tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5524682876220396502.post1046209866853077045..comments2024-03-27T06:56:10.255+00:00Comments on Broad Oak Magazine: Epilepsy and cannabis, by JDUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5524682876220396502.post-59144846799768792502018-07-02T15:12:13.381+01:002018-07-02T15:12:13.381+01:00I am reminded of an old story my PhD supervisor to...I am reminded of an old story my PhD supervisor told about the sometimes weird effects of some drugs. His speciality was parasitology, and one antiparasitic drug commonly used in agriculture is Ivermectin. <br /><br />This is a fungal-derived drug, and one which is an absolutely huge molecule. It is so big that in almost all mammals it cannot pass through the blood-brain barrier, which is a good thing because if it does, it causes paralysis and death.<br /><br />Anyway, a farmer once decided that worming his prize border collie was a good idea, yet didn't like the cost of vet-bought worming tablets. Surely the bulk-bought ivermectin he used on his sheep would do?<br /><br />Not being entirely stupid, he calculated the bodyweight-appropriate dose for a dog and experimented on the farm mongrel, a dog kept mostly as a security and rat control animal. It wasn't too sure about being wormed, but seemed not to suffer any ill effects even several days later, and seemed all the better for the worming.<br /><br />So, the farmer tried the ivermectin on his prize collie. Five minutes later, rigid from muscle paralysis the collie died. <br /><br />Collies have a genetic fault, a slightly leaky blood-brain barrier. No non-collies share this genetic fault, hence the farmer's precautions were as naught. Ever afterwards, he respected the knowledge of vets...Danhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02618328278732100203noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5524682876220396502.post-35068824717665718482018-06-26T20:28:44.019+01:002018-06-26T20:28:44.019+01:00Roughly twenty years ago there was an interesting ...Roughly twenty years ago there was an interesting article on pharmaceutical research published in the Royal Society of Chemistry magazine. Written by a pharmaceutical researcher, it explained that the precise reason why many drugs work is often not well understood. <br /><br />In the case of psychoactive drugs he wrote that none of them are well understood when it comes to their detailed effects on the brain. He gave Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SRIs) as an example. Although it is known that SRIs inhibit the uptake of serotonin, what subsequently happens to the serotonin was unknown at that time. Maybe it still is.<br /><br />Things will have changed since that RSC article was written, but it is worth remembering that a lack of detailed understanding of their effects did not prevent the drugs being used. A K Haarthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05897490979828603179noreply@blogger.com