http://www.forces.org/evidence/hamil...r/nicotine.htm
NICOTINE BENEFITS
By Wanda Hamilton
Researchers have long been aware that fewer smokers get Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases than non-smokers. Up to April l992, of the 17 studies on Alzheimer's and smoking which had been published in peer-reviewed journals, 13 reported a reduced risk for smokers and only four found no difference between smokers and non-smokers. Similar findings have been published on the effect of smoking and Parkinson's disease.
In an article in The Times of London (9/7/93), Dr. James Le Fanu provided an examination of the research on smoking and its apparent protective effect for certain diseases. Dr. Le Fanu stated unequivocally: "Smokers have a 50 per cent reduced risk of developing Alzheimer's--and the more smoked the greater the protection." He also noted that emerging research points to a similar effect of smoking on Parkinson's disease.
So striking was the apparent protective effect of smoking on Alzheimer's and Parkinson's that increasingly biomedical researchers are experimenting with nicotine to treat the symptoms of these dread disease in-patients who have been diagnosed as having them. Results from these experiments have all showed promise in alleviating the symptoms of these diseases with the administration of nicotine.
The mechanism by which the nicotine in tobacco works to protect smokers is that it increases the number of so-called "nicotinic" receptors in the brain, which in turn influence the production and release of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine. Those who come down with Alzheimer's show a marked loss of "nicotinic" receptors in their brains and thus have reduced levels of acetylcholine, which is necessary for memory and other brain functions.
Research has shown that tobacco smoke (and the nicotine therein) inhibits the activity of monoamine oxidase B (MAOB). Experiments on mice which were genetically engineered to be without the gene for MAOB "were resistant to the neurodegenerative effects of MPTP, a toxin that induces a condition reminiscent of Parkinson's disease," (Dr. Jean C. Shih researcher at the University of Southern California, as reported in Reuters, 10/7/97, "Isoenzyme Inhibited by cigarette Smoke May Have Role in Aging and Neurodegeneration"). The findings of Dr. Shih and her colleagues point to a protective effect from smoking on the aging of the brain.
Other diseases for which smoking and nicotine appear to be protective are ulcerative colitis, Tourette's Syndrome, and possibly rheumatoid arthritis and colorectal cancer.
Below are excerpts from some recent articles and studies on nicotine, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, cognitive abilities, Tourette's and ulcerative colitis.
By Wanda Hamilton
Researchers have long been aware that fewer smokers get Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases than non-smokers. Up to April l992, of the 17 studies on Alzheimer's and smoking which had been published in peer-reviewed journals, 13 reported a reduced risk for smokers and only four found no difference between smokers and non-smokers. Similar findings have been published on the effect of smoking and Parkinson's disease.
In an article in The Times of London (9/7/93), Dr. James Le Fanu provided an examination of the research on smoking and its apparent protective effect for certain diseases. Dr. Le Fanu stated unequivocally: "Smokers have a 50 per cent reduced risk of developing Alzheimer's--and the more smoked the greater the protection." He also noted that emerging research points to a similar effect of smoking on Parkinson's disease.
So striking was the apparent protective effect of smoking on Alzheimer's and Parkinson's that increasingly biomedical researchers are experimenting with nicotine to treat the symptoms of these dread disease in-patients who have been diagnosed as having them. Results from these experiments have all showed promise in alleviating the symptoms of these diseases with the administration of nicotine.
The mechanism by which the nicotine in tobacco works to protect smokers is that it increases the number of so-called "nicotinic" receptors in the brain, which in turn influence the production and release of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine. Those who come down with Alzheimer's show a marked loss of "nicotinic" receptors in their brains and thus have reduced levels of acetylcholine, which is necessary for memory and other brain functions.
Research has shown that tobacco smoke (and the nicotine therein) inhibits the activity of monoamine oxidase B (MAOB). Experiments on mice which were genetically engineered to be without the gene for MAOB "were resistant to the neurodegenerative effects of MPTP, a toxin that induces a condition reminiscent of Parkinson's disease," (Dr. Jean C. Shih researcher at the University of Southern California, as reported in Reuters, 10/7/97, "Isoenzyme Inhibited by cigarette Smoke May Have Role in Aging and Neurodegeneration"). The findings of Dr. Shih and her colleagues point to a protective effect from smoking on the aging of the brain.
Other diseases for which smoking and nicotine appear to be protective are ulcerative colitis, Tourette's Syndrome, and possibly rheumatoid arthritis and colorectal cancer.
Below are excerpts from some recent articles and studies on nicotine, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, cognitive abilities, Tourette's and ulcerative colitis.
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