Jun 18, 2020,07:10am EDT Notes From The Cutting
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Notes From The Cutting Edge: Israeli Researcher Dedi Meiri On Cannabis, Alzheimer’s And Dementia
Abbie Rosner Contributor --- I cover how older adults are discovering and re-discovering cannabis.
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I recently listened to a webinar where David (Dedi) Meiri spoke about the cannabis research in his lab at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology. Meiri is best known for his work matching specific components of cannabis to affect different types of cancer. But when the interviewer asked the Israeli researcher which areas of medicine he thought cannabis offered the most promise, the answer was surprising.
“On top of what is already known and treated… pain, sleep, epilepsy, anxiety and these kinds of things, I think that one of the things that is still not being treated with cannabis … and I really, really believe in it, and in my lab I have phenomenal results, is dementia and Alzheimer’s.”
There is a large and growing body of anecdotal accounts of the efficacy of cannabis for treating the symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease and dementia. The shortcomings and actual life-threatening dangers associated with standard and frequently prescribed pharmaceutical treatments for these conditions makes cannabis a particularly compelling option – especially considering its solid safety profile. But the need for research to substantiate these real-life findings is critical, and Meiri’s Technion lab appears poised to deliver the goods.
In a follow up Zoom call, Dedi spoke about his work on this topic:
“first of all, cannabis is very useful in improving quality of life: reducing anxiety, improving sleep, reducing violence. We know it from our work with autistic children, from treating PTSD, and other indications. We already know which strains are achieving this effect and a lot of them are high CBD strains, with very low or no THC. Autistic kids in Israel are getting a strain extract with a very low amount of THC and it still reduces violence, really improves sleep and reduces anxiety."
"If we're talking about improving quality of life of the Alzheimer’s patient and their families… people with Alzheimer’s often suffer from bursts of anger and sleep disorders. So on that scale cannabis is very useful…”
https://www.forbes.com/sites/abbierosner/2020...aa49656ec2