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Cannabis-Based Drugs May Worsen Disease Symptoms
SAWF News | 07/27/2006

According to a research conducted at the University College London, cannabis extracts used in medicines can worsen diseases like epilepsy and Alzheimer's, rather than having a balming effect.

According to a research conducted at the University College London, cannabis extracts used in medicines can worsen diseases like epilepsy and Alzheimer's, rather than having a balming effect.

The researchers said that because of the unpredictable ways the human body reacts to cannabis, and because it is hard to target the drug at specific parts of the body, it could worsen symptoms rather than have the beneficial effects that are intended.

"The problem with cannabis is that there's no way of targeting the drug to any particular place", the BBC quoted professor David Baker, from University College London, as saying.

The research showed that some compounds in cannabis interfere with a natural signaling system in the brain, nerves and immune system.

And the signaling system, which produces its own cannabinoids, plays a role in conditions such as MS, epilepsy, Alzheimer's disease, schizophrenia and Parkinson's disease.

Vincenzo Di Marzo, of Italy's National Research Council, said that he had found that boosting the level of one natural cannabinoid, andandamide, in rats initially appeared to protect the animals from memory loss and nerve degeneration. But if the rise was prolonged, the cannabinoid could be ineffective, or even damaging.

Beat Lutz, of the University of Mainz in Germany found another paradox in models of epilepsy in mice.

The same cannabinoid is normally produced by the body during an epileptic seizure to produce a calming effect. But he found boosting levels could actually worsen seizures.

However, the only cannabis-based drug, which can be used in the UK is a treatment for MS called Sativex, which can only be used after a medical prescription.