Can Marijuana Cure Alzheimer's Disease?

Over the past few years there has been mounting medical evidence that the use of marijuana might play a significant role in reducing the spread and progression of Alzheimer's disease. The primary ingredient in marijuana, THC, has been suspected in preventing damaging neural deposits from forming deep within the brain, which has been associated with the overall degenerative neural condition known as Alzheimer's disease.

Alzheimer's is a progressive and fatal disease of the brain. Over five million Americans currently suffer from Alzheimer's. Alzheimer's destroys brain cells, causes deficits in memory, orientation, intellect and social skills. Alzheimer's is the seventh-leading cause of death in the United States.

Alzheimer's is considered a form of dementia; a degenerative condition marked by a continuous decline in memory and intellectual facility. Alzheimer's disease represents up to 70 percent of all dementia cases in the nation and is the leading cause of dementia among America's elderly.

Presently, Alzheimer's disease is incurable, degenerative, and terminal. It is generally found in people over 65 years of age but can strike patients in their middle age as well. Worldwide, there are over 25 million people that suffering from Alzheimer's.

Scripps Research in San Diego, California, is now finding tangible and convincing evidence substantiating earlier suspicions that acetylcholinesterase, a neural enzyme responsible for preventing the formation of harmful deposits in the brain, can actually be triggered by the intake of marijuana. Acetylcholinesterase prevents protein deposits that are known to inhibit memory and cognition in Alzheimer's patients. Researchers believe this could lead to more effective drug treatment for Alzheimer's. This has brought hope to millions of Alzheimer's patients and their families.

Those afflicted with Alzheimer's usually suffer from memory loss, impaired decision-making, and diminished language and motor skills. The most commonly recognized symptom is memory loss and spatial disorientation.

Diagnosing the onset of Alzheimer's, usually begins with a thorough neurological examination of the patient including the medical determination of cognitive function and then, if warranted, by performing a radiological scans of the brain.

As the disease advances, more symptoms surface including severe memory loss, confusion, irritability, mood swings, and speech problems. After a decline in neural function the body begins to shutdown, ultimately leading to death.

Alzheimer's can go undiagnosed in a patient for years. The prognosis in most Alzheimer's cases is very difficult to determine, as the intensity and duration of the disease can vary from patient to patient. Precisely because Alzheimer's is slowly progressive disease, there is usually an unknown period of time before the major symptoms becomes apparent. The life expectancy of an Alzheimer's patient after the initial diagnosis of the disease is approximately seven-to-eight years. Fewer than five percent of these patients live more than fifteen years after diagnosis.

Marijuana may be the first drug to offer real promise in the battle against Alzheimer's disease. Recent studies have shown that marijuana not only promotes neural growth, in a recent study conducted by Harvard University, it was found that THC actually shows evidence of reducing the growth in tumors by as much as fifty-percent in patients with lung cancer.

Studies demonstrating the medicinal properties of marijuana have not been limited to Alzheimer's disease. Marijuana has been shown to relieve the symptoms brought on my diseases and conditions such as HIV/AIDS, glaucoma, migraines, muscle spasms, menstrual cramps, and arthritis.

Interestingly, while drugs such as alcohol, heroin, cocaine and nicotine have been shown to stifle growth of new brain cells, marijuana has been argued to do just the opposite. In fact, recent clinical studies have shown that marijuana actually promotes neural growth, according to a 2005 study published by the prestigious Journal of Clinical Investigation.

As of June 2009, there are thirteen states that currently allow for the medicinal use of marijuana.