Atherosclerosis: Marijuana Chemical Fights Hardened Arteries

[Sequoiacrone]

Marijuana Chemical Fights Hardened Arteries

But Smoking Marijuana Isn't the Answer, Says Study
By Miranda Hitti (http://www.webmd.com/miranda-hitti)
WebMD Health News




April 6, 2005 -- The active ingredient in marijuana that produces changes in brain messages appears to fight atherosclerosis -- a hardening of the arteries.
But puffing pot probably won't help. The findings, reported in the journal Nature, "should not be taken to mean that smoking marijuana is beneficial for the heart," says Michael Roth, MD, a professor of medicine at UCLA medical school.
It takes a very specific amount of THC -- marijuana's key chemical -- to help the arteries. That dose is too low to produce mood-altering effects in the brain, according to the new study.
"It would be difficult to achieve such specific concentrations in the blood by smoking marijuana," Roth explains in a Nature editorial.
Smoking Pot: Bad for the Heart?

Smoking marijuana can speed up the pulse and raise blood pressure (followed by a sudden fall upon standing or walking), Roth notes.
"These effects lower the exercise threshold for chest pain [angina], and are an independent risk factor for heart attack and stroke," he writes. Inhaling marijuana smoke can also impair oxygen delivery via the blood, says Roth.
The best way to take advantage of THC's artery-protecting effects may be by developing new prescription drugs "rather than using marijuana or oral THC as medicines," he writes.
Testing THC on Mice


see more here:
http://www.webmd.com/heart-disease/news/20050406/marijuana-chemical-fights-hardened-arteries

[Sequoiacrone]

EATING low doses of THC, the active ingredient in cannabis, helps prevent arteries clogging up, at least in mice
16 April 2005
THC binds to two receptors in the body. One is found mostly on brain cells and is responsible for the chemical’s psychotropic effects. The other receptor is found mostly on immune cells, and THC has been shown to suppress the immune response to infections and cancer.
François Mach at University Hospital in Geneva, Switzerland, wondered if this effect might also help prevent the build-up of fatty deposits in arteries, or atherosclerosis, by reducing the inflammation associated with this process. Sure enough, when his team fed 1 milligram of THC per kilogram of bodyweight – a low dose that should not have any psychotropic effects – to mice susceptible to atherosclerosis, it greatly slowed the progress of the disease (Nature, vol 434, p 782).
The results are striking, says Michael Roth of the University of California, Los Angeles, who wrote a commentary for Nature.

for the entire article and links to more research see
http://www.gnn.tv/headlines/2634/Cannabis_may_help_keep_arteries_clear

[Sequoiacrone]

April 06, 2005

Medical marijuana: study shows that THC slows atherosclerosis

by Plutonium Page
THC, or delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol, is one of the many cannabinoids in marijuana. Cannabinoids have been shown to be medically beneficial as analgesics (http://www.ingentaconnect.com/search/expand?pub=infobike://adis/cns/2003/00000017/00000003/art00004) and anti-nausea agents (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=11854768&dopt=Citation), among other findings.
Most recently, Swiss and German researchers have shown that a very small dose of THC slows the progression of atherosclerosis (clogging of the arteries) in mice. It's a pretty amazing study, especially since atherosclerosis is the leading cause of heart disease, and strokes, in the world.
Look below the fold for details.


The study (http://www.nature.com/cgi-taf/DynaPage.taf?file=/nature/journal/v434/n7034/abs/nature03389_fs.html&dynoptions=doi1112822365) is in this week's edition of the journal Nature. You can get the full text of the article for $30 if you aren't a subscriber, or you can just read the handy news release (http://www.nature.com/news/2005/050404/full/050404-7.html):

A compound derived from the cannabis plant protects blood vessels from dangerous clogging, a study of mice has shown. The discovery could lead to new drugs to ward off heart disease and stroke.
The compound, called delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), combats the blood-vessel disease atherosclerosis in mice. This disease occurs when damage to blood vessels, by nicotine from cigarettes, for example, causes an immune response that leads to the formation of fatty deposits in arteries.
These deposits form because the immune cells can linger too long, recruiting others and leading to an inflamed blockage that snares fatty molecules. The disease is the leading cause of heart disease and stroke in the developed world.
THC seems to tone down this immune response, report François Mach of the University Hospital Geneva, Switzerland and his colleagues. The compound binds to a protein called CB2 that is present on the surfaces of certain immune cells.
In addition to CB2, there is another receptor (http://science.kennesaw.edu/projects/cab/rinfo.htm) called CB1. Simply put, when THC binds to that one, you get high. Anyway, the researchers in this study proved that THC had to bind to CB2 for it to slow atherosclerosis. It didn't have any effect when it bound to CB1 (except possibly get the mice stoned).
The news release goes on to point out that:


please read the complete article here:
http://thenexthurrah.typepad.com/the_next_hurrah/2005/04/medical_marijua.html