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Now I remember....
 
Well... thank god for small favors.. :dog:

Marijuana May Boost, Rather Than Dull, the Elderly Brain
Senior mice treated with THC improved on learning and memory tests

Picture the stereotypical pot smoker: young, dazed and confused. Marijuana has long been known for its psychoactive effects, which can include cognitive impairment. But new research published in June in Nature Medicine suggests the drug might affect older users very differently than young ones—at least in mice. Instead of impairing learning and memory, as it does in young people, the drug appears to reverse age-related declines in the cognitive performance of elderly mice.

Researchers led by Andreas Zimmer of the University of Bonn in Germany gave low doses of delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, marijuana’s main active ingredient, to young, mature and aged mice. As expected, young mice treated with THC performed slightly worse on behavioral tests of memory and learning. For example, after receiving THC, young mice took longer to learn where a safe platform was hidden in a water maze, and they had a harder time recognizing another mouse to which they had previously been exposed. Without the drug, mature and aged mice performed worse on the tests than young ones did. But after the elderly animals were given THC, their performances improved to the point that they resembled those of young, untreated mice. “The effects were very robust, very profound,” Zimmer says.

Other experts praised the study but cautioned against extrapolating the findings to humans. “This well-designed set of experiments shows that chronic THC pretreatment appears to restore a significant level of diminished cognitive performance in older mice, while corroborating the opposite effect among young mice,” wrote Susan Weiss, director of the Division of Extramural Research at the National Institute on Drug Abuse, who was not involved in the study, in an e-mail. Nevertheless, she added, “while it would be tempting to presume the relevance of these findings [extends] to aging humans ... further research will be critically needed.”

When the researchers examined the brains of the treated elderly mice for an explanation, they noticed that neurons in the hippocampus—a brain area critical for learning and memory—had sprouted more synaptic spines, the points of contact for communication between neurons. Even more striking, the gene-expression pattern in the hippocampi of THC-treated aged mice was radically different from that of untreated elderly mice. “That is something we absolutely did not expect: the old animals [that received] THC looked most similar to the young untreated control mice,” Zimmer says.

The findings raise the intriguing possibility that THC and other “cannabinoids” might act as antiaging molecules in the brain. Cannabinoids include dozens of biologically active compounds found in the Cannabis sativa plant. THC, the most highly studied type, is largely responsible for marijuana’s psychoactive effects. The plant compounds mimic our brain’s own marijuanalike molecules, called endogenous cannabinoids, which activate specific receptors in the brain capable of modulating neural activity. “We know the endogenous cannabinoid system is very dynamic; it goes through changes over the life span,” says Ryan McLaughlin, a researcher who studies cannabis and stress at Washington State University and was not involved in the current work. Research has shown that the cannabinoid system develops gradually during childhood, “and then it blows up in adolescence—you see increased activity of its enzymes and receptors,” McLaughlin says. “Then as we age, it’s on a steady decline.”

That decline in the endogenous cannabinoid system with age fits with previous work by Zimmer and others showing that cannabinoid-associated molecules become more scant in the brains of aged animals. “The idea is that as animals grow old, similar to in humans, the activity of the endogenous cannabinoid system goes down—and that coincides with signs of aging in the brain,” Zimmer says. “So we thought, ‘What if we stimulate the system by supplying [externally produced] cannabinoids?’ ”

That idea does not seem so outlandish, considering the role of cannabinoids in maintaining the body’s natural balance, says Mark Ware, a clinical researcher at McGill University, who was not part of the study. “To anyone who studies the endocannabinoid system, the findings are not necessarily surprising, because the system has homeostatic properties everywhere we look,” meaning its effects may vary depending on the situation. For example, a little marijuana may alleviate anxiety, but too much can bring on paranoid delusions. Likewise, cannabis can spark an appetite in cancer patients but in other people may produce nausea. Thus, the detrimental effects seen in young brains, in which cannabinoids are already plentiful, may turn out to be beneficial in older brains that have a dearth of them.

These chemicals also work to maintain order at the cellular level, McLaughlin says. “We know the endogenous cannabinoid system’s primary function is to try to preserve homeostasis within a given brain circuit. It works like an internal regulator; when there’s too much [neuronal] activity, cannabinoids suppress activity to prevent neurotoxicity.” Restoring that protection might help safeguard the brain against cellular stress that contributes to aging. “A critical takeaway of this study is that they used low doses,” Ware says, considering that different doses could have entirely different effects. It would be difficult, if not impossible, to translate the dose they used in mice to a human equivalent, “but it’s clear we’re not talking about vast amounts. We don’t know what would happen with higher doses.”

Scientists do not know exactly how marijuana affects older adults, in part because they have been focused squarely on younger people, who are thought to be at greatest risk. “Because of the public health concern, research has had a very strong focus on marijuana’s effects in adolescence,” Ware says. But although young people make up the largest group of cannabis users, their rate of use has remained relatively stable over the past decade even as the drug has become increasingly available. Meanwhile use among seniors has skyrocketed as the drug’s stigma has faded. A March study showed that in people aged 50 to 64, marijuana use increased nearly 60 percent between 2006 and 2013. And among adults older than 65, the drug’s use jumped by 250 percent.

The researchers do not suggest seniors should rush out and start using marijuana. “I don’t want to encourage anyone to use cannabis in any form based on this study,” Zimmer says.

Older adults looking to medical cannabis to relieve chronic pain and other ailments are concerned about its side effects, Ware says: “They want to know, Does this cause damage to my brain? Will it impair my memory? If these data hold up in humans, it may suggest that [THC] isn’t likely to have a negative impact if you’re using the right dose. Now the challenge is thrown down to clinical researchers to study that in people.”

Zimmer and his colleagues plan to do just that. They have secured funding from the German government, and after clearing regulatory hurdles, they will begin testing the effects of THC in elderly adults with mild cognitive impairments.
 
First Trials Of Cannabis Treatment For Dementia Begin in Australia

Researches will test the effectiveness of CogniCann, a proprietary oral cannabis spray, as a treatment for aggression and agitation caused by dementia.

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Researchers at the University of Notre Dame in Western Australia want to transform the way we treat dementia and other cognitive impairments associated with old age. And they hope their upcoming study will point the way. In partnership with MGC Pharmaceuticals, the University of Notre Dame’s Institute for Health Research is conducting the first-ever clinical trials to study cannabis as a treatment for dementia and Alzheimer’s symptoms in humans. Over 14 months, researchers will conduct a series of 16-week trials involving a total of 50 participants, all aged 65 and older. The actual clinical trials are currently slated to begin in early 2020, and Phase II is currently underway to recruit eligible participants.

Trailblazing Study Investigates Cannabis as Dementia and Alzheimer’s Treatment

Studies on cannabis that actually involve humans are very few and far between. But late this August, the University of Notre Dame in Western Australia’s (UNDA) Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC) gave the green light to Institute for Health Research scientists to carry out the first clinical trials to study cannabis as a treatment for mild dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. The HREC approval followed the completion of an ethical review, required under Australia’s National Statement on Ethical Conduct in Human Research rules, to ensure the well-being of patients involved in the study. According to Institute for Health Research Director, Prof. Jim Codde, the planning for the study has been extremely detailed and involved, bringing together medical experts, elder care practitioners and industry stakeholders.

UNDA’s Institute for Health Research has partnered with MGC Pharmaceuticals, a pharmaceutical company with operations in Israel, Slovenia, Czech Rep., the UK and Australia, to conduct the study. MGC will supply UNDA researchers with a specially-formulated medical cannabis product called CogniCann.

CogniCann is an oral spray containing a proprietary blend of THC, CBD and other cannabinoids. The formula’s CBD to THC ratio was specifically developed for the treatment of dementia symptoms and to improve related cognitive functions, according to MGC Pharmaceuticals.

Overall, researchers are aiming to enroll 50 participants in the first-ever clinical trials. To qualify, participants must be 65 years or older, living with mild dementia or Alzheimer’s and a resident of an accredited elder care facility.

Health Researches Call Dementia Treatment a National Priority

Researchers will begin the 16-week, randomized, double-blind, crossover, placebo-controlled trials to test the effectiveness of CogniCann in the coming months. Researchers are still recruiting participants from the more than 350,000 Australians currently living with some form of dementia. With that number expected to double in 40 years, and 1.5 million people currently involved in the care of someone with dementia, Institute for Health Research director Jim Codde called research initiatives into dementia “a national priority.”

“We are very excited to work with MGC and the aged care sector to trial this novel approach to improve the quality of life for Australians suffering from this disease that currently has no cure,” Codde said.

The results of the upcoming study could be transformative, for Australia and for the rest of the world. Freeing dementia and Alzheimer’s sufferers from the range of agitation and psychotic symptoms that come with the disease will improve quality of life not just for patients, but for their families, loved ones and caregivers, too.
 
Awesome topic mom. My own 83 YO mom has read this with interest as my dad is declining cognitively.

Anyone who has experienced someone close to them going through this knows just how soul crushing it can be.


Edited to add that speaking with experience cannabis helps the family of the afflicted too. At the 'rents for the holidays......
 
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There is a video with Neva Carmen (who is quoted in the article) that could not be embedded. Follow title link to view

Seniors study aims to find out if medical cannabis can ease common ailments of aging

Pilot study of long-term care residents tests therapeutic effects of cannabidiol on seniors

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Mike Walker visits his wife Karen at a long-term care facility. She suffers from dementia, and is part of a study by Canopy Growth and the Ontario Long Term Care Association to see if CBD oil can help ease some of her symptoms. (CBC)

Mike Walker can no longer have a simple conversation with his wife.

It was just four years ago, at the young age of 52, when Karen was originally diagnosed with dementia. She no longer speaks, and also suffers from agitation and physical outbursts with aggression, which can be common with the disease.

"You just can't give up on somebody, you gotta try whatever means that are out there," Mike says.

Karen has been in a long-term care facility for almost a year, and she's now part of a study by Canopy Growth and the Ontario Long Term Care Association. She is taking 20 milligrams of cannabidiol (CBD) oil twice a day, and Mike believes he has seen her level of agitation improve.

"I mean, she still gets her outbursts, but not near what it used to be. I know that it was a lot more severe there for quite awhile," he says.

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Mike Walker says Karen's agitation and physical outbursts have become less severe since she started taking cannabidiol. (CBC)

As one of the country's largest medical and recreational cannabis companies, Canopy Growth, along with its subsidiary Spectrum Therapeutics, is testing medical cannabis as a possible treatment for patients suffering from pain or cognitive issues.

The research involves 100 seniors in long-term care homes across the province, and the goal is to register another 100. The study is set to continue in Ontario over the next six months.

Residents have been enrolled in waves and the program is expected to wrap up its data collection at the end of the year.

The goal of the research is to determine how effective cannabidiol is at treating some of the ailments common to seniors, and whether there are side effects.

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Cannabidiol (CBD oil) is prepared for a patient with dementia in a long-term care facility in Mississauga, one of the homes in Ontario participating in the seniors study. (Jean-Francois Bisson/CBC)

Mike says he would do anything to help soothe Karen's pain and confusion. Since Karen started taking part in the study, he says he has seen a difference in her behaviour.

"I find her more aware," he says.

On his regular visits, for example, he plays music for her on his cellphone.

"Before, I would take my phone out and she would grab it and throw it across the floor. Now, I hold the phone with music on it and I would show her pictures of her grandkids and she would have a big smile."

Pain, mood and sleep
The recruitment process for the study started last summer. Canopy Growth held information sessions at several long-term care facilities in Ontario, and residents from nearby facilities also came by bus to get more information.

"A lot of seniors struggle with three key areas: pain, mood and sleep," says David Greb, the director of continuing care with Canopy Growth.

"And the potential for cannabis to address a lot of the potential issues around aging is really the biggest population that could see benefit. But it's also a population that hasn't been exposed to a lot of education around cannabis."
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David Greb, the director of continuing care with cannabis supplier Canopy Growth, gives a presentation about the company's cannabidiol study at a seniors home. (CBC)


Greb tells the audience of curious and potential candidates about cannabidiol, the active ingredient in cannabis. He also brings up the story of an elderly woman who almost gave up playing the piano due to physical problems associated with aging.

"Unfortunately, she got osteoarthritis in her hands and she could no longer play piano. So she started using medical cannabis, and within about two months she was able to fully start playing again. And now she says 'I feel like a child again, I can play for hours on end.' I hear these stories over and over."

That pianist is Neva Carmen, 90. She is a resident at a long-term care facility in Paris, Ont.

"It's been a standing joke in my family. My grandson just thinks it's wonderful: 'I have to tell my friends my 90-year-old grandmother is taking marijuana,'" Carmen laughs.

Carmen says she was angry and frustrated when she would sit at the piano and the pain from her arthritis would prevent her from playing.

Within six weeks on the cannabidiol treatment, she says she could feel a difference and her pain was subsiding. Now she plays regularly again for her fellow residents.

Carmen says she's much happier now that the swelling in her hands is down, and she can go back to doing what she loves.

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Neva Carmen, 90, plays for fellow residents at her long-term care facility in Paris, Ont. (CBC)

Mixed results

However, not everyone has had success with the treatment.

Dr. Rhonda Collins works for Revera Homes, a network of seniors residences across Canada. She is helping identify people suitable for the trial, and making sure the residents and their families are well educated on the topic so that they can provide informed consent.

She says so far the results of the trial have been mixed.

"In my practice I've seen people have amazing responses to cannabis. I've seen people have zero response. And I also have seen people have negative responses," Dr. Collins says.

"So that's why it's so important to me that rather than have a few scattered stories from across different sites, we have some rather robust evidence. Like any other drug that we use, any medication that we use — Tylenol, Ibuprofen, you name it — what works for you may not work for me."

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Dr. Rhonda Collins works for Revera Homes, a network of seniors residences across Canada. She says the results of the cannabidiol research study have been mixed. (CBC)

Dr. Collins says she believes the study is exciting, knowing there is a possibility something could improve a resident's quality of life. But she notes that we still need good evidence about both the effects and how safe cannabidiol is.

Dr. Mark Ware is the chief medical officer at Canopy Growth, and he is at the helm of this study, one of many involving medicinal cannabis. He says just like any other medicine, there are several considerations that seniors should keep in mind.

"They're often on other medications, and so the interaction between cannabinoid molecules and their existing medicines is a very important thing to consider. And we metabolize drugs differently, so the dosing may not be the same for an elderly person as it is for somebody who is in their 30s or 40s."



Ware says the goal of the study is to offer an improved quality of life, but also to gather data on the effects of cannabidiol on the range of factors that affect our aging population. Pain management, agitation with dementia, and ability to sleep are all being looked at.

"We know that cannabinoids, at different times during the day, work on some of those factors. So if we combine those things together, if we measure those outcomes, does it lead to an improvement in their overall quality of life?," says Ware.

The research will also set the groundwork for clinical trials to help establish best practices for using medical marijuana in the senior population.

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Dr. Mark Ware, the chief medical officer at Canopy Growth, says the study is examining a number of factors that affect people as they age, to see if treatment with CBD oil can offer an improved quality of life. (CBC)

As for Mike Walker, he ultimately just wants his wife, Karen, to feel better.

"If I can't fix her, at least give her a better quality of life. If she can relax … it's all you can hope for with this disease. If I can get that, then that's closer than what we had last month."
 
CBD Has Been Shown to Increase Blood Flow in Regions of the Brain Linked to Memory

New research from the researchers at the University College London has provided evidence that the cannabis compound called cannabidiol (CBD) can increase blood flow in regions of the brain linked to memory. This is amazing for those suffering from brain disorders that have a great impact on memory such as Alzheimer’s Disease. The parts of the brain associated with memory processing include the hippocampus, amygdala, cerebellum, and prefrontal cortex. Before we get into the research from the team at University College London, let us have a look at the respective regions of the brain.

Regions of The Brain Associated with Memory
  • The Hippocampus: The main function of the hippocampus is dealing with complex memory. The region is involved in storing and making long-term memories more resistant to forgetting. It does this by projecting information to the cortical regions which means that it gives memories meaning and connects them to other memories. The hippocampus also plays a role in the spatial and navigation processing as well as in normal memory recognition.
  • The Amygdala: The main function of the amygdala involves regulating emotions such as fear and aggression. The amygdala plays a role in how memory is stored, which is influenced by hormones. Its’ role includes something known as memory consolidation, which is the process of transferring new memories into long-term memory. The amygdala also facilitates the encoding of memories when the events of those memories involve emotional arousal.
  • The Cerebellum: The main function of the cerebellum regarding memory involves procedural memory, which is a type of implicit memory. The procedural memory assists us with performance, and it is automatically retrieved and utilized for the functioning of our cognition and motor skills. The cerebellum allows us to use procedural memories without conscious control or attention for actions such as typing, tying shoes, and navigating social media platforms.
  • The Prefrontal Cortex: One of the functions of the prefrontal cortex involves storing short-term memory. One of these regions’ most widely accepted functions is that it can encode task-specific information into the working memory. One cool fact of this region with regards to memory is that it is resistant to distractors when encoding information into our memory. This means that it only encodes the stimuli relevant to the task at hand, irrelevant information to the task is therefore excluded in the formation of the working memory for the task.
Types of Long-Term Memory:
Memory is categorized into two groups called the long-term memory and the short-term memory… of which long-term memory has sub-types of memory. Long-term memory is the brains’ system for storing, managing and retrieving information while the short-term memory is the system for keeping something in mind for a short period, which is then either dismissed or transferred to the long-term memory.

  • Explicit memory which requires conscious thought and is what most individuals think of when they think of a memory. This type of memory is made up of episodic memory (which is where personal experiences are stored) and semantic memory (which is where facts and information are stored). An example of this memory includes summoning the facts from a textbook in order to complete an exam.
  • Implicit memory does not require conscious thought and allows individuals to complete tasks and things by rote. This type of memory is often referred to as the automatic memory since the memory is automatically recalled in order function. An example of this memory includes using the different day to day activities such as brushing teeth or getting dressed.
  • Autobiographical memory is a recollection of episodes from an individuals’ life which is formed based on personal experiences, objects, people, events, general knowledge, and facts. This memory has proven to be untrustworthy as the memory evolves to keep up with the times. In other words, how you remember it may not be exactly how it happened. An example of this memory includes thinking back to your childhood pet where the memory depicts the pet bigger than it was.
Now that we are clued up on memory, let us have a look at how the cannabis compound CBD can be used to increase the cerebral blood flow in regions of the brain related to memory.

A Study Shows Evidence That CBD Boosts Blood Flow in the Brain
Cannabidiol (CBD) became the first cannabis-derived compound to be approved by the FDA for medicinal use on conditions such as epilepsy. The FDA approval of the compound means that better research can be conducted on its benefits and effects. Now, a recent study conducted by Dr. Michael Bloomfield and his team stated that CBD may reduce symptoms related to psychosis and anxiety as well as that the hippocampus blood flow increased significantly, even after just one dose.

The same study also yielded evidence that CBD can be used to improve memory function. The common stigma attached to cannabis use includes forgetfulness, which is why the fact that CBD may improve memory seems counterintuitive. Well, it appears that the memory impairment linked to the cannabis compound known as tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) can be negated by the CBD. The study also focused on measuring the effects of CBD through the cerebral blood flow of the areas related to memory processing. The team took on 15 healthy participants with little to no history with cannabis, scanned their brains using a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technique called “arterial spin labeling” and then they administered a placebo or a 600mg capsule of CBD. After the administration of a single dose, the participants were scanned again.

The results displayed that there was a significant increase in blood flow in the hippocampus after the single CBD dose. The study also found out that there was a notable increase in blood flow in the orbitofrontal cortex, which is the part of the brain involved in decision making. The study also noted that there was no increase in blood flow in the surrounding areas of the medial temporal lobe.

Dr. Bloomfield stated that “to our knowledge, this is the first study to find that CBD increases blood flow to key regions involved in memory processing, particularly the hippocampus. If replicated, these results could lead to further research across a range of conditions characterized by changes in how the brain processes memories, including Alzheimer’s disease, where there are defects in the control of blood control flow, along with schizophrenia and post-traumatic stress disorder”.
The results of this randomized control study open the door for researchers to investigate the means of using this discovery to establish effective treatment for conditions related to memory. On top of that, this study offers hope to those who have long believed that their cannabis consumption will ruin their memory processing. However, the study did make use of single doses, which may not mean that the same results will be reached through repeated use. Just as Dr. Bloomfield said, “the precise mechanisms underlying the effects of CBD on memory are unclear”.
 

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