Lakshmi Devi
Mt. Sinai Doctors Discover that Medical Marijuana May Stop Spread of HIV in the Body
There are countless testimonials from patients who feel that cannabis has provided them with a quality of life that would otherwise not be possible as they combat symptoms of HIV/AIDS. Marijuana has been known to stimulate appetite and drastically reduce pain for suffering HIV/AIDS patients. Many of us have read these stories only to hear detractors in our government say “there is not enough scientific research” and that all the evidence is anecdotal.
Researchers at New York’s Mt. Sinai Hospital have now uncovered a scientific breakthrough in HIV/AIDS treatments, which have been quite rare to come by for decades. A new discovery by scientists is not anecdotal and may highlight just how miraculous marijuana can be to the medical world. Cannabinoid receptors have been found to have an effect on the spreading of the disease. Specifically, cannabinoid receptors CB1 and CB2 seem to have this ability. Since triggering CB1 can cause a “high” feeling, researchers are focusing their work on CB2. In a laboratory the Mt. Sinai researchers took healthy immune cells and infected them with HIV. Next, they treated these infected cells with a chemical that triggers CB2. This is referred to as an agonist.
Those conducting the study were pleased with the breakthrough. Study author, Cristina Costantino, PhD, said “We knew that cannabinoid drugs like marijuana can have a therapeutic effect in AIDS patients, but did not understand how they influence the spread of the virus itself.” Lakshmi Devi, PhD, Professor of Pharmacology and Systems Therapeutics at Mount Sinai School of Medicine and Benjamin Chen, MD, PhD, Associate Professor of Infectious Diseases led the research study. They are seeking to take the research to the next step will hopefully be able to emulate these results using lab mice in the future.
Whether or not members of the federal government are moved by this research remains to be seen. Calls for marijuana reclassification have been loud and clear and even echoed by high profile governors. This disease which attacks the immune system has thrived for far too long and we hope patients will find relief soon. Marijuana.net will report any updates on the research from Mount Sinai.