By Aaron Miller-
Cannabis abuse is one if the largest contributors to brain ageing, according to scientists who have extensively studied the brain and are spreading the word. In the largest known brain imaging study, scientists from the Amen Clinics, John’s Hopkins University, University of California, Los Angeles and the University of California, San Francisco have delivered a shattering blow for Cannabis lovers who have up until now only been looking at cannabis from a positive or medically therapeutic perspective.
Scientists analysed 62,454 brain SPECT (single photon emission computed tomography) scans of more than 30,000 individuals from 9 months old to 105 years of age to investigate factors that accelerate brain aging. SPECT tomography) evaluates regional cerebral blood flow in the brain that is reduced in various disorders.
Lead author, psychiatrist Daniel G. Amen, MD, founder of Amen Clinics, said: “Based on one of the largest brain imaging studies ever done, we can now track common disorders and behaviors that prematurely age the brain. Better treatment of these disorders can slow or even halt the process of brain aging. The cannabis abuse finding was especially important, as our culture is starting to see marijuana as an innocuous substance. This study should give us pause about it.” The study will not give pause to anyone who is a strong advocate of cannabis abuse, but moderate smoker with a scientific head ill have food for thought from this study. The study was brought to the attention of The Eye Of Media.Com on Tuesday, but was concluded about 2 weeks ago by expert scientist researchers in California, some of whom are happy to share their present and future wisdom with this publication following a connection from a mutual link in California last weekend.
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The current study used brain SPECT imaging to determine aging trajectories in the brain and conclude the common brain disorders that predict abnormally accelerated aging. It examined these functional neuroimaging scans from a large multi-site psychiatric clinic from patients who had many different psychiatric disorders, including bipolar disorder, schizophrenia and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The object of the study was to examine the extent to which the age of the brain is accelerated by various factors including cannabis abuse , and its findings were revealing.
Researchers studied 128 brain regions to predict the chronological age of the patient. Occasions that led to the prediction of an older age from the scan compared to the actual chronological age was interpreted as accelerated aging. The study found that a number of brain disorders and behaviors that indicated accelerated aging. They confirm fears and previous understanding held by other scientists, but never before demonstrated in the solid form of this broad research. Schizophrenia and Cannabis use lead the list of age accelerating causes. Schizoproenia showed an average of 4 years of premature aging, cannabis abuse (2.8 years of accelerated aging), bipolar disorder (1.6 years accelerated aging), ADHD (1.4 years accelerated aging) and alcohol abuse (0.6 years accelerated aging). Interestingly, the researchers did not observe accelerated aging in depression and aging, which they hypothesize may be due to different types of brain patterns for these disorders.
Commenting on the study, George Perry, PhD, Chief Scientist at the Brain Health Consortium from the University of Texas at San Antonio, said, “This is one of the first population-based imaging studies, and these large studies are essential to answer how to maintain brain structure and function during aging. The effect of modifiable and non-modifiable factors of brain aging will further guide advice to maintain cognitive function.”
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Co-investigator Sachit Egan, Google Inc. (Mountain View, CA), said, “This paper represents an important step forward in our understanding of how the brain operates throughout the lifespan. The results indicate that we can predict an individual’s age based on patterns of cerebral blood flow. Additionally, groundwork has been laid to further explore how common psychiatric disorders can influence healthy patterns of cerebral blood flow.”
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