marijuana and memory

although marijuana is legendary for inducing temporary memory loss, it appears the drug may help prevent a permanent - and terminal- variety.

reasearchers have discovered that marijuana's active component thc, a cannabinoid, may help prevent alzheimer's disease:

"The findings showed that cannabinoids work both to prevent inflammation and to protect the brain, says researcher Maria de Ceballos in a news release. That may set the stage for [cannabinoids'] use as a therapeutic approach for [Alzheimer's disease]."

alzheimer's rats given cannabinoids not only were able to learn where the control alzheimer's rats could not, but they also saw none of the precursors to inflammation, which causes much of the degeneration in alzheimer's. it's a shame that marijuana also makes us feel good, or else it might be considered a viable component of preventative care.

more on: alzheimer's, memory, marijuana, drugs that could help us if they didn't make us happy too

reference: ramírez, b et. al, prevention of alzheimer's disease pathology by cannabinoids: neuroprotection mediated by blockade of microglial activation. journal of neuroscience, 23 feb.

Labels: drugs, neuroscience