Deans' stroke musings: Study Challenges Myths About Cannabis, Brain Health, and IQ

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, December 16, 2024

Study Challenges Myths About Cannabis, Brain Health, and IQ

Earlier research was positive on marijuana, did your competent? doctor take notice and prescribe it?

I'm doing it after my next stroke.

My 13 reasons for marijuana use post-stroke.

Don't follow me, I'm not medically trained and I don't have a Dr. in front of my name.

This:

Pot Smoking Baby Boomers Are On The Rise, Why Are Scientists So Happy For Them? Hint: Benefits For The Aging Brain

And this:

The Experiments Revealing How Marijuana Could Treat Dementia

The latest here:

Study Challenges Myths About Cannabis, Brain Health, and IQ

Summary: A study spanning 44 years and involving over 5,000 men challenges long-held beliefs about cannabis and cognition. Researchers found that cannabis users experienced slightly less cognitive decline from early adulthood to late midlife compared to nonusers.

Neither the age of cannabis initiation nor the frequency of use showed a significant impact on cognitive decline. These findings suggest that long-term cannabis use might not impair—and could even modestly benefit—cognitive aging, although further research is needed to confirm the results.

Key Facts:

Cognitive Decline: Cannabis users experienced 1.3 IQ points less decline over 44 years compared to nonusers.
Initiation Age: Starting cannabis before age 18 had no significant effect on long-term cognitive decline.
Frequency of Use: Regular cannabis use (≥2 times per week) was not associated with greater cognitive decline.

Source: Neuroscience News

Cannabis, often maligned for its short-term cognitive effects, may not have the long-term impact on mental sharpness once thought.

A groundbreaking Danish study tracking over 5,000 men for 44 years found that cannabis users experienced slightly less cognitive decline from early adulthood to late midlife compared to nonusers.

Despite cannabis being a Schedule I drug with a reputation for harm, this research suggests its effects on aging brains might be more nuanced.

The study examined cognitive changes using intelligence test scores taken in early adulthood and again decades later.

Cannabis users showed a modest advantage in maintaining IQ levels over time, even when controlling for lifestyle factors such as education and substance use.

Moreover, neither the age at which cannabis use began nor frequent use significantly accelerated cognitive decline.

These findings challenge previous assumptions that cannabis usage contributes to steeper cognitive decline.

Instead, they hint at a complex relationship where factors like baseline IQ, education, and lifestyle may play a larger role.

While the observed differences were minor and might lack clinical significance, the research opens the door for further exploration of cannabis’ long-term effects on cognition.

Funding: This work was supported by a number of grants. The DanACo cohort was established by pooling the two follow-up studies, the LiKO-15 and DiaKO-19 studies.

The establishment of the LiKO-15 study was part of the Phenotypes in Alcohol Use Disorders project, which was supported by Innovation Fund Denmark, Health and Clinical Research (Grant Number 603-00520B) and was further supported by the Center for Healthy Aging, University of Copenhagen, and a PhD scholarship grant to MG from the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen.

The establishment of the DiaKO-19 cohort was supported by grants from Independent Research Fund Denmark (Grant Number: 8020-00094B), Svend Andersen foundation, and Doctor Sofus Carl Emil Friis and wife Olga Doris Friis’s foundation.

Further support for ongoing research using the LiKO-15 and DiaKO-19 cohorts has been granted by the Lundbeck foundation (Grant Number: R380-2021-1433), Helsefonden (Grant Number: 22-B-0196), and by the internal research funds of Bispebjerg and Frederiksberg hospitals.

The funding bodies had no role in the design of the studies, nor in the collection, analysis, and interpretation of data and writing of the manuscript.

About this cognition and cannabis research news

Author: Neuroscience News Communications
Source: Neuroscience News
Contact: Neuroscience News Communications – Neuroscience News
Image: The image is credited to Neuroscience News

Original Research: Open access.
“Cannabis Use and Age-Related Changes in Cognitive Function From Early Adulthood to Late Midlife in 5162 Danish Men” by Kirstine Maarup Høeg et al. Brain and Behavior