Marijuana And Dire Brain Injury.
Research at the Hebrew College in Israel, reported in the book Nature, shows a cannabinoid, like the important ingredient found in marijuana and produced in the brains of many animals, protects mice from brain injury. Mice that sustained brain wounds were found to have raised levels of a compound known as 2-Arachodonoyl glycerol, or 2-AG. Hypothesizing this cannabinoid was produced to stop damage, the researchers administered more of the compound to wounded mice and found it shielded the brain.
Treatment.
Now , there is not any effective drug for the treatment of dire brain injury. In the U.S, there are almost 52,000 deaths and approximately eighty thousand cases of dreadful incapacity related to dire brain injury each year. There are more than 5.3 million people in the U.S. Existing with incapacities related to dire brain injury numbers far larger than those for multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s illness and Alzheimer’s disease. “Brain injury isn’t an one-shot deal.
The first injury happens from the original hit. Neurochemical wounds could cause secondary damage,” expounded Dr. Ken Strauss of Church College . The secondary aftermath of brain injuries ,eg swelling and the release of dangerous chemicals, can be more damaging than the primary blow, expounded Dr. Esther Shohami, lead writer of the study. The cannabinoid, 2-AG, is said to work in 3 ways. First, it decreases the levels of glutamate, a harmful molecule, released after injury.
2nd , it decreases the quantity of free radicals and TNF ( a chemical that prompts redness ) after injury. Third, it increases the blood supply to the brain. All 3 mechanisms are needed for limiting the damage done after the first injury. “The dose must be really thoroughly controlled,” Dr. Shohami recounted noting that duty is one of a range of reasons why marijuana, which can alter in potential, would probably be an untrustworthy treatment for head wounds.
She added that 2-AG must be administered within a four- to six-hour window after the injury to be useful.
Use In Humans.
Though 2-AG has only been evaluated on animals, Dr. Shohami asserted she didn’t “see any issues with employing a drug from this family to treat patients.” Other cannabinoids have been accepted for use in humans , for example artificial types of THC used to stimulate appetite. Actually, one pharmaceutical firm is making an attempt to develop an analogous drug for humans.
With the help of analysts at the Hebrew Varsity , Pharmos is about to begin the final stage of medical trials of Dexanabinol a drug that’s basically the mirror picture of THC, the important component in marijuana. Because it isn’t precisely like THC, it doesn’t bind to the same part of the brain, and thus doesn’t have the undesired side-effects. However, the drug seems to exert effects similar to other cannabinoids on the brain after injury that is, a lessening in dangerous chemicals and swelling. The 1st 2 phases of medical trials were finished in Israel to test for safety. The 3rd and last segment of the trials is ready to begin in Europe in Jan , followed swiftly by trials in the U.S. “Helmets are for forestalling first injury, and with some luck this work can protect folk from the secondary effects,” Dr. Strauss related.
