SMOKING POT MAY HELP LOWER RISK OF ALZHEIMER'S

WASHINGTON -- Marijuana may help cut the risk of Alzheimer's disease
by reducing inflammation in the brain, according to U.S. researchers.

Tests on rats showed that a compound found in marijuana stopped the
loss of brain cells seen in inflammation and improved the animals' memories.

The findings, presented to a meeting of the Society for Neuro-science
in Atlanta, may help explain some studies that suggest people who
regularly smoked marijuana in the 1960s and 1970s are now less likely
than others the same age to develop Alzheimer's -- the most common
cause of dementia.

And caffeine may have similar effects, said Gary Wenk, a professor of
psychology at Ohio State University. His team used a widely studied
drug called WIN-55212-2, or WIN for short, which is a synthetic
compound similar to marijuana. WIN affects receptors -- molecular
doorways -- on cells that are called cannabinoid receptors.

WIN has been tested against pain and inflammation in diseases such as
Alzheimer's and multiple sclerosis.

Dr. Wenk's team infused the rats' brains with a compound that mimics
the inflammation found in Alzheimer's patients.

They treated some of the rats with WIN daily for those three weeks,
and then tested the rats by making them swim in a water maze -- a
standard test of rodent memory and learning. The older rats that were
given WIN did better on the test.