Re: Kathleen, thought you might like to see this...

Yes, Thank you, I already have that on my website.


I hope you enjoy the link for the CDC.


http://actionlyme.org

I rearranged the whole thing. I hope you find it amusing.

Kathleen

Cytyzens Agaynst Lyme Cryme wrote:
> ...since you have shown an interest in things (like Lithium)
> which have neuroprotective properties-
> as it relates to neuroborrelosis and the damage it does.
> ================================================
> Pot-Like Drug Multiplies
> Neurons In Brain Growth
> By Christen Brownlee
> Science News Online
> Vol. 168, No. 16
> 10-15-5
>
> In the stoner stereotype, pot smokers and dying brain cells go hand
> in hand. However, new research suggests the situation may be more uplifting
> than that. A drug that functions as concentrated marijuana does may spur
> neurogenesis, the process by which the brain gives birth to new nerve cells.
>
> Previous research had suggested that neurogenesis happens only in
> select locations in the brain, such as the hippocampus, a region involved in
> learning and memory. Some studies have shown that this process is inhibited
> by most illicit drugs, such as cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamine.
> However, says Xia Zhang of the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon,
> marijuanas effect on neurogenesis has not been clear.
>
> He and his colleagues started investigating this mystery by
> searching cell surfaces in live, cultured slices of rat hippocampus for
> receptors that respond to marijuana and a few other similar drugs, called
> cannabinoids. They reasoned that if marijuana affected neurogenesis in the
> hippocampus, then cells in that area must have a way to recognize the drug.
> Sure enough, 95 percent of hippocampus cells responsible for neurogenesis
> showed evidence of cannabinoid 1 (CB1) receptors, one of two receptors that
> respond to cannabinoid drugs.
>
> Next, Zhangs team incubated samples of rat hippocampus with a
> solution containing HU210, a drug that stimulates CB1 receptors with a
> strength 100 times greater than that of pot. Other rat-hippocampus cells
> were incubated with the same solution minus the drug or with AM281, a drug
> that blocks CB1 receptors. After 2 days, the researchers found a significant
> increase in the number of new brain cells in the samples incubated with
> HU210, but no significant increase of such cells in the other samples.
>
> Finally, the researchers injected adult rats with various doses of
> HU210. A single high-dose injection seemed to make no significant difference
> in the number of new nerve cells. However, animals injected with high daily
> doses of the drug over the course of 2 weeks had about 30 percent more
> newborn nerve cells than did rats given AM281 or a solution without either
> drug.
>
> Animals given the 2-week course of HU210 also showed less anxiety
> and depressionlike behavior than did rats not given the drug. When the
> researchers irradiated the rats hippocampi with X rays, which kill off new
> neurons, animals given HU210 responded to these tests much as did animals
> that didnt receive the drug. These results suggest that, while these new
> neurons probably dont increase intelligence, they could be responsible for
> antianxiety and antidepressive effects, says Zhang.
>
> He and his team report their findings in the November Journal of
> Clinical Investigation.
>
> While data suggesting that cannabinoid drugs can accelerate
> neurogenesis are "interesting and potentially promising," its too early to
> tell whether high doses of marijuana over long periods have a similar effect
> on depression and anxiety in people, says Ron Duman, a neuroscientist at
> Yale University. "There is very little clinical evidence demonstrating that
> cannabinoid administration produces an antidepressant response," he says.

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