Cannabis may help prevent mental decline in HIV patients

The medical marijuana could help reduce cognitive decline in people living with HIV by half, according to a new study.

Researchers at the University of Michigan have published the results of their study in the magazine AIDS. The study provides evidence detailing how cannabis could be used to reduce this cognitive decline by about 50 percent.

«It is believed that cognitive function declines in most people with HIV due to chronic inflammation in the brain,» writes the study’s co-author, Norbert Kaminski. «This happens when the immune system is constantly stimulated to fight the disease.».

The study notes that cannabis acts as an anti-inflammatory in the brains of people living with HIV, preventing white blood cells and their proteins from spreading throughout the body. When THC is added to the equation, it «slows down or even stops the inflammatory process,» according to the researchers.

In fact, it is this effect of cannabis that could help patients maintain their cognitive abilities for longer.

Researchers studied the blood of 40 patients with HIV, some of whom were using cannabis and others did not. What they found when they isolated the white blood cells from the various participants was that patients who did not use cannabis showed more signs of inflammation.

«In fact, people who used cannabis had levels [of inflammatory cells] almost similar to those of a healthy person not infected with HIV,» writes Kaminiski.

It is also likely that cannabis could help patients with «other brain diseases such as Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s, since the same inflammatory cells are involved,» according to Mike Rizzo, a co-author of the study.

The legalization of medical cannabis in California began, in particular, with HIV patients who were treating their symptoms using space cakes, to help them regain their appetite and relieve their pain. Brownie Mary was an iconic figure of this movement and helped found the San Francisco Cannabis Buyers Club and the passage of Proposition 215, which authorized the medical use of cannabis in California.