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Cannabis Campaigners' Guide News Database result:
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UK: Cannabis may have cancer busting properties
Medical News Today
Wednesday 15 Sep 2004 A new study indicates that the chemical in cannabis that makes us stoned, delta-9-tetrahydrocannibol, might also protect us from cancer. According to researchers, delta-9-tetrahydrocannibol is able to halt the spread of gamma herpes viruses. Gamma herpes viruses have been shown to increase one=92s chances of= developing Kaposis Sarcoma, Burkitts lymphoma and Hodgkins disease. You can read about this latest study in the journal BMC Medicine. The study was carried out by researchers at the University of South Florida. Once a person is infected with the Gamma herpes virus, he/she has it for life =AD it is virtually impossible to get rid of it. The Gamma herpes= viruses are completely different from the herpes simplex virus. Gamma herpes viruses lie dormant inside our white blood cells for many years. Unfortunately, the virus can suddenly become active and start reproducing. As soon as this happens it starts invading other cells, increasing the chances of cancer developing. The researchers found that delta-9-tetrahydrocannibol stopped the sudden reactivation of gamma herpes viruses. The researchers found that mice died when the virus became reactivated. However, the mice which had been injected with delta-9-tetrahydrocannibol survived and did not develop cancer. Delta-9-tetrahydrocannibol has no effect on the herpes simplex-1 virus, the one associated with cold sores. This discovery could lead to the development of new cancer busting drugs. Dr Peter Medveczky said that if a person already has cancer caused by gamma herpes viruses he/she should not start smoking cannabis. The chemical is preventative, not curative. Delta-9-tetrahydrocannibol also weakens your immune system. He also added that these are very preliminary results =AD= much more research is needed. http://news.scotsman.com/health.cfm?id=3D1085472004 High hopes for cannabis in battle to beat cancer CANNABIS could provide an unlikely new weapon in the fight against cancer, new research suggests today. Scientists have discovered that the chemical in the drug which gets users "high" combats cancer-causing viruses. Experiments show that the active cannabis ingredient tetrahydrocannibol (THC) can prevent the activation and replication of gamma herpes viruses. Two of these viruses, the Kaposis sarcoma-associated herpes virus and the Epstein-Barr virus, predispose infected individuals to the cancers Kaposis sarcoma, Burkitt=92s lymphoma and Hodgkin=92s disease. Kaposis sarcoma is especially prevalent among Aids sufferers and is now the most common form of cancer in Africa. Once infected, it is almost impossible to get rid of the viruses as they lie dormant for long periods within white blood cells. The dormant viruses can reactivate, replicating themselves and bursting out of the cells to spread between individuals and cause illness. Scientists at the University of South Florida in the United States found that reactivation was prevented if infected cells were grown in the presence of THC. Cells infected with a mouse gamma herpes virus normally died when the virus reactivated. But they survived when cultured with the cannabinoid compound. Writing in the online journal BMC Medicine, team leader Dr Peter Medveczky and his fellow researchers said: "We believe that studies on cannabinoids and herpes viruses are important to continue because there are obvious benefits. Better understanding may lead to the development of specific non-psychoactive drugs that may inhibit reactivation of cancer-causing herpes viruses."
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