The Malaysian Insider :: Features
The Malaysian Insider :: Features |
| Study shows casual pot use causes brain abnormalities in the young Posted: 15 Apr 2014 08:08 PM PDT The study to be published today in the Journal of Neuroscience differs from many other pot-related research projects that are focused on chronic, heavy users of cannabis. The collaborative effort between Northwestern University's medical school, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School showed a direct correlation between the number of times users smoked and abnormalities in the brain. "What we're seeing is changes in people who are 18 to 25 in core brain regions that you never, ever want to fool around with," said co-senior study author Dr. Hans Beiter, professor of psychiatry and behavioural sciences at Northwestern University. In particular, the study identified changes to the nucleus accumbens and the nucleus amygdala, regions of the brain that are key to regulating emotion and motivation, in marijuana users who smoke between one and seven joints a week. The researchers found changes to the volume, shape and density of those brain regions. But more studies are needed to determine how those changes may have long-term consequences and whether they can be fixed with abstinence, Beiter said. "Our hypothesis from this early work is that these changes may be an early sign of what later becomes amotivation, where people aren't focused on their goals," he said. The study, which was funded in part by the National Institute on Drug Abuse and the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, comes as access to pot is expanding following 2012 votes in Washington state and Colorado to legalize its recreational use. The drug remains illegal under federal law. Medical pot is allowed in 20 US states. Pot legalisation advocates make the argument that marijuana is safer than alcohol a central part of their campaigns. Other research has found drinking alcohol alters the brain, Beiter said. But while researchers do not know exactly how the mental rewiring seen in pot users affects their lives, the study shows it physically changes the brain in ways that differ from drinking, he said. This latest study fits with other research showing marijuana use has significant effects on young people because their brains are still developing, and Beiter said he has become convinced that marijuana should only be used by people under 30 if they need it to manage pain from a terminal illness. – Reuters, April 16, 2014. |
| Chinese herb beats drug at rheumatoid arthritis, shows study Posted: 15 Apr 2014 05:46 PM PDT The herb has long been used in China to treat the potentially crippling autoimmune disease, which typically strikes hand and foot joints. It is known in Mandarin as lei gong teng and to botanists as Tripterygium wilfordii Hook F. Extracts of the herb have already fired the interest of drug laboratories as they contain hundreds of compounds, including intriguing molecules called diterpenoids which are believed to ease inflammation and immune response. In a study published in the British journal BMJ Open, Chinese researchers recruited 207 patients with rheumatoid arthritis and gave them either the herb, the drug methotrexate (marketed as Rheumatrex or Trexall) or a combination of the two. After six months, the patients were given a doctor's assessment and were also asked if they felt any change. The benchmark for improvement is called the ACR 50 – named after the American College of Rheumatology – which indicates a 50% improvement in the tally of tender or swollen joints and other criteria such as pain and disability. Of the 174 who completed the trial, 55% of those on the herb attained ACR 50, compared to 46% among those treated with methotrexate alone. But the biggest gain was among the group which took the herb-methotrexate combination: nearly 77% of them achieved the ACR 50 measure of improvement. Previous – but small-scale – trials involving thunder god vine have found it scored well against a harmless lookalike called a placebo and an anti-inflammatory called sulfasalazine. But some of that research also flagged potential side effects from the herb. The new study said that side effects this time were roughly similar among the herb and methodrexate users, being mainly gastrointestinal upsets. Among the herb group, some of the women experienced irregular menstruation. The investigation, led by Xuan Zhang, a rheumatologist at the Peking Union Medical College Hospital in Beijing, acknowledged several limitations. One was that the doctors who treated the patients, and the patients themselves, knew what medication was being taken, although outside assessors were brought in to verify the results. Another was that the trial was too short to see if the herb arrested progression of the disease rather than eased the symptoms. A third was that the dose of methotrexate was limited to 12.5 milligrams a week. "This is standard in Asia, although it is common in the West to use higher doses," the paper said. – AFP/Relaxnews, April 16, 2014. |
| You are subscribed to email updates from The Malaysian Insider : Features To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
| Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610 | |
0 ulasan:
Catat Ulasan