Alzheimer's Not Playing Favorites: Pat Summitt Diagnosed

Here are research article titles about cannabinoids and neurology found at PubMed.gov:

Cannabidiol and other cannabinoids reduce microglial activation in vitro and in vivo: relevance to Alzheimer's disease.

Cannabidiol for the treatment of psychosis in Parkinson's disease.

Cannabinoids inhibit neurodegeneration in models of multiple sclerosis.

Cannabis and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: hypothetical and practical applications, and a call for clinical trials.

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: delayed disease progression in mice by treatment with a cannabinoid.

Marijuana in the management of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

Cannabinoids and neuroprotection in motor-related disorders.

Cannabinoids and neuroprotection in basal ganglia disorders.

Increasing cannabinoid levels by pharmacological and genetic manipulation delay disease progression in SOD1 mice.

Cannabinoids as therapeutic agents for ablating neuroinflammatory disease.

Cannabidiol and (-)Delta9-tetrahydrocannabinol are neuroprotective antioxidants.

Whole plant cannabis extracts in the treatment of spasticity in multiple sclerosis: a systematic review.

Cannabidiol reduced the striatal atrophy caused 3-nitropropionic acid in vivo by mechanisms independent of the activation of cannabinoid, vanilloid TRPV1 and adenosine A2A receptors.

Neural basis of anxiolytic effects of cannabidiol (CBD) in generalized social anxiety disorder: a preliminary report.

Cannabidiol, a Cannabis sativa constituent, as an antipsychotic drug.

Role of cannabinoids in the treatment of pain and (painful) spasticity.

The Multiplicity of Action of Cannabinoids: Implications for Treating Neurodegeneration.

Effect of dronabinol on central neuropathic pain after spinal cord injury: a pilot study.

Cannabinoids as neuroprotective agents in traumatic brain injury.

Nonpsychoactive cannabidiol prevents prion accumulation and protects neurons against prion toxicity.

Treatment with cannabidiol reverses oxidative stress parameters, cognitive impairment and mortality in rats submitted to sepsis by cecal ligation and puncture.

Cannabidiol prevents a post-ischemic injury progressively induced by cerebral ischemia via a high-mobility group box1-inhibiting mechanism.

Delayed treatment with cannabidiol has a cerebroprotective action via a cannabinoid receptor-independent myeloperoxidase-inhibiting mechanism.

The dual neuroprotective-neurotoxic profile of cannabinoid drugs.

Cytokine production in the brain following closed head injury: dexanabinol (HU-211) is a novel TNF-alpha inhibitor and an effective neuroprotectant.

Cannabidiol prevents cerebral infarction via a serotonergic 5-hydroxytryptamine1A receptor-dependent mechanism.

The neuroprotective effect of cannabidiol in an in vitro model of newborn hypoxic-ischemic brain damage in mice is mediated by CB(2) and adenosine receptors.

Acute administration of cannabidiol in vivo suppresses ischaemia-induced cardiac arrhythmias and reduces infarct size when given at reperfusion.

A pilot study using nabilone for symptomatic treatment in Huntington's disease.

Cannabinoid CB2 receptor agonists protect the striatum against malonate toxicity: relevance for Huntington's disease.

Neuroprotective potential of CB1 receptor agonists in an in vitro model of Huntington's disease.

Role of CB2 receptors in neuroprotective effects of cannabinoids.

Cannabis in painful HIV-associated sensory neuropathy: a randomized placebo-controlled trial.

Smoked medicinal cannabis for neuropathic pain in HIV: a randomized, crossover clinical trial.

Cannabinoids inhibit HIV-1 Gp120-mediated insults in brain microvascular endothelial cells.

Cannabidiol displays antiepileptiform and antiseizure properties in vitro and in vivo.

The endocannabinoid system should be explored further regarding its role in neurodegenerative disorders. The endocannabinoid system's ability to induce neuroprotection may result from an interaction between the cannabinoid receptors and proteins involved in apoptosis. Cannabis and cannabinoid therapies have the potential to treat and prevent many diseases, like ALS, Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, Huntington's disease, prion diseases, epilepsy, HIV dementia, multiple sclerosis, traumatic brain injury, depression, anxiety, insomnia, strokes, stroke damage, lupus, Tourette's syndrome, bipolar disorder, PTSD, Crohn's disease, osteoporosis, diabetes, diabetes complications, atherosclerosis, MRSA, glaucoma, pain, various cancers, radiation and cancer chemotherapy-induced organ damage and emesis, et al. Cannabinoid therapies can probably be safer, and more effective, than many pharmaceuticals for many conditions. Research articles that support the medicinal properties of cannabinoids can be retrieved from PubMed.gov.

The cannabinoid CBD is illegal, even though it is non-psychoactive, non-toxic, potentially medically-useful, and able to attenuate THC’s effects. CBD-rich strains of Cannabis give patients the option of obtaining relief without having to deal with unwanted psychoactive effects. CBD is unavailable in pharmaceutical preparations, though pure THC pills are available. Pure THC pills are not useful for many conditions, as they are not meant for vaporization, not prescribed by many doctors for any reason, and not as tolerable and medically-useful as Cannabis (because Cannabis contains other cannabinoids and terpenes). Legal THC pills are also very expensive (generic pills cost around six dollars per pills); legal Cannabis doses could be grown for pennies. The illegal status of CBD (along with the legal availability of tobacco and alcohol) gives credibility to the notion that Cannabis’ illegality has less to do with public health and safety, and more to do with corrupt and hypocritical politics.

Tobacco is grown with radioactive fertilizers. (epa.gov/radiation/sources/tobacco.html) Nicotine helps promote lung cancer. (Nishioka, T. et al., 2011) Researchers at UCLA searched for a link between smoking Cannabis and COPD and lung cancer; they found none. (Tashkin, D. et al., 2006) Regardless, Cannabis does not need to be smoked, as vaporizers, tinctures, ointments, pills, extractions, and other non-smoking ingestion methods can be used. The antioxidant and neuroprotectant effects of cannabinoids were even patented by the U.S. Federal government in U.S. Patent #6,630,507; it specifically mentions Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases.