Daily dose of cannabis could reverse the effects of old age, study suggests

The chemical that makes you feel ‘high’ has been found to improved learning and memory in older mice
Brain benefits: cannabis
Getty Images
Liz Connor9 May 2017

Researchers have found that a small, daily dose of cannabis could slow, or even reverse, cognitive decline in old age.

THC, the chemical in cannabis that makes people feel ‘high’ has been found to improve memory and learning in older mice, as part of a new study investigating the ageing process of the brain.

Researchers tested the effects of the drug on mice at several different stages in life, finding that that lower doses of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) impaired that of younger mice, but boosted the brain performance in older rodents.

Dr Andras Bilkei-Gorzo Bilkei-Gorzo and his team at the University of Bonn in Germany monitored the brain performance in mice aged two months, 12 months and 18 months.

After studying the cognitive function of the older mice who had been given a daily dose of cannabis, the researchers found that their memory and learning skills matched those of young mice who had not been given anything.

As part of the study, which was published in the journal Nature Medicine, mice aged two months and 18 months were tested to see how fast they could solve a water maze puzzle, and how quickly they could register familiar objects.

Without a daily dose of THC, the younger mice completed the tests with ease, while the older ones struggled to recognise mice they had previously met and solve the mental challenge.

But administering THC notably impacted both groups. The performance of the younger mice dramatically declined, while older mice improved so greatly that their learning and memory matched those of healthy drug-free young mice.

The benefits of the drug in older mice, researchers found, lasted for weeks after they had stopped consuming THC.

Best books on mindfulness

1/11

Bilkei-Gorzo, who led the study, told The Independent: “THC restored the cognitive ability of the old mice to the level of the young ones.”

He explained that low doses of the drug appeared to reverse the signs of old age and mental decline. “Giving THC artificially activates the system in the old [mice]. It can restore signalling to a normal level,” he said.

“If you do the very same treatment, with the same dosage, to young mice, you overdrive the whole system, as it’s at a much higher level than it should be.”

“These results reveal a profound, long-lasting improvement of cognitive performance resulting from a low dose of THC treatment in mature and old animals,” the scientists write in the journal.

Researchers now hope that this exciting development could benefit the treatment of dementia and other memory problems in older people in the future - although they say that further research is needed.

The research group is now keen to test the theory on humans, with a small-scale study on subjects aged 60 to 70 planned for later this year.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in