
Cannabis reverses aging processes in the brain - brahmwg
https://m.medicalxpress.com/news/2017-05-cannabis-reverses-aging-brain.html
======
simonsarris
I'm not sure its wise to say "Cannabis" as a shorthand for "Low doses of THC."

The headline of the paper is: "A chronic low dose of Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol
(THC) restores cognitive function in old mice.

[https://www.nature.com/nm/journal/v23/n6/full/nm.4311.html"](https://www.nature.com/nm/journal/v23/n6/full/nm.4311.html")

Which is interesting, but you shouldn't take it to mean smoking is good for
your brain. We already have some data to suggest that smoking cannabis, at
least while young, is linked to cognitive decline.

"Persistent cannabis users show neuropsychological decline from childhood to
midlife" (2012)

[http://m.pnas.org/content/109/40/E2657.full](http://m.pnas.org/content/109/40/E2657.full)

~~~
justboxing
From the 2nd Link:

> Persistent cannabis use was associated with neuropsychological decline
> broadly across domains of functioning, even after controlling for years of
> education. Informants also reported noticing more cognitive problems for
> persistent cannabis users. Impairment was concentrated among adolescent-
> onset cannabis users, with more persistent use associated with greater
> decline. Further, cessation of cannabis use did not fully restore
> neuropsychological functioning among adolescent-onset cannabis users.

Does the last sentence mean what I think it means. That even after stopping
cannabis use, the neuropsychological damage / cognitive problems remained, and
didn't rollback the decline from cannabis use?

If yes, it's troubling. All my stoner friends claim no permanent damage from
chronic use

~~~
PhasmaFelis
I thought it was well-known that marijuana use among adolescents was a risk
factor for schizophrenia.

I'm 100% for legalization, but no drug is ever completely safe. I had to talk
a friend down from a nasty paranoid dissociation episode after she ate the
recommended dose of a mass-produced legal pot cookie in Seattle. It's a hell
of a lot safer than alcohol, IMO, but that's not the same thing as "safe".

~~~
kakarot
> I thought it was well-known that marijuana use among adolescents was a risk
> factor for schizophrenia.

Incorrect. Those predisposed to schizophrenic and some other mental disorders
are more likely to have those symptoms aggravated by chronic drug use. Pot
doesn't create mental illness, it exacerbates it.

The lesson here is not to smoke weed in your developing teen years, or to
experiment in a safe environment if there is a history of schizophrenia in
your family, something that should be a no-brainer.

"Safe" is a very relative word and a substance can only be as safe as the
person consuming it. Incorrect safety procedure when ingesting a substance,
such as taking drugs without proper dosage experimentation or in unstable
environments, should not be held against the substance itself.

~~~
mercer
> > I thought it was well-known that marijuana use among adolescents was a
> risk factor for schizophrenia. > Incorrect. Those predisposed to
> schizophrenic and some other mental disorders are more likely to have those
> symptoms aggravated by chronic drug use. Pot doesn't create mental illness,
> it exacerbates it.

Aren't both these statements a bit too one-sided in light of the evidence? As
far as I'm aware we know there's a correlation, but there's no consensus about
causality either way (although I lean towards weed being mostly harmless in
itself, and 'triggering' if you happen to be susceptible to schizophrenia).

~~~
kakarot
Get a group of scizophrenics together and get them to smoke weed. You'll have
a few people whose symptoms are helped but you'll find more of them get
triggered and may end up having an episode.

As I said, weed doesn't cause schizophrenia, it just exacerbates the symptoms
in some people. I don't see what is one-sided about that and there is plenty
of literature to support this, if you search around for a minute or two.

------
exabrial
Misleading title, it should probably say something like: Study shows THC in
controlled micro doses appears to restore cognitive function in older mice

~~~
erikpukinskis
"study shows", and "appears to" are filler. "In mice" is unnecessarily narrow
as the original headline doesn't imply any species. "U.S. Drops Bombs" is a
perfectly fine headline, the location can be specified in the article.

What do you see as the distinction between "restore cognitive function in
older individuals" vs "reverses aging process in the brain"?

~~~
exabrial
Did you actually click the link and read the title? Because that's what it
says: "A chronic low dose of Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) restores cognitive
function in old mice"

------
mesozoic
I hate these headlines for all medical research proven in mouse models. They
should say "in mice" or "might" they're written to imply that it's already
proven to work in humans.

~~~
gadders
I heard a quote on a science podcast once to the effect of "If you can't cure
cancer in mice, you're not really trying."

------
ianai
I've seen that merely adding new context and information to an aging brain
helps it. Taking a psychedelic would definitely cause a brain to experience
reality in new ways. For that reason alone, the added stimulation may be
enough to enrich the connections.

~~~
apk-d
Wouldn't that effect be statistically detectable, though? (personally a strong
cannabis advocate, trying to avoid giving it mythical properties though)

------
startupdiscuss
The basic principle at play here is that anything that is enjoyable cannot be
good for you.

When you're young, and you do it recreationally, it is bad for you.

As you grow older, and it becomes an annoying distraction from what you want
to get done, it suddenly becomes beneficial.

~~~
fineline
So if one were to be in his or her late forties, say, when should one expect
it to stop being enjoyable? A friend wanted to know ;)

~~~
rorykoehler
It depends. A friend knows for certain it can happen.

------
to3m
So counterintuitive that perhaps it has to be true!

From around the same time, so presumably an alternative regurgitation of the
same press release: [http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/health/cannabis-
could-h...](http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/health/cannabis-could-help-
reverse-memory-13005800)

Choice quote: "But the benefits were only seen in older mice, said the
researchers. When young animals were exposed to THC, their memory and learning
performance got worse" \- and I have to say that sounds more like my own
experience of THC exposure as a young animal.

But maybe I should take up the habit again in my dotage?

~~~
mesozoic
Sure if you're a mouse

------
agumonkey
Tiny hint:

there are hemp strains that are naturally low on THC (legal limit is low
anyway) and also embed other cannabinoids like CBD (cannabidiol), which seems
to be a potent anti inflammatory, and activates CB receptors (brain, GI
tract). To summarize, it could be of use to grow non THC-heavy hemp and
extract cannabinoids for your health.

~~~
anentropic
it was the THC that had the positive effect in this study though

~~~
agumonkey
Yes, at low dose. Which legal hemp provider along with others.

~~~
leroy_masochist
You seem to be implying that "low-dose legal hemp" is a thing that
exists....what do you mean?

~~~
fny
Health Canada defines hemp as products of Cannabis Sativa which contain less
than 0.3 percent THC, whereas US law defines hemp as all parts of any Cannabis
Sativa plant containing no psychoactive properties, except for defined
exceptions

~~~
agumonkey
I do not know us legislation, since medical majijuana is so trendy i expected
hemp to be legal as well.

------
tempodox
I guess it won't help with braindead [1] politicians who refuse to legalize
it.

[1]
[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt4877736/](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt4877736/)

------
bluetwo
Anyone else think this is kind of a dubious news source?

~~~
strict9
citation is in the article:
[https://www.nature.com/nm/journal/v23/n6/full/nm.4311.html](https://www.nature.com/nm/journal/v23/n6/full/nm.4311.html)

~~~
bluetwo
A much better source and title.

------
anentropic
so... what age should I start smoking again?

~~~
smashu
now

------
ForFreedom
Cannabis is doing a lot of positive things to our body according to many
reports How true is this all?

~~~
agumonkey
you can go to pubmed.com and read, there's a lot of papers on THC and other
cannabinoids

[https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=cannobinoids](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=cannobinoids)

Lots of research is related to Cancer, but there are some meta studies and non
cancer related too.

------
lngnmn
Oh, so cannabis decreases entropy of the universe, how wonderful!

I wish I could have a chance to smoke what they had.

Ageing essentially is the same process as erosion of mountains. No amount of
cannabis or LSD would help.

