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Switzerland: Cannabis can slow narrowing of arteries

Nigel Hawkes

The Times

Thursday 07 Apr 2005

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THE active ingredient in cannabis protects arteries against harmful changes
that lead to strokes and heart attacks, new research suggests.

THC, or delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol, is known to affect the brain and make
cannabis-users 'high'. The new research shows that it also has an influence
on blood vessels.

A study of mice revealed that the compound blocks the process of
inflammation, which is largely responsible for the narrowing of arteries.

Inflammation combines with fatty deposits to produce obstructive 'plaques',
a condition known as atherosclerosis. These can block arteries to the
heart, causing angina and heart attacks, or to the brain, leading to
strokes. Atherosclerosis is the primary cause of heart disease and stroke
in the Western world, accounting for up to half the deaths from both
conditions.

The scientists, led by Francois Mach, from Geneva University Hospital in
Switzerland, studied a strain of specially bred mice that are susceptible
to narrowing of the arteries. They were fed a high-cholesterol diet to make
them develop atherosclerotic plaques. Adding THC to their diet caused the
growth of the obstructions in their arteries to slow markedly after 11
months. When the mice were given a chemical that blocked the action of THC,
their arteries continued to narrow at a fast rate.

Writing in Nature, the scientists point out that the THC doses used were
low - too low to cause the mice to get 'high'. They wrote: 'Our results
suggest that cannabinoid derivatives with activity at the CB2 receptor may
be valuable clinical targets for treating atherosclerosis.'

Michael Roth, an American critical-care expert from the University of
California at Los Angeles, urged caution when considering cannabis as a
heart disease therapy.

'The findings...are striking, but they should not be taken to mean that
smoking marijuana is beneficial to the heart,=94 Professor Roth wrote in an
accompanying article. 'The dose response curve to THC in this study was
very narrow and U-shaped, with higher and lower concentrations failing to
produce protective effects.

'It would be difficult to achieve such specific concentrations in the blood
by smoking marijuana. Also, no studies have been performed in humans to
evaluate the effects of THC on atherosclerosis.'

He added that the effects of THC on the brain, where it binds to a
different receptor protein, could counteract its benefit to the heart.

THE DOPE ON MARIJUANA
# The cannabis plant grows wild in many parts of the world. Cultivation
dates back thousands of years

# Cannabis-based drugs are being developed to treat the symptoms of
multiple sclerosis and to serve as painkillers for a variety of conditions,
including cancer

# The decision by the Home Office to categorise cannabis as a soft drug is
being reconsidered after long-term studies suggested that it increases the
risk of schizophrenia

# Present-day cannabis, the result of selective breeding, is reckoned to be
more potent than that smoked by the flower-power generation

 

 

 

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