A recent study showed that giving mice long-term, low-dose marijuana can reverse brain aging and improve cognitive ability. I believe this may bring new Anti-aging Treatment of the human brain Researchers at Bonn University Hospital and University of Bonn In Germany, with Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
The study published in ACS Pharmacology & Translational Sciences found that tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the active ingredient in marijuana, restores cognition and increases synapse formation to affect the brain.
Professor Dr. Andreas Zimmer, Director of the Institute of Molecular Psychiatry at UKB, said: “Anti-aging strategies based on reducing mTOR activity may not only be ineffective but even counterproductive. In our current work we have now found a strategy to resolve this dilemma.”
In their earlier studies, the team showed that THC improved cognition in older mice. The new study takes a deeper look at how THC affects mTOR signaling and metabolome which includes all metabolic properties of a cell. The results are surprising. In the brain THC causes increased mTOR activity by promoting energy production and formation synaptophysin thereby improving cognitive abilities.
On the other hand, the scientists discovered reductions in mTOR activity and metabolism that imitated what low calorie intake or strenuous activities do in adipose tissues. “The study demonstrates that drugs against aging and improving mental capacities can be based on both metabolome and mTOR activity,” Doctor Andras Bilkei-Gorzo explained to us.
