Cannabis Oil and Alzheimer's
Cannabis Oil and Alzheimer’s South Africa
One in ten South Africans are developing Alzheimer’s disease as they age.
Cannabis oil can be used as an effective treatment in managing Alzheimer’s Disease. A growing body of evidence now exists showing the cannabinoids found in cannabis and in cannabis oil to be neuroprotective. They delay the onset and development of the disease. Cannabis oil can also help with some of the symptoms of Alzheimer’s such as helping patients to sleep through the night. It can reduce inflammation, help with pain, and generally increase the quality of Alzheimer’s sufferers’ symptoms.
This is not medical advice. However, we’ve assembled a lot of information below to help you or your loved find information to cope and manage with this terrible disease. Below you will find patient testimonials, testimonials from doctors, some general videos about Alzheimer’s, and a lot of scientific studies on using cannabis oil as a therapy option for those with Alzheimer’s.
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The evidence is strong that regular, moderate use of cannabis helps to delay the onset and progression of Alzheimer’s disease and other neurodegenerative conditions. – Peter Reynolds, 27th February 2015 (CLEAR Cannabis Law Reform)
“On top of what is already known and treated… pain, sleep, epilepsy, anxiety and these kinds of things, I think that one of the things that is still not being treated with cannabis oil… and I really, really believe in it, and in my lab I have phenomenal results, is dementia and Alzheimer’s.”– Dr David (Dedi) Meiri
What is Alzheimer’s Disease?
Inside the Brain: Unraveling the Mystery of Alzheimer’s Disease: 4 minutes 21 seconds
What is Alzheimer’s Disease? An introduction to the Brain
The human brain is a remarkable organ. Complex chemical and electrical processes take place within our brains that let us speak, move, see, remember, feel emotions, and make decisions.
Neurons and Neurotransmitters
Inside a normal healthy brain, billions of cells called neurons constantly communicate with one another. They receive messages from each other as electrical charges travel down the axon to the end of the neuron. The electrical charges release chemical messengers called neurotransmitters. The transmitters move across microscopic gaps, or synapses, between neurons. They bind to receptor sites on the dendrites of the next neuron. This cellular circuitry enables communication within the brain. Healthy neurotransmission is important for the brain to function well.
How Does Alzheimer’s Affect the Brain?
Alzheimer’s disease disrupts this intricate interplay by compromising the ability of neurons to communicate with one another. The disease over time destroys memory and thinking skills. Scientific research has revealed some of the brain changes that take place in Alzheimer’s disease. Abnormal structures called beta-amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles are classic biological hallmarks of the disease. Plaques form when specific proteins in the neuron’s cell membrane are processed differently.
Enzyme Functions in the Brain
Normally, an enzyme called alpha-secretace snips amyloid precursor protein or APP, releasing a fragment. A second enzyme, gamma-secretase also snips APP in another place. These released fragments are thought to benefit neurons. In Alzheimer’s disease, the first cut is made most often by another enzyme beta-secretace that, combined with the cut made by gamma-secretase, results in the release of short fragments of APP called beta-amyloid. When these fragments clump together, they become toxic and interfere with the function of neurons. As more fragments are added, these oligomers increase in size and become insoluble, eventually forming beta-amyloid plaques.
Neurofibrillary tangles
Neurofibrillary tangles are made when a protein called tau is modified in normal brain cells. Tau stabilizes structures critical to the cell’s internal transport system. Nutrients and other cellular cargo are carried up and down the structures called microtubules to all parts of the neuron. In Alzheimer’s disease, abnormal tau separates from the microtubules, causing them to fall apart. Strands of this tau combine to form tangles inside the neuron, disabling the transport system, and destroying the cell. Neurons, In certain brain regions, disconnect from each other and eventually die, causing memory loss. As these processes continue, the brain shrinks and loses function.
There is Still Much to Learn About Alzheimer’s
We now know a great deal about changes that take place in the brain with Alzheimer’s disease, but there is still much to learn. What other changes are taking place in the aging brain and its cells, and what influence do other diseases, genetics, and lifestyle factors have on the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease? As the brain and body age, scientific research is helping to unravel the mystery of Alzheimer’s and related brain disorders. As we learn more, researchers move ever closer to discovering ways to treat and ultimately prevent this devastating fatal disease.
Testimonials from Patients about Cannabis Oil and Alzheimer’s
Her daughter gave her mom cannabis oil for Alzheimer’s.
Researchers Investigate Cannabis Compounds to Treat Dementia 3 minutes 48 seconds
People are turning to Cannabis Oil for Alzheimer’s and Dementia
It’s not just cancer. Some people are also turning to cannabis to treat dementia and Alzheimer’s. But the drug is untested. In fact, the federal government calls it illegal. But only on 5: Some children and their aging parents tell Betty Yu it’s a game-changer.
Lucy Hanson takes Cannabis Oil for Alzheimer’s
A few times a day, 92-year-old Lucy Hanson takes a little capsule. In it – medical marijuana. They call it my happy pill and I call it my happy pill. Not too long ago, Lucy was confused, falling down, and speaking jibberish. Her daughter brought her to a neurologist. And, they came back with a diagnosis of advanced dementia. We thought we’d only have her for another 6 months. Enter Eloise Theisen , a nurse practitioner specializing in cannabis medicine. Seniors are the fastest-growing demographic of cannabis users. She weaned Lucy off of some medications, and then put her on CBD. CBD is a non-intoxicating form of cannabis-derived from hemp. Lucy’s had one of the most dramatic responses with the use of cannabis. I got my mom back I know it sounds crazy, but it seems as if I were given back a life. KPIX five has spoken to several different caregivers who recount similar experiences. I would give her a couple of hits of cannabis off a little glass pipe.
Steve Deangelo heads up Harborside, a medical cannabis dispensary. His late mother had Alzheimer’s, which is incurable. He says cannabis helped her. She would become less physically agitated. It was really an overnight miracle.
Basil and Farah Shaaban’s mother Tagrid was also diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. As her symptoms worsened, doctors put her on antipsychotic drugs. She was already in a really fragile state and these drugs came in and they literally destroyed her. Whatever she had left of her, the brothers convinced family members to let them try CBD. Their mother’s personality returned. Her agitation and insomnia disappeared. We were so relieved that she would finally be able to sleep. Tagrid is off antipsychotics. Her doctors are curious. They’re consulting with us to try to understand what it is that we did and how they can learn from it, and apply it in their own practice.
Cannabis Oil Research
Now an intriguing study suggests cannabis may actually protect the brain. We were looking at botanicals. Scientist Dave Schubert works at the Salk institute in La Jolla. He studies diseases like Alzheimer’s. Alzheimer’s is the only one where there is absolutely no reasonable therapy. In a dish, Schubert and his team grew nerve cells taken from a human brain. They were altered to produce high levels of a toxic protein linked to Alzheimer’s. The protein – Amyloid Beta – builds up within the neuron, causing inflammation. It’s a major driving force. Schubert found cannabis cleared away the toxic protein. It stopped the inflammation and allowed the brain cells to survive. It’s a very important discovery. Doctor Michael Weiner is an Alzheimer’s researcher at the SFVA Medical Center. This is a very promising area of research and it should be explored in Humans. Until then people shouldn’t try to take marijuana for some medical benefit that’s not proven. The problem: marijuana remains illegal under federal law, making it tough to study. Schubert believes that slowed down progress. It slowed it down a tremendous amount.
Lucy’s daughter is clear. If we had waited for it to be carefully studied my mom would be dead. As for Lucy, don’t you dare take it away from me.
Watch the transformation in someone diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease after taking cannabis oil.
Cannabis and Alzheimer’s Disease – Short Documentary: 4 minutes 05 seconds
A Woman with Alzheimer’s
You’re about to witness a video of an elderly lady who no longer recognizes her living room nor even her own son.
You don’t know how you’re related to me?
Alzheimer’s Disease is Erasing her Memories
This lady is not just getting old, her memories are being erased by a disease that’s causing her brain to physically wither away and die. Alzheimer’s disease. Within a normal healthy brain there are cells that pass messages from one area to another. When grandparents speak about the good old days, it is thanks to these cells connecting their memory hub with their centers of speech.
How Does Alzheimer’s Disease Affect Neurons?
If you look closely, you’ll see that the message must pass across a small space between each cell. In Alzheimer’s patients this space becomes clogged by an abnormal structure and communication comes to a halt. Furthermore, the long thin part of the cell that the message passes across, is destroyed from within due to a change in an important protein. This causes the cell to shrivel and die leaving behind what scientists call and neurofibrillary tangle. The tangle, in conjunction with the plaques that prevent cellular communication, are the two features that define Alzheimer’s disease.
Cannabis Oil is a Promising Treatment for Alzheimer’s
There are currently no effective treatments for Alzheimer’s, though there’s one promising frontier: Cannabis. Chemicals in cannabis, including THC are now at the frontier of Alzheimer’s research because they have potential to reduce, and prevent, the formation of Alzheimer’s plaques. If plaque formation can be slowed or halted, as recent studies suggest, and if patients can be diagnosed early enough, then the potential exists to prevent debilitating and lethal forms of Alzheimer’s.
CBD is Effective in Mouse Models of Alzheimer’s
Cannabidiol, another cannabis chemical, has been found effective in improving symptoms in mouse models of Alzheimer’s. A recent Australian study concluded that the mouse model findings could easily be followed up in clinical trials since CBD is well tolerated by humans.
The Media got the Headlines Wrong
Despite the promising research however the news is not all good. In July 2015 a series of media articles reported that cannabis had been proven ineffective in treating Alzheimer’s disease. The only problem with the headlines is that they were not true. The study they were referring to was commissioned to determine the safety of THC pills for persons with dementia as well as other technical data. The conclusion reached was that the pills were safe and that further human studies with higher doses were warranted. Thankfully, not everyone is fooled by the headlines.
Cannabis Oil’s Effect on Alzheimer’s Patient
It’s such a difference now from a half hour ago. Oh, what was a half hour ago? You were pacing back and forth not believing this was your house and you “had to get out of here”. “A half hour ago?”. “Yes, ma’am. Yup.”
“Holy Hannah!”
Cannabis Oil changes her mom’s clarity of thought after only 45 minutes of taking the oil
CBD and Dementia – Powerful Interview with a Senior Citizen: 3 minutes 22 seconds
Thank you for having us in your home today, Sandy.
Complete pleasure. Thrilled you’re here. I just want to start off with the story about your mother and where you are today.
Mom Diagnosed with Alzheimer’s
Yeah, My mom’s 91. I can tell you she’s the mom of three, grandma to five. She has been on her own for a really long time. It’s also important to note that she’s never had an operation, never a bit of medication until 89/90, then we started to see a change. So now fast forward… She’s been diagnosed with dementia.
Medications Prescribed for Alzheimer’s were Ineffective
So now she’s taking medicine for anxiety and things like that, that the medical community looks at to not end dementia, because we’re told that they can’t end it, but simply to control it. I can honestly say that any of the meds, I haven’t noticed like a physical improvement, or that much even of an emotional or mental improvement.
How Did you Experience Your Mom’s Dementia?
So sandy can you explain to us a little bit more about dementia for families out there that don’t understand what dementia is and how bad it really got?
First was the memory loss, then it was the grouchiness, then it was the confusion, then she was suicidal, and that was the worst. Ringing up and saying, “I don’t belong on the planet, I really want to go”, she decided to go missing one afternoon for two and a half hours.
Oh my gosh.
And the last thing she said before she slammed the phone down was, “I’m gonna go walk in front of a bus or a car”. So, luckily, chatting with you, you said I want your mom to try this. Do you remember?
Yeah, I do.
Using CBD Oil for Alzheimer’s Gave Results in 45 Minutes
I grabbed the bottle of CBD, had her over the next day, spent the day here at home with me, just because I wanted to monitor. Within 45 minutes she came to me and said, “What’s going on?”. And I thought, oh… then I thought… something might be going a bit astray.
So, she noticed a difference within 45 minutes?
She did. I said, “What’s going on mum?”, and it was like strain melted from her face, she put her hands up on her temples, and she’s walking around saying “I can think, I can think”.
That’s so powerful.
And I still got shivers, even just telling you. We all looked around and said, “What can you think? What are you thinking? She goes, “I can think clearly. I’m here. I’m here for lunch.”
You have to realize, when she was in the hospital, she barely knew her name. I’ve got to say that the side effect that we’ve seen is our happiness, and massive relief at how normal mum is again, how she can think, how she can complete a sentence. She can knit again. She can sew again. That’s where the CBD clawed her back, but it was almost instantaneously. It was like talking to a 65-year-old energetic person. But that’s why our gratitude to you is off the charts. Thank you very, very, much for devoting your life to doing this, for helping so many. And on a very personal level to me, for giving me my mom back, well, thank you so much.
Lillian Wallace
How an Alzheimer’s Disease patient’s wife manages her husband’s Alzheimer’s symptoms.
She replaced her husband’s prescribed cocktail of medications and supplements with coconut oil and cannabis oil.
“Learn all you can, you’re being lied to….Wake Up!”
Benefits of CBD Oil for Alzheimer’s Patients: 6 minutes 42 seconds
How Cannabis oil allowed one Alzheimer’s sufferer to sleep through the night and alleviated his symptoms.
Can Cannabis Help Alzheimer’s Patients? 3 minutes 07 seconds
Marijuana, a Treatment for Alzheimer’s
A treatment for Alzheimer’s disease remains elusive, and so does an effective way of dealing with some of its worst symptoms like agitation and aggression. But as Connecting Points’ Arun Rath reports one family in Eastern Mass found medical marijuana helped significantly. Now they’re funding a study to determine if it could work for others.
Diagnosed with Alzheimer’s
Gregg Spears’ dad Alex lived an amazing life. He was a prisoner of war during World War Two. He fought for the Dutch underground army and was captured at basically 14 and a half, fifteen years old, and spent three years in the concentration camps. He survived because he learned to be a watchmaker. He used to fix watches for the German soldiers in exchange for food and water. After the war, Alex returned from the nightmare of the Holocaust to the dream of America, bringing nothing but that skill with watches to start a jewelry, store raising the family, and then making his fortune in real estate. It was a life well-lived, it just didn’t end well. Alzheimer’s disease saw to that. Alex Spear spent the last year of his life in rapid decline progressing quickly from memory loss to more difficult symptoms like agitation and aggression, and the delusion that he was reliving the nightmare of the concentration camp. It was just horrible to see those sort of memories that had been suppressed his entire life coming back.
Turning to Marijuana for Alzheimer’s When Nothing Else Worked
When nothing else worked, a family member suggested trying medical marijuana. The first night that we gave it to him was the first night that he slept through the night in, I would say, weeks. It was remarkable, you know, whatever time we had with him, you know, with a significant dementia patient, if you get the glimmer of hope every once in a while, to see that your loved one is still around is really a special time.
Studies on Marijuana for Alzheimer’s Disease
The family’s experience was a particularly Dr. Brent Forester who had completed a study showing the active ingredient in marijuana seemed to reduce agitation in a small group of dementia patients. The FDA to this day has never approved a single medication to treat any of the behavioural symptoms of dementia. Any medicine we would use to help calm or reduce those symptoms is all off-label, and when it comes to marijuana, there’s no federal funding for medical research.
I kind of felt it was like a trial and error with my father, being kind of like the human guinea pig. But long before he got sick, Alex Spear started a charitable foundation that supports medical research. The Spear Family Foundation is now funding a study Dr. Forrester will design that will explore marijuana as a treatment for the behavioural effects of dementia.
My father kind of lived his life and one of his little mottos was, I want to leave the world a better place than I found it. Between the Holocaust and Alzheimer’s, life took a lot away from Alex Spear, but even in death, he’s found a way to give a lot back.
Cannabis Oil and Alzheimer’s Videos – General
Researches may have found a away to treat patients with Alzheimer’s.
Inside the Brain: Unraveling the Mystery of Alzheimer’s Disease: 4 minutes 21 seconds
Scientific Studies on the Effectiveness of Using Cannabis for Alzheimer’s
Studies And Clinical Trials
2003. The US government holds patent US6630507, ‘Cannabinoids as antioxidants and neuroprotectants’:
“…for example in limiting neurological damage following ischemic insults, such as stroke and trauma, or in the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease and HIV dementia.”
– Patent: Cannabinoids as antioxidants and neuroprotectants, US 6630507 B1, 2003.
http://www.google.co.uk/patents/US6630507
2006. THC has been shown to inhibit the progression of Alzheimer’s more effectively than any currently prescribed pharmaceutical product.
– A molecular link between the active component of marijuana and Alzheimer’s disease pathology. Mol Pharm. 2006
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17140265
2007. British Journal of Pharmacology:
“Cannabinoids offer a multi-faceted approach for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease by providing neuroprotection and reducing neuroinflammation, whilst simultaneously supporting the brain’s intrinsic repair mechanisms…”
– Alzheimer’s disease; taking the edge off with cannabinoids? BJP, 2007.
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1038/sj.bjp.0707446/abstract
2012. Andras Bilkei-Gorzo of the University of Bonn:
“…elevation of cannabinoid receptor activity either by pharmacological blockade of the degradation of cannabinoids or by receptor agonists could be a promising strategy for slowing down the progression of brain ageing and for alleviating the symptoms of neurodegenerative disorders.”
– The endocannabinoid system in normal and pathological brain ageing, Phil.Trans.R.Soc.B, 2012.
http://www.medicinalgenomics.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/Cannabinoids-and-Brain-Ageing.pdf
“The chronic administration of non-selective cannabinoids may delay the onset of cognitive deficits in AD patients; this will dramatically reduce the socio-economic burden of AD and improve the quality of life of the patients and their families.”
– Can the benefits of cannabinoid receptor stimulation on neuroinflammation, neurogenesis and memory during normal aging be useful in AD prevention? J Neuroinflammation. 2012.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3284401/
2014. Professor Gary Wenk, of Ohio State University:
“…using low doses of marijuana for prolonged periods of time at some point in your life, possibly when you’re middle-aged to late middle-aged, is probably going to slow the onset or development of dementia, to the point where you’ll most likely die of old age before you get Alzheimer’s.”
– How Smoking Marijuana Might Be The Best Way To Prevent Alzheimer’s Disease, Leaf Science,
2014.
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/your-brain-food/201411/marijuana-alzheimer-s-disease
2014. Steven Fagan of the University of Dublin:
“Pharmacological modulation of the endocannabinoid system has been shown to reduce chronic activation of the neuroinflammatory response, aid in Ca2+ homeostasis, reduce oxidative stress, mitochondrial dysfunction and the resulting proapoptotic cascade, while promoting neurotrophic support.”
– The influence of cannabinoids on generic traits of neurodegeneration. British Journal of Pharmacology, 2014.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24172185/
2014. Chuanhai Cao of the University of South Florida:
“These sets of data strongly suggest that THC could be a potential therapeutic treatment option for Alzheimer’s disease through multiple functions and pathways.”
– The potential therapeutic effects of THC on Alzheimer’s disease. J Alzheimer’s Dis. 2014.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25024327
About Cannabis Oil South Africa
Cannabis Oil is also known as THC Oil, Hemp Oil, Dagga Oil, Weed Oil, Fully Extracted Cannabis Oil (Feco), Hash Oil, Phoenix Tears Oil, commonly misspelt as Fenix Tears. Cannabis Oil South Africa supplies Phoenix Tears Cannabis Oil, a full extract cannabis oil. Based in Johannesburg, we sell cannabis oil with delivery to the whole of South Africa, including Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban. Click here for our shop.
