Medical Discovery News
Science permeates everyday life. Yet the understanding of advances in biomedical science is limited at best. Few people make the connection that biomedical science is medicine and that biomedical scientists are working today for the medicine of tomorrow. Our weekly five-hundred-word newspaper column (http://www.illuminascicom.com/) and two-minute radio show provide insights into a broad range of biomedical science topics. Medical Discovery News is dedicated to explaining discoveries in biomedical research and their promise for the future of medicine. Each release is designed to stimulate listeners to think, question and appreciate how science affects their health as well as that of the rest of the world. We also delve into significant biomedical discoveries and portray how science (or the lack of it) has impacted health throughout history.
Medical Discovery News
Marijuana Use Affects Your DNA
962 Marijuana Use Affects Your DNA
Welcome to Medical Discovery News. I’m Dr Norbert Herzog.
And I’m Dr. David Niesel
Despite a growing number of states legalizing marijuana, we’re still learning about its health effects.
A recent study suggests cannabis use changes our epigenome. Those are chemical changes to the bases that make up DNA, that mark the genome in a way that tells it what, where, and when to do something.
Each cell has unique epigenetic marks that are not inherent to DNA but can be passed from cell to cell, and one generation to the next.
A common DNA change in the epigenome is to its methyl groups. These methylation changes happen when we’re exposed to certain environments or lifestyles.
For example, during World War two’s Nazi occupation, people who endured the starvation of the Dutch Hunger Winter developed changes to their epigenomes that hurt their and their children’s health.
Researchers in this study on marijuana’s impact on epigenome studied over one thousand blood samples collected from people who were followed for two decades.
Blood had been drawn at fifteen and twenty years and people were asked about their marijuana use. When analyzed, the blood showed epigenetic changes associated with recent or long-term use of marijuana.
The changes were in genes involved in cell proliferation, hormone signaling, and infections as well as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and substance-use related disorders. Future studies can confirm these links and what impact marijuana has on our health.
We are Drs. David Niesel and Norbert Herzog, at UTMB and Quinnipiac University, where biomedical discoveries shape the future of medicine. For much more and our disclaimer go to medicaldiscoverynews.comor subscribe to our podcast. Sign up for expanded print episodes at www.illuminascicom.com
