Deans' stroke musings: Study Connects Chronic Cannabis Use to Oxygen Changes in Brain

Changing stroke rehab and research worldwide now.Time is Brain! trillions and trillions of neurons that DIE each day because there are NO effective hyperacute therapies besides tPA(only 12% effective). I have 523 posts on hyperacute therapy, enough for researchers to spend decades proving them out. These are my personal ideas and blog on stroke rehabilitation and stroke research. Do not attempt any of these without checking with your medical provider. Unless you join me in agitating, when you need these therapies they won't be there.

What this blog is for:

My blog is not to help survivors recover, it is to have the 10 million yearly stroke survivors light fires underneath their doctors, stroke hospitals and stroke researchers to get stroke solved. 100% recovery. The stroke medical world is completely failing at that goal, they don't even have it as a goal. Shortly after getting out of the hospital and getting NO information on the process or protocols of stroke rehabilitation and recovery I started searching on the internet and found that no other survivor received useful information. This is an attempt to cover all stroke rehabilitation information that should be readily available to survivors so they can talk with informed knowledge to their medical staff. It lays out what needs to be done to get stroke survivors closer to 100% recovery. It's quite disgusting that this information is not available from every stroke association and doctors group.

Monday, August 14, 2017

Study Connects Chronic Cannabis Use to Oxygen Changes in Brain

Higher cerebral blood flow and better oxygen uptake sounds like it would be good for our damaged brains. But we will never know since no research will ever be done on this.

My 13 reasons for marijuana use post-stroke.

But don't listen to me, I have absolutely no medical training,

http://neurosciencenews.com/oxygen-cannabis-brain-7296/
Summary: According to UT Dallas researchers, chronic cannabis users extract more oxygen from brain blood flow and have higher cerebral blood flow than nonusers.
Source: UT Dallas.
New research from the Center for BrainHealth at The University of Texas at Dallas reveals that levels of THC, the psychoactive ingredient in cannabis that leaves a euphoric feeling, directly correlate to changes in how the brain utilizes oxygen.
Dr. Francesca Filbey, director of Cognitive Neuroscience Research in Addictive Disorders at the Center for BrainHealth, led the team that found chronic cannabis users have higher cerebral blood flow and extract more oxygen from brain blood flow than nonusers. The rate at which oxygen is metabolized in the brain was found to be higher in users as well.
While THC is known to relax blood vessels and alter blood flow in the brain, the study focused on how prolonged THC use might affect the brain by analyzing the differences in regional brain blood oxygenation and metabolism in chronic cannabis users.
Due to the prospective nature of the study, published in the journal Neuropsychopharmacology, researchers cannot say whether cannabis use directly causes the observed changes, or whether other underlying conditions also may be at play.
While the reason for the brain changes related to chronic marijuana use is unclear, Filbey said that these changes may reflect underlying differences in brain tissue metabolic rate.
“Past marijuana research has shown changes in cognitive functions such as memory and executive functioning. Our study seeks to understand the possible neurophysiological mechanisms that may drive these cognitive changes,” said Filbey, who is also Bert Moore Chair in BrainHealth and head of the cognitive neuroscience program in the School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences.
The study consisted of 74 cannabis users and 101 nonusers matched for age and IQ. All users reported at least 5,000 usages over their lifetime and daily use for 60 days leading up to the study. Participants were required to refrain from cannabis for 72 hours before the study to eliminate acute effects of the drug. Participants underwent magnetic resonance imaging, and THC metabolite levels were measured using urinalysis.

Increased blood flow in the putamen may either reflect the capacity of THC to dilate blood vessels or the development of additional circulatory pathways. NeuroscienceNews.com image is in the public domain.

Filbey and her team found that cannabis users showed higher global oxygen extraction fraction and cerebral metabolic rate of oxygen compared to nonusers. Also, blood flow in the putamen — an area of the brain associated with reward learning and habit formation — was found to be greater in users than nonusers.
Increased blood flow in the putamen may either reflect the capacity of THC to dilate blood vessels or the development of additional circulatory pathways.
“Currently, cannabis is the most widely used illicit drug. As it becomes more widely legalized, understanding neurophysiological alterations and its effects on the brain’s health and performance are becoming increasingly relevant,” Filbey said.

About this neuroscience research article

Source: Emily Bywaters – UT Dallas
Image Source: NeuroscienceNews.com image is in the public domain.
Original Research: The study will appear in Neuropsychopharmacology.

Cite This NeuroscienceNews.com Article

UT Dallas “Study Connects Chronic Cannabis Use to Oxygen Changes in Brain.” NeuroscienceNews. NeuroscienceNews, 14 August 2017.
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