A Geneva University study shows that THC, the active ingredient in marijuana, helps prevent coronary artery disease in mice. This is good news for dope smoking mice, indeed.
Cannabis Compound Slows Artery Disease in Mice (Reuters)
An active ingredient in cannabis can ease inflammation and slow the progression of coronary artery disease in mice, and possibly humans, researchers said on Wednesday. Daily low doses of the ingredient, THC, prevented atherosclerosis, a primary cause of heart disease and stroke in western countries, without producing the associated high. “We have proven that very low doses of cannabis therapy will have an anti-inflammatory effect that will slow the progression of atherosclerosis in mice,” said Dr Francois Mach, of Geneva University Hospital in Switzerland.
He and his team do not know whether TCH, or delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol, will have the same effect in humans. But they believe the discovery will help find compounds that produce the same effect in humans without side effects such as raised blood pressure or euphoria. “The goal now is to find new molecules, new compounds, that will act only on this anti-inflammatory effect,” Mach told Reuters. Atherosclerosis is a common disorder of the arteries. Fatty materials build up and eventually block the arteries and interfere with blood flow.
No, officer, that’s not mine–it’s for my pet mouse.
