Tourette’s.
8. It can help with other neurological damage, such as concussions and strokes.
9. It can prevent blindness from glaucoma.
10. Its connected to lower insulin levels in diabetics.

Contrary to popular notions, many patients  experience health benefits from Medical Marijuana without “getting stoned.””

http://www.livetradingnews.com/medical-marijuana-helps-cure-chronic-disease-55569.htm#.U6VjgZRX-uY

CB2 cannabinoid receptors as an emerging target for demyelinating diseases: from neuroimmune interactions to cell replacement strategies

Figure 2

“Amongst the various demyelinating diseases that affect the central nervous system, those induced by an inflammatory response stand out because of their epidemiological relevance. The best known inflammatory-induced demyelinating disease is multiple sclerosis, but the immune response is a common pathogenic mechanism in many other less common pathologies (e.g., acute disseminated encephalomyelitis and acute necrotizing haemorrhagic encephalomyelitis).

In all such cases, modulation of the immune response seems to be a logical therapeutic approach.

Cannabinoids are well known immunomodulatory molecules that act through CB1 and CB2 receptors. While activation of CB1 receptors has a psychotropic effect, activation of CB2 receptors alone does not. Therefore, to bypass the ethical problems that could result from the treatment of inflammation with psychotropic molecules, considerable effort is being made to study the potential therapeutic value of activating CB2 receptors.

In this review we examine the current knowledge and understanding of the utility of cannabinoids as therapeutic molecules for inflammatory-mediated demyelinating pathologies. Moreover, we discuss how CB2 receptor activation is related to the modulation of immunopathogenic states.

The activation of CB2receptors results in the modulation of the inflammatory response, restraining one of the agents responsible for the progress of demyelination and neuronal death, the ultimate causes of the symptoms in pathologies such as MS and EAE.

The modulation of inflammatory molecules through CB2 receptors could also enhance remyelination, stimulating the survival of oligodendrocyte precursors and neural stem/precursor cells, and their development into mature oligodendrocytes.

…this raises the possibility that CB2 agonists could have the potential to promote brain repair.”

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2219542/#!po=48.0769