Smoking Marijuana Ages the Brain by 2.8 Years! Cannabis Almost As Bad As Schizophrenia in Brain Damage
The brain of those with Schizophrenia was found to age by an average of four years.
Cannabis, also referred to as marijuana is one of the most popular illegal drug in the world. Many states or countries have legalised its production, but it mostly remains prohibited. While the debate on its medicinal value continues, a new research has found out that marijuana can age your brain by 2.8 years. The study states that smoking cannabis is worse for your mind than what people with the mental disorder like bipolar or hyperactivity disorder go through.
The brain of those with Schizophrenia was found to age by an average of four years. Brain ageing can be defined as reduced blood flow through the organ. Previously, reduced blood flow was related to strokes and dementia. Heavy drinking also ages a person's organs by 0.6 years. Vaping Is Bad For The Immune System, Says Study
The Sun quoted Dr Daniel Amen, founder of Amen Clinics as saying, "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." For the study, researches analysed brains of 62,454 brains scans from 31,227 people. The age group included people from nine months to 105 years old.
To understand the factors that contribute to brain ageing, multiple scans were taken during both rest and concentration. To understand how old the brain was, blood flow through 128 regions of each brain was analysed. The person's actual age was then compared to measure the rate of accelerated ageing.
Dr George Perry, from the University of Texas, San Antonio, who was not involved in the study 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 ageing." Vape Side Effects: Vaping Cause DNA Mutation, Increase in Risk of Cancer and Heart Diseases
The research also suggested that bipolar disorder increases brain ageing by 1.6 years, while attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) accelerates it up by 1.4 years. Different mental disorders affect different parts of the brain. Dr Amen said, "Based on one of the largest brain imaging studies ever done, we can now track common disorders and behaviours that prematurely age the brain. Better treatment of these disorders can slow or even halt the process of brain ageing."
Study author Sachit Egan, from Google, 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, the groundwork has been laid to further explore how common psychiatric disorders can influence healthy patterns of cerebral blood flow."
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 23, 2018 12:58 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).