Authors of a new study on the neurological impacts of long-term THC administration say their findings “could be the basis for an effective antiaging and pro-cognitive medication,” noting increased energy and synaptic protein production in mice that received low doses of the chief psychoactive substance in marijuana.
“Long-term low-dose Δ9-THC had an antiaging effect on the brain by restoring cognitive abilities and synapse densities in old mice,” says the new research, published this month in the American Chemical Society journal Pharmacology and Translational Science, adding that the “results suggest that Δ9-THC-induced consecutive bidirectional changes [in the brain] may play a significant role in the positive effect of Δ9-THC treatment against brain aging.”
The study, which was supported by an organization funded by the German government as that country launches its new marijuana legalization policy, also sheds some light on the mechanisms that could underlie the beneficial effects of the cannabis component, though it acknowledges the cause remains “an open question.”
Researchers took older and younger age groups of male mice—four months old and 18 months old—and gave them either THC or a placebo for a period for about a month. Measurements included brain function as well as levels of proteins associated with things like metabolism, memory and aging. One of the main proteins analyzed was mTOR, which influences cognitive performance and a variety of aging-related cell functions across the body, such as growth and metabolism.
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