Marijuana May Stop The Spread Of HIV, Study Finds

slimvictor

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Marijuana has long been used to effectively treat symptoms associated with HIV, such as chronic pain and weight loss. But a growing body of research suggests the plant may be able to stop the spread of the disease itself.

Adding to these findings is a Louisiana State University study published last week in the journal AIDS Research and Human Retroviruses. For 17 months, scientists administered a daily dose of THC, an active ingredient in cannabis, to monkeys infected with an animal form of the virus. Over the course of that period, scientists found that damage to immune tissue in the primates' stomachs, one of the most common areas in the body for HIV infection to spread, decreased.

"These findings reveal novel mechanisms that may potentially contribute to cannabinoid-mediated disease modulation," Dr. Patricia Molina, the study's lead author, wrote. The report goes on to explain that while HIV spreads by infecting and killing off immune cells, the monkeys that received the daily THC treatments maintained higher levels of healthy cells.

Similar research spearheaded by Molina in 2011 found that infected monkeys treated with THC had a better chance of surviving. And a report published in 2012 pointed to evidence that marijuana-like compounds can fight HIV in late-stage AIDS patients.

cont at
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/02/11/marijuana-hiv_n_4767901.html?utm_hp_ref=mostpopular
 
Abstract of study:

Our studies have demonstrated that chronic Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) administration results in a generalized attenuation of viral load and tissue inflammation in simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV)-infected male rhesus macaques. Gut-associated lymphoid tissue is an important site for HIV replication and inflammation that can impact disease progression. We used a systems approach to examine the duodenal immune environment in 4- to 6-year-old male rhesus monkeys inoculated intravenously with SIVMAC251 after 17 months of chronic THC administration (0.18–0.32 mg/kg, intramuscularly, twice daily). Duodenal tissue samples excised from chronic THC- (N=4) and vehicle (VEH)-treated (N=4) subjects at 5 months postinoculation showed lower viral load, increased duodenal integrin beta 7+(β7) CD4+ and CD8+ central memory T cells, and a significant preferential increase in Th2 cytokine expression. Gene array analysis identified six genes that were differentially expressed in intestinal samples of the THC/SIV animals when compared to those differentially expressed between VEH/SIV and uninfected controls. These genes were identified as having significant participation in (1) apoptosis, (2) cell survival, proliferation, and morphogenesis, and (3) energy and substrate metabolic processes. Additional analysis comparing the duodenal gene expression in THC/SIV vs. VEH/SIV animals identified 93 differentially expressed genes that participate in processes involved in muscle contraction, protein folding, cytoskeleton remodeling, cell adhesion, and cell signaling. Immunohistochemical staining showed attenuated apoptosis in epithelial crypt cells of THC/SIV subjects. Our results indicate that chronic THC administration modulated duodenal T cell populations, favored a pro-Th2 cytokine balance, and decreased intestinal apoptosis. These findings reveal novel mechanisms that may potentially contribute to cannabinoid-mediated disease modulation.
 
my blue lights got black areas. i heard the cannabis helps the body fight cancer but never heard of it fighting hiv
 
"chronic THC administration"

Someone on the research team has a sense of humour :D
 
PrEP and PEP can help prevent HIV once it has entered the blood body. There are many myths about HIV. Best look at your source (huffington Post - come on!).

The actual article is from the journal AIDS Research and Human Retroviruses.
What we do here in DiTM is post articles about drugs that appear in the media.
The Huffington Post is media.
By posting this article, we are not endorsing the media source.
This is a discussion forum.

It would be nice if this was true, if it was we would know about it already.
Famous last words!!! ;)
 
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