Marijuana Compound May Help Stop Diabetic Retinopathy
A compound found in marijuana won’t make you high but it may help keep your eyes healthy if you’re a diabetic, researchers say.
Early studies indicate cannabidiol works as a consummate multi-tasker to protect the eye from growing a plethora of leaky blood vessels, the hallmark of diabetic retinopathy, says Dr. Gregory I. Liou, molecular biologist at the Medical College of Georgia.
“We are studying the role of cannabinoid receptors in our body and trying to modulate them so we can defend against diabetic retinopathy,” Dr. Liou says. Diabetic retinopathy is the leading cause of blindness in working-age adults and affects nearly 16 million Americans.
High glucose levels resulting from unmanaged diabetes set in motion a cascade ultimately causing the oxygen-deprived retina to grow more blood vessels. Ironically, the leaky surplus of vessels can ultimately destroy vision.
Dr. Liou, who recently received a $300,000 grant from the American Diabetes Association, wants to intervene earlier in the process, as healthy relationships inside the retina first start to go bad.
Cannabinoid receptors are found throughout the body and endogenous cannabinoids are produced to act on them. “Their function is very different from organ to organ but in the central nervous system, cannabinoid receptors are responsible for the neutralization process that should occur after a nerve impulse is finished,” says Dr. Liou.
Nerves come together at a point of communication called a synapse. Glutamate is a neurotransmitter that excites these nerves to action at their point of communication. “There are also inhibitory neurotransmitters such as GABA,” Dr. Liou says. Endogenous cannabinoids help balance the excitation and inhibition, at least until oxygen gets scarce.
In the face of inadequate oxygen, or ischemia – another hallmark of diabetes – nerve endings start producing even more glutamate, setting in motion an unhealthy chain of events. Pumps that keep the right substances inside or outside of cells start to malfunction. Excess nitric oxide and superoxides are produced, which are toxic to the cells. Another irony is the heightened activity increases the retina’s need for oxygen. “We are talking about nerve cell death,” Dr. Liou says. “In the retina, if a lot of our nerve cells die, our vision is directly affected.”
And that’s not all that goes wrong in the nerve-packed retina. Nearby microglial cells, which can function as cell-eating scavengers in the body, sense something is going wrong with the nerve cells, become activated and start an inflammatory process that can be fatal to nerve cells.
Interestingly, the body starts producing more endogenous cannabinoids to stop glutamate release, then produces an enzyme to destroy the cannabinoids to keep them from continuing to accumulate. The same thing happens in the brain after a stroke.
That’s why cannabidiol, an antioxidant, may help save the retina. Test-tube studies by others, as well as Dr. Liou’s pilot studies in diabetic animal models show cannabidiol works to interrupt essentially all these destructive points of action.
“What we believe cannabidiol does is go in here as an antioxidant to neutralize the toxic superoxides. Number two, it inhibits the self-destructive system and allows the self-produced endogenous cannabinoids to stay there longer by inhibiting the enzyme that destroys them.” Cannabidiol also helps keep microglial cells from turning on nerve cells by inhibiting cannabinoid receptors on microglial cells that are at least partially responsible for their ability to destroy the cells.
“Cannabinoids are trying to ease the situation on both sides. They help save the neuron and, at the same time, make sure the microglial cells don’t become activated. How good do you want a drug to be?” Dr. Liou says.
“We are very pleased,” he says of studies in which cannabidiol is injected into diabetic rats and mice. He hopes the compound in marijuana may one day be given along with insulin to stop the early changes that set the stage for damaged or destroyed vision.
American Journal of Pathology, Jan. 2006 Co-authors on the study include Dr. Azza B. El-Remessy, MCG Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology; Drs. Mohamed Al-Shabrawey, Nai-Tse Tsai and Ruth B. Caldwell, MCG Vascular Biology Center; and Dr. Yousuf Khalifa, MCG Department of Ophthalmology.
Source: Diabetes In Control
Anonymous Coward User ID: 362109 (OP) 1/25/2008 11:50 PM
Marijuana Compound May Help Stop Diabetic Retinopathy
A compound found in marijuana won’t make you high but it may help keep your eyes healthy if you’re a diabetic, researchers say.
Early studies indicate cannabidiol works as a consummate multi-tasker to protect the eye from growing a plethora of leaky blood vessels, the hallmark of diabetic retinopathy, says Dr. Gregory I. Liou, molecular biologist at the Medical College of Georgia.
Source: Diabetes In Control
Quoting: Anonymous Coward 362109
flawed info from the get go. cannabidiol DOES make you high. its the side of the marijuana high that makes you relaxed, 'dopey', and want to sit on the couch and eat. THC by itself is a pure stimulant. thats why some weed makes you feel energized and active, while some just makes you want to sit around and veg. its all about the THC to cannabidiol ratio. me thinks making diabetics want to sit around and eat is probably not a good thing.
IDDO the PROPHET User ID: 360334 1/25/2008 11:56 PM
I have type 1 diabetes and consume quite a bit of cannabis, for the past 2 days I have not taken any insulin shots and have consumed well over 300 carbs, and I cannot seem to get my blood glucose level to go above 62-63 which is actually low, I never had such a thing happen before I started smoking
me thinks making diabetics want to sit around and eat is probably not a good thing.
So they'd be better off active, thin and blind?
Quoting: Anonymous Coward 362154
I am a type 2 diabetic and have smoked herb on and off for years. When I quit smoking, I have a terrible time regulating my blood sugar. Smoking pot definitely helps keep my blood sugar down to the proper levels. This is why you get the munchies, lower blood sugar. I even quit taking one of my meds, ActoMetPlus, because it messes with my digestive system. Marijuana takes care of this along with the cheap glipizide.
Anonymous Coward User ID: 445214 6/17/2008 8:06 PM
Marijuana Compound May Help Stop Diabetic Retinopathy
A compound found in marijuana won’t make you high but it may help keep your eyes healthy if you’re a diabetic, researchers say.
Early studies indicate cannabidiol works as a consummate multi-tasker to protect the eye from growing a plethora of leaky blood vessels, the hallmark of diabetic retinopathy, says Dr. Gregory I. Liou, molecular biologist at the Medical College of Georgia.
Source: Diabetes In Control
flawed info from the get go. cannabidiol DOES make you high. its the side of the marijuana high that makes you relaxed, 'dopey', and want to sit on the couch and eat. THC by itself is a pure stimulant. thats why some weed makes you feel energized and active, while some just makes you want to sit around and veg. its all about the THC to cannabidiol ratio. me thinks making diabetics want to sit around and eat is probably not a good thing.
Quoting: MCD 126741
your dumb, i started smoking pot about 3 monthes after i got diagnosed, and i havent had to take insulin for 3 years so far, and still going...im type 1, i can eat whatever i want i drink whatever i want, and im fine.
Anonymous Coward User ID: 458129 7/20/2008 7:06 AM
Kaneh Bos(m) *************************************
"But I don't want to go among mad people," Alice remarked.
"Oh, you can't help that," said the Cat: "we're all mad here. I'm mad. You're mad."
"How do you know I'm mad?" said Alice.
"You must be," said the Cat, "or you wouldn't have come here."
~Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
There is little gain in attempting to change external conditions, you must first change the core of inner beliefs, naturally outer conditions will change accordingly.
BECOME it to achieve it.
Wisdom strengthened the wise more than ten mighty men which are in the city. Ecclesiastes 7:19
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Does the shadow appear to be growing darker? The light that is casting shadows is becoming much brighter; in utter darkness it is luminous.
Anonymous Coward User ID: 448433 7/20/2008 9:26 PM
Marijuana Compound May Help Stop Diabetic Retinopathy
A compound found in marijuana won’t make you high but it may help keep your eyes healthy if you’re a diabetic, researchers say.
Early studies indicate cannabidiol works as a consummate multi-tasker to protect the eye from growing a plethora of leaky blood vessels, the hallmark of diabetic retinopathy, says Dr. Gregory I. Liou, molecular biologist at the Medical College of Georgia.
“We are studying the role of cannabinoid receptors in our body and trying to modulate them so we can defend against diabetic retinopathy,” Dr. Liou says. Diabetic retinopathy is the leading cause of blindness in working-age adults and affects nearly 16 million Americans.
High glucose levels resulting from unmanaged diabetes set in motion a cascade ultimately causing the oxygen-deprived retina to grow more blood vessels. Ironically, the leaky surplus of vessels can ultimately destroy vision.
Dr. Liou, who recently received a $300,000 grant from the American Diabetes Association, wants to intervene earlier in the process, as healthy relationships inside the retina first start to go bad.
Cannabinoid receptors are found throughout the body and endogenous cannabinoids are produced to act on them. “Their function is very different from organ to organ but in the central nervous system, cannabinoid receptors are responsible for the neutralization process that should occur after a nerve impulse is finished,” says Dr. Liou.
Nerves come together at a point of communication called a synapse. Glutamate is a neurotransmitter that excites these nerves to action at their point of communication. “There are also inhibitory neurotransmitters such as GABA,” Dr. Liou says. Endogenous cannabinoids help balance the excitation and inhibition, at least until oxygen gets scarce.
In the face of inadequate oxygen, or ischemia – another hallmark of diabetes – nerve endings start producing even more glutamate, setting in motion an unhealthy chain of events. Pumps that keep the right substances inside or outside of cells start to malfunction. Excess nitric oxide and superoxides are produced, which are toxic to the cells. Another irony is the heightened activity increases the retina’s need for oxygen. “We are talking about nerve cell death,” Dr. Liou says. “In the retina, if a lot of our nerve cells die, our vision is directly affected.”
And that’s not all that goes wrong in the nerve-packed retina. Nearby microglial cells, which can function as cell-eating scavengers in the body, sense something is going wrong with the nerve cells, become activated and start an inflammatory process that can be fatal to nerve cells.
Interestingly, the body starts producing more endogenous cannabinoids to stop glutamate release, then produces an enzyme to destroy the cannabinoids to keep them from continuing to accumulate. The same thing happens in the brain after a stroke.
That’s why cannabidiol, an antioxidant, may help save the retina. Test-tube studies by others, as well as Dr. Liou’s pilot studies in diabetic animal models show cannabidiol works to interrupt essentially all these destructive points of action.
“What we believe cannabidiol does is go in here as an antioxidant to neutralize the toxic superoxides. Number two, it inhibits the self-destructive system and allows the self-produced endogenous cannabinoids to stay there longer by inhibiting the enzyme that destroys them.” Cannabidiol also helps keep microglial cells from turning on nerve cells by inhibiting cannabinoid receptors on microglial cells that are at least partially responsible for their ability to destroy the cells.
“Cannabinoids are trying to ease the situation on both sides. They help save the neuron and, at the same time, make sure the microglial cells don’t become activated. How good do you want a drug to be?” Dr. Liou says.
“We are very pleased,” he says of studies in which cannabidiol is injected into diabetic rats and mice. He hopes the compound in marijuana may one day be given along with insulin to stop the early changes that set the stage for damaged or destroyed vision.
American Journal of Pathology, Jan. 2006 Co-authors on the study include Dr. Azza B. El-Remessy, MCG Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology; Drs. Mohamed Al-Shabrawey, Nai-Tse Tsai and Ruth B. Caldwell, MCG Vascular Biology Center; and Dr. Yousuf Khalifa, MCG Department of Ophthalmology.
True glucose affects the circulation, but the first vision symptom related to dibetes noticable is caused by fluid loss. When too much glucose is present we urinate frequenly causing dehydration. This dehydration affects the eye fluids leading to blurred vision.
[link to www.mayoclinic.com]
If youre drinking lots of mtn dew with your pot smoking, thats really bad and will cause diabetes eventually.
Anonymous Coward User ID: 470327 7/20/2008 9:58 PM
Here is a question some may find interesting,"My father , his pancreas seems to make like it should. his blood will not cary what it takes to lower or rais his levels, thus inselin can be for long periods in efective". Do alot of you have this or is it as rare as the kill you doctors in oregon make like it is?
~•:*Winnie*:•~ the thread killer User ID: 767832 9/11/2009 12:27 PM
and no it doesn't kill ur lungs, Long time smoker here, and I still go on routine jogs and my lungs function just fine ~
Quoting: Anonymous Coward 404824
you can always use a vaporizer, my son uses one, hes a type 1 and he has perfect blood glucose levels, perfect cholesterol, very low body fat, perfect lung function, liver and kidney function and 20-20 eyesight. We the people
Are so fucking tired
Of all the corruption
And lies
This is Critical Mass
This is a system crash
Here and now
We'll rip and tear it down
And start over again
Cause we got nothing
To lose
And we got nothing
But time
Cause the spirit
Never dies
And we know about the lies
And they playin both sides
ANd they conquer
And divide
And we decided
That we want it to end ~ Hed PE
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