Ron Strider
Well-Known Member
A recent study found that the active ingredient in cannabis restores memory in older mice. But what – if anything – does that mean for us?
The study, published in the journal Nature Medicine, was conducted by scientists in Germany.
Over a period of one month, one group of mice of various ages was given continuous low doses of tetrahydrocannabinol or THC. A control group of mice was given a placebo.
The scientists tested cognitive ability like memory and learning skills in the mice. Normally you would expect learning and memory performance to decline with age. But this study delivered a surprising result.
After 28 days of treatment with THC, the older mice had regained both the memory and learning skills of healthy younger mice.
They had literally gotten smarter and could match the intellectual performance levels of younger mice from the control group, which was given a placebo.
As well as testing their cognitive skills, the scientists examined the brains of all the mice at the end of the study.
They were particularly interested in looking at the hippocampus – a part of the brain strongly involved with memory.
When they compared the synapses and nerve connections, as well as levels of gene expression in the hippocampus, they found the brains of the older mice that had been on THC had physically changed.
They looked just like the brains of the healthy younger mice that had not taken THC.
It's pretty impressive, and there were plenty of headlines along the line of: "Daily dose of cannabis could reverse brain's decline in old age".
But don't get too excited about this result.
Of mice, not men
First, mice are not humans.
In fact, the brains of mice are very different from the brains of humans. As an example, we have found about a thousand treatments that help with Alzheimer's disease in mice. How many of them work in humans? Maybe three, and that's a big maybe.
Second, a 28-day study like this one is very short.
One lousy month is not long enough to draw long-term conclusions from. What happens after three months? Do the older mice then go into an abrupt and irreversible decline? We just don't know.
So for our adult population, there are lots of caveats with this story.
It's way too early for anyone to think of self-medicating for memory loss with low levels of THC.
Unless of course you are a mouse that is willing to be a guinea pig.
News Moderator: Ron Strider 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Cannabis: Can low doses of tetrahydrocannabinol help restore memory? - Science News - ABC News
Author: Dr Karl Kruszelnicki
Contact: Contact Us - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
Photo Credit: Getty Images
Website: ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
The study, published in the journal Nature Medicine, was conducted by scientists in Germany.
Over a period of one month, one group of mice of various ages was given continuous low doses of tetrahydrocannabinol or THC. A control group of mice was given a placebo.
The scientists tested cognitive ability like memory and learning skills in the mice. Normally you would expect learning and memory performance to decline with age. But this study delivered a surprising result.
After 28 days of treatment with THC, the older mice had regained both the memory and learning skills of healthy younger mice.
They had literally gotten smarter and could match the intellectual performance levels of younger mice from the control group, which was given a placebo.
As well as testing their cognitive skills, the scientists examined the brains of all the mice at the end of the study.
They were particularly interested in looking at the hippocampus – a part of the brain strongly involved with memory.
When they compared the synapses and nerve connections, as well as levels of gene expression in the hippocampus, they found the brains of the older mice that had been on THC had physically changed.
They looked just like the brains of the healthy younger mice that had not taken THC.
It's pretty impressive, and there were plenty of headlines along the line of: "Daily dose of cannabis could reverse brain's decline in old age".
But don't get too excited about this result.
Of mice, not men
First, mice are not humans.
In fact, the brains of mice are very different from the brains of humans. As an example, we have found about a thousand treatments that help with Alzheimer's disease in mice. How many of them work in humans? Maybe three, and that's a big maybe.
Second, a 28-day study like this one is very short.
One lousy month is not long enough to draw long-term conclusions from. What happens after three months? Do the older mice then go into an abrupt and irreversible decline? We just don't know.
So for our adult population, there are lots of caveats with this story.
It's way too early for anyone to think of self-medicating for memory loss with low levels of THC.
Unless of course you are a mouse that is willing to be a guinea pig.
News Moderator: Ron Strider 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Cannabis: Can low doses of tetrahydrocannabinol help restore memory? - Science News - ABC News
Author: Dr Karl Kruszelnicki
Contact: Contact Us - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
Photo Credit: Getty Images
Website: ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
