CANNABIS and ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE
Alzheimer's is a terribly sad disease. People who have lived long and productive lives are reduced to a child-like existence with no freedom, no respect, and no memory of a better time. If it ever happens to me, I pray those around me, whom I've Loved so long and worked so hard to educate, will roll me up a joint and let me enjoy the moment.
I'm not sure I've ever dealt with a real case of Alzheimer's. Although doctors claimed my mother had it, I didn't see the deterioration associated with the disease, just signs of severe depression and the results of being alone and limited to the house by her other medical problems. She frequently repeated herself but that could have been due to being so alone most of the time. My dad claimed she had withdrawn into the world of soap opera television, but that was most likely a result of being so limited in physical movement that she was confined to the couch in front of the tv and once again, being alone. He was embarrassed of her and told all her friends she didn't want people to see her that way. That wasn't true, but as a result, she occupied herself the only way she could.
I really wish my dad hadn't been such a believer in the drug war... One of his jobs in the military was to hunt down drug users and kick them out of the service... If I wasn't positive he'd turn her and I both over to the law, I would have liked to have gotten her stoned just to see her smile for awhile.Old age can be very depressing if left alone so much or if loved ones become embarrassed. It doesn't have to be dementia or senility or Alzheimer's that affects the mind. And even if it is, try to treat those old folks kindly. Give them your company, help them find things to smile about. They've given a lot to the world and deserve your respect. Kay Lee
Alzheimer's Disease:
(Ch.4, IOM, 1999):
Eleven Alzheimer's patients were treated for 12 weeks on an alternating schedule of dronabinol and placebo (six weeks of each treatment). The dronabinol treatment resulted in substantial weight gains and declines in disturbed behavior. No serious side effects were observed. One patient had a seizure and was removed from the study, but the seizure was not necessarily caused by dronabinol. Recurrent seizures without any precipitating events occur in 20% of patients who have advanced dementia of Alzheimer's type. Nevertheless, these results are encouraging enough to recommend further clinical research with cannabinoids.BBC NEWS | Health | Marijuana may block Alzheimer's
The active ingredient in marijuana may stall decline from Alzheimer's disease, research suggests. The research, by Madrid's Complutense University and the Cajal Institute, is published in the Journal of Neuroscience.
BBC NEWS | Health | Cannabis lifts Alzheimer appetite
A cannabis-based drug could help people with Alzheimer's disease by giving them the "munchies", researchers say. The researchers are from the Meridian Institute for Aging in New Jersey.GUARDIAN UNLIMITED: Cannabis may help prevent Alzheimer's memory loss
Scientists at one of Spain's leading research centres claimed yesterday to have found evidence that cannabis helps prevent the memory loss experienced by people suffering from Alzheimer's. Researchers were a team led by María de Ceballos at the Cajal Institute in Madrid.MONMOUTH MEDICAL CENTER - Synthetic Marijuana Reduces Agitation In Patients With Alzheimer's. A Phase II, multi-center study, Lead Investigator Geriatrician Joel S. Ross, M.D Findings were presented at the American Society of Consultant Pharmacists' 34th annual meeting.
ALZHEIMER'S/CANNABIS RESEARCH LINKS
MARIJUANA SLOWS ALZHEIMER'S DECLINE
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v05/n307/a10.htmlMarijuana may block Alzheimer's
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/4286435.stmPrevention of Alzheimer's Disease Pathology by Cannabinoids
http://www.jneurosci.org/cgi/content/abstract/25/8/1904Marijuana's Active Ingredient Shown to Inhibit Primary Marker of Alzheimer's Disease
http://www.pacifier.com/~alive/articles/ca060809.htmDronabinol in the treatment of agitation in patients with Alzheimer’s disease with anorexia
http://www.cannabis-med.org/studies/...ow.php?s_id=61Dronabinol in the treatment of refractory agitation in Alzheimer’s disease
http://www.cannabis-med.org/studies/...ow.php?s_id=92Effects of dronabinol on anorexia and disturbed behavior in patients with Alzheimer's disease.
http://www.cannabis-med.org/studies/...ow.php?s_id=59Cannabinoids reduce the progression of Alzheimer's disease in animals
http://www.cannabis-med.org/english/...l.php?id=187#1Molecular Link between the Active Component of Marijuana and Alzheimer's Disease Pathology
http://www.unboundmedicine.com/medline/ebm/record/17140265/abstract/A_Molecular_Link_between_the_Active_Component_of_M
arijuana_and_Alzheimer's_Disease_PathologyTHC inhibits primary marker of Alzheimer's disease
http://www.cannabis-med.org/english/...l.php?id=225#3Cannabinoid receptor stimulation is anti-inflammatory and improves memory in old rats
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1...?dopt=AbstractAlzheimer's disease; taking the edge off with cannabinoids?
http://www.nature.com/bjp/journal/v1.../0707446a.htmlUS Patent 6630507 - Cannabinoids as antioxidants and neuroprotectants
http://www.patentstorm.us/patents/6630507.html
EMAIL Kay Lee