Marijuana doesn't help Alzheimer's disease

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Feb. 10 (UPI) -- Canadian researchers say their findings challenge the idea marijuana tempers Alzheimer's disease.

Researchers at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver found the treated mice had just as much plaque formation and the same density of neurons as the control group. However, the group given higher doses actually had fewer brain cells.

"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, but we didn't see any benefit at all," study leader Dr. Weihong Song said Monday in statement. "Instead, our study pointed to some detrimental effects."

Song and colleagues used mice carrying human genetic mutations that cause Alzheimer's disease, considered to be a good model for the disease in humans. Over a period of several weeks, some of the Alzheimer's-afflicted mice were given varying doses of HU210 -- the synthetic and much more potent form of compounds in marijuana known as cannabinoids thought to fight the formation of plaques in the brains of Alzheimer's victims. Their memory was then tested.

"Our study shows that HU210 has no biological or behavioral effect on the established Alzheimer's disease model," Song said.

The study was published in Current Alzheimer's Research.