Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, California, have found that THC inhibits the formation of amyloid plaque, the primary pathological marker for Alzheimer's disease. The study to be published in Molecular Pharmaceutics says, THC is "a considerably superior inhibitor of [amyloid plaque] aggregation" to several currently approved drugs for treating the disease.

According to the new experimental study THC inhibits a protein, which acts as a accelerator of the formation of amyloid plaque in the brains of Alzheimer victims. Although experts disagree on whether the presence of beta-amyloid plaques in those areas critical to memory and cognition is a symptom or cause, it remains a significant hallmark of the disease. With its strong inhibitory abilities, the study said, THC "may provide an improved therapeutic for Alzheimer's disease" that would treat "both the symptoms and progression" of the disease.

(Source: Press release by the Scripps Research Institute of 9 August 2006, http://www.scripps.edu/news/press/080906.html)