Pubdate: Thu, 19 Oct 2006
Source: Globe and Mail (Canada)
Section: Pg A13
Copyright: 2006, The Globe and Mail Company
Contact:  http://www.globeandmail.ca/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/168
Author: Maggie Fox, Reuters
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mjcn.htm (Cannabis - Canada)

SMOKING POT MAY HELP LOWER RISK OF ALZHEIMER'S

WASHINGTON -- Marijuana may help cut the risk of Alzheimer's disease 
by reducing inflammation in the brain, according to U.S. researchers.

Tests on rats showed that a compound found in marijuana stopped the 
loss of brain cells seen in inflammation and improved the animals' memories.

The findings, presented to a meeting of the Society for Neuro-science 
in Atlanta, may help explain some studies that suggest people who 
regularly smoked marijuana in the 1960s and 1970s are now less likely 
than others the same age to develop Alzheimer's -- the most common 
cause of dementia.

And caffeine may have similar effects, said Gary Wenk, a professor of 
psychology at Ohio State University. His team used a widely studied 
drug called WIN-55212-2, or WIN for short, which is a synthetic 
compound similar to marijuana. WIN affects receptors -- molecular 
doorways -- on cells that are called cannabinoid receptors.

WIN has been tested against pain and inflammation in diseases such as 
Alzheimer's and multiple sclerosis.

Dr. Wenk's team infused the rats' brains with a compound that mimics 
the inflammation found in Alzheimer's patients.

They treated some of the rats with WIN daily for those three weeks, 
and then tested the rats by making them swim in a water maze -- a 
standard test of rodent memory and learning. The older rats that were 
given WIN did better on the test.
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MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman