Treating Huntington’s Disease With Medical Marijuana in Mississippi

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What is Huntington’s Disease?

Huntington’s disease is a neurodegenerative disorder that leads to involuntary movement, emotional difficulties, and mental deterioration.

Individuals in their thirties and forties are most likely to be diagnosed with the most prevalent form of Huntington disease, the adult onset variety. Irritability, depression, a lack of instinctive movements, poor coordination, and an inability to learn new information or make sound judgments are some of the earliest symptoms. Chorea, an involuntary jerking or twitching movement, is a common symptom of Huntington’s disease. These actions become more noticeable as the sickness progresses. People with this condition may have problems moving around, communicating, or swallowing. People with this illness frequently exhibit personality changes and cognitive impairments. A person’s life expectancy after receiving a diagnosis of Huntington’s disease is estimated to be between 15 and 20 years.

The juvenile variant of Huntington’s disease affects children and teenagers and is extremely rare. Physical limitations, mental and emotional challenges, and all in between. Signs of a juvenile personality include slurred speech, drooling, and rigidity. Slowness is also a sign of the juvenile personality type. Academic success is inversely related to one’s ability to think and reason. Involved children have a 30-50% chance of developing seizures. Huntington’s disease patients have a life expectancy of 10 to 15 years after the onset of symptoms.

Medical marijuana is helping individuals in Mississippi who suffer from Huntington’s disease tremendously. Patients with Huntington’s disease in Mississippi should contact a qualified Mississippi medical marijuana doctor right away to schedule a consultation and learn if cannabis treatment is suited for them.

Huntington’s Disease Symptoms

Movement Symptoms

Jerky motions (chorea)
Muscle contractions/rigidity (dystonia)
Slow eye movements
Difficulty maintaining balance
Speech Problems
Swallowing Problems

Cognitive Symptoms

Fog of Mind
Difficulty Concentrating
Periods of Mental Fixation
Inadequate self-awareness
New information is difficult to grasp.

Psychiatric/Mental Symptoms

Depression
Anxiety
Apathy
Anti-Social behavior
Insomnia
Fatigue
Thoughts of death or self-harm

Symptoms of Juvenile Huntington’s Disease

Difficulty paying attention
Underperforming Academically
Poor Behavior
Awkward Gait
Awkward Posture
Tremors
Falls
Seizures

Huntington’s Disease and Medical Marijuana

Essential activities like sleep, pain, and hunger management are aided by the endocannabinoid system (ECS), which is present in all vertebrates. Naturally occurring endogenous cannabinoids serve to regulate and activate the endocannabinoid system. However, the endocannabinoid system can also be controlled and activated by cannabinoids contained in the cannabis plant. There is much more for scientists to understand about the wide-ranging effects of cannabis on the human body because the entire system was only discovered in the previous 30 years.

The ECS has been found to have a significant role in how Huntington’s Disease develops, according to scientific research. There are others who attribute Huntington’s disease to a lack of or misbalance in the endocannabinoid system.

Multiple studies have found connections between endocannabinoid system dysfunction and Huntington’s disease.

One possible explanation is that patients with Huntington’s Disease differ from the general population in key brain locations. One key region where these differences are manifest is the basal ganglia, which plays a role in movement. There are a lot of endocannabinoids in this region of the brain. Postmortem research has shown that CB1 receptors (a main endocannabinoid system receptor) are severely depleted in the basal ganglia of most people with Huntington’s disease.

Many animal and human investigations have shown that this receptor is absent in various brain regions associated with Huntington’s disease. A decrease in the mRNA (a molecule that carries genetic information) of this receptor is seen by some to be the defining hallmark of early-stage Huntington’s disease. Reduced motor function and the pathophysiology of Huntington’s disease have both been linked to depletion of cannabinoid 1 (CB1) receptors.

CB2, another major endocannabinoid system receptor, is upregulated in the advanced stages of the disease.

In addition, anandamide and 2-AG levels in the brains of Huntington’s disease patients are significantly altered, with lower levels in many brain regions and an increase in anandamide in the cortex towards the later stages of the disease, as shown in animal research.

These findings point to a widespread and progressive impairment of the endocannabinoid system in Huntington’s disease. Researchers have found that drugs that act on cannabinoid receptors 1 (CB1) and 2 (CB2) by either stimulating or inhibiting them may be useful in treating this illness.

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