Brain cancer gets the munchies from pot and eats itself!

[Dakota]

While looking at the "News in Pictures" thread, I got curious about one of the images and checked out info related to it.

Marijuana grows under lights. The main chemical in marijuana
appears to aid in the destruction of brain cancer cells, offering
hope for future anti-cancer therapies, researchers in Spain
wrote in a study released today.

The active chemical in marijuana promotes the death of brain cancer cells by essentially helping them feed upon themselves, researchers in Spain report.

Guillermo Velasco and colleagues at Complutense University in Spain have found that the active ingredient in marijuana, THC, causes brain cancer cells to undergo a process called autophagy. Autophagy is the breakdown of a cell that occurs when the cell essentially self-digests.

The team discovered that cannabinoids such as THC had anticancer effects in mice with human brain cancer cells and people with brain tumors. When mice with the human brain cancer cells received the THC, the tumor growth shrank.

Two patients enrolled in a clinical trial received THC directly to the brain as an experimental treatment for recurrent glioblastoma multiforme, a highly aggressive brain tumor. Biopsies taken before and after treatment helped track their progress. After receiving the THC, there was evidence of increased autophagy activity.

The patients did not have any toxic effects from the treatment. Previous studies of THC for the treatment of cancer have also found the therapy to be well tolerated, according to background information in journal article.

Study authors say their findings could lead to new strategies for preventing tumor growth.

http://www.webmd.com/cancer/brain-cancer/news/20090401/marijuana-chemical-may-fight-brain-cancer

"Our findings support that safe, therapeutically efficacious doses of THC may be reached in cancer patients," Guillermo Velasco of Complutense University in Madrid and colleagues reported in the Journal of Clinical Investigation.

The findings add to mixed evidence about the effects of marijuana on human health. Studies have suggested the drug can raise a person's risk of heart attack or stroke and cause cancer.

Other research has shown benefits, such as staving off Alzheimer's, and many doctors view THC as a valuable way to treat weight loss associated with AIDS, and nausea and vomiting associated with chemotherapy in cancer patients.

Velasco and his team's study included an analysis of two tumors from two people with a highly aggressive brain cancer which showed signs of autophagy after receiving THC.

The researchers said the findings could pave the way for cannabinoid-based drugs to treat cancer, although that approach has so proved unsuccessful when it comes to obesity.

Sanofi-Aventis SA in November terminated further development of its cannabinoid drug Acomplia, and Pfizer Inc, Merck & Co Inc and Belgium's Solvay have also scrapped similar products recently over health fears.

The drugs, which work by blocking the same receptors in the brain that make people hungry after smoking marijuana, have also been linked to psychiatric side effects, such as depression and suicidal thoughts.

http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSTRE5307VK20090401

 

[thatsmallgrl]

I find that very interesting. How funny that something that is soo taboo could help save lives.

One a side note.. I've been getting migraines since I was about 9. So about 17 years now. I've been given every Rx in the world for them. About every six months I get immune to it. The only thing I have ever found to work every time, is pot. And how do I tell my doctor that? And what sucks is now I can't do that anymore becuase of the industry I work in, if you get busted once you are out forever. Stupid random testing.

 

[Just my luck sucks]

smallgirl- can't you get a RX for the pot? I had a friend that was given pot in capsule form to fight off the after affects of chemo. Didn't make him high, just helped with his appetite and since he had an RX the pee tests at work were not a problem.

 

[thatsmallgrl]

I'm not too sure about that. I don't have cancer or anything. Just chronic migraines. It just sounds silly to tell my doctor that pot is the only thing that gets rid of them on the spot you know.

 

[evervigilant]

It helps relax my muscles and joints , and it does help keep weight up too . I'll have a lovely harvest in 8 weeks or so lol .

 

[Athena]

NY has no medical marijuana laws, so you can't get a prescription. But if you want to bring it up to your doctor to discuss alternatives, go right ahead. Your doctor won't turn you in, and it may spark some valuable dialogue.

 

[Dark Star]

Dakota....far out that you went on with this story after seeing the picture. I totally love doing the "News in Picture" thread.

As someone who totally finds marijuana to be an excellent medication for multiple maladies, and losing both parents to types of brain tumors/cancer, I found this information wonderful. Marijuana=Medication.

In the words of Mr. Peter Tosh.....Legalize it - don't criticize it
Legalize it and i will advertise it roud2: