Feb 12 2010
Seniors Smoking Pot: Lost and Loster
When I first read the article title, my reaction was, “What were they thinking?”
Marijuana Ineffective as an Alzheimer’s Treatment
Giving elderly folk with Alzheimer’s a bong and telling them to “have at it”? I can just imagine them walking the streets, even more confused.
Alright. Sorry. I’m obviously in a Friday state of mind. This was science, so there was no bong smoking by senior citizens. It was an experiment. On mice actually. And here’s what happened:
Over a period of several weeks, some of the Alzheimer’s-afflicted mice were given varying doses of HU210 — also known as cannabinoids — which is 100 to 800 times more potent than the marijuana compounds. Their memory was then tested.
While previous research had suggested marijuana may help alleviate symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease, the results of this test were . . . null. No benefits. And some detrimental effects.
A member of the research team said,
“As scientists, we begin every study hoping to be able to confirm beneficial effects of potential therapies, and we hoped to confirm this for the use of medical marijuana in treating Alzheimer’s disease.”
Yes, hope for an effective treatment for a horrible disease. Seems that scientists do have hearts.
