Two cannabis components can have a significant effect on the size of cancerous tumors in the brain, especially when combined with radiotherapy, according to new research. The study says the growths can virtually “disappear.”
The research was carried out by specialists at St Georges,
University of London and published in the Molecular Cancer
Therapeutics journal.
There are some 85 cannabinoids in the cannabis plant, but the two
that had a demonstrably positive effect were tetrahydrocannabinol
(THC) and cannabidiol (CBD).
Combining their use alongside radiotherapy shows a drastic
effect, the study claims.
Brain cancer killed around 5,200 people in Britain in 2012.
Tests involving THC and CBD carried out on mice showed that any
cancerous growth slowed right down, the scientists said.
“The results are extremely exciting. The tumors were treated
in a variety of ways, either with no treatment, the cannabinoids
alone, and irradiation alone or with both the cannabinoids and
irradiation at the same time,” Dr. Wai Liu, senior research
fellow and lead researcher on the project, told Science Daily.
“The benefits of the cannabis plant elements were known
before but the drastic reduction of brain cancers if used with
irradiation is something new and may well prove promising for
patients who are in gravely serious situations with such cancers
in the future.”
Possibilities of human trials are being considered by the team
responsible for the research.
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However, the impact of THC has not been found to be consistently
positive. Grey matter could be much more vulnerable than white
matter to its effects, according to recent research by
neuroscientists at the University of Texas.
“The results suggest increases in connectivity, both
structural and functional that may be compensating for gray
matter losses. Eventually, however, the structural connectivity
or 'wiring' of the brain starts degrading with prolonged
marijuana use,” Sina Aslan, one of the study's authors,
stated.