| 1. |
Name:
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Robert DeLorenzo, MD, PhD, MPH
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| 2. |
Title: |
Professor of Neurology in the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine
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| 3. |
Medical Marijuana
Position: |
Con
to the question "Should marijuana be a medical option?"
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| 4. |
Reasoning: |
"[I]ndividuals both here and abroad report that marijuana has been therapeutic for them in the treatment of a variety of ailments, including epilepsy. But the psychoactive side effects of marijuana make its use impractical in the treatment of epilepsy. If we can understand how marijuana works to end seizures, we may be able to develop novel drugs that might do a better job of treating epileptic seizures."
"Marijuana and Its Receptor Protein in Brain Control Epilepsy," Virginia Commonwealth University Press Release, Sep. 30, 2003 |
| 5. |
Credibility
Ranking: |
Key Experts
Physicians [We believe physicians are the "key experts" in the medical marijuana debate because the issue is thought by many to be ultimately based on the medical value and risks of marijuana, and Physicians, with their training and clinical work, should (at least in theory) have the best knowledge of marijuana's medical value and risks.]
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| 6. |
Involvement: |
Professor of Neurology, Pharmacology and Toxicology, Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine
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| 7. |
Education: |
MD, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, 1974
MPH, Yale University School of Epidemiology and Public Health, New Haven, Connecticut, 1974
PhD, Yale University Graduate School, New Haven, Connecticut, 1973
BS, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, 1969
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| 8. |
Relevant Affiliations/Honors: |
Recipient, Milken Foundation American Epilepsy Society Clinical Investigator Award, 1998
Recipient, First Annual Dixon Woodbury Memorial Lecture Award for distinguished research in neuropharmacology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, 1994
Recipient, Distinguished Neuroscientist Award, Louisiana State University Neuroscience Program, New Orleans, 1993
Recipient, Jacob K. Javits Award for outstanding research in molecular neurobiology by the NIH, 1986
Recipient, Walter O. Klingman Award for outstanding research in neurology and epilepsy, University of Virginia, 1985
Recipient, Award for Outstanding Research in Neurological Diseases and Epilepsy, American Society of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, 1985
Recipient, Biennial Jordi-Folch-Pi Award for Neurochemical Research, American Society of Neurochemistry, 1984
Chief Resident and Post-Doctoral Fellow in Neurology, Yale New Haven Medical Center, 1976-1977
Resident and Post-Doctoral Fellow in Neurology, Yale New Haven Medical Center, 1974-1976
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| 9. |
Contact Info: |
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| 10. |
Other: |
Select Publications:
Cowritten with L.S. Deshpande, M. Ali, R.E., Blair, S. Sombati, and E. Attkisson, "Time Course and Mechanism of Hippocampal Neuronal Death in an In Vitro Model of Status Epilepticus: Role of NMDA Receptor Activation and NMDA Dependent Calcium Entry" European Journal of Pharmacology, 2008
Cowritten with L.S. Deshpande, A. Mian, R.E., Blair, S. Sombati, and E. Attkisson, "In Vitro Status Epilepticus But Not Spontaneous Recurrent Seizures Cause Cell Death," Epilepsy Research, July 2007
Cowritten with D.A. Sun, R.E. Blair, and S. Sombati, "An In Vitro Model of Strokeinduced Epilepsy: Elucidation of the Roles of Glutamate and Calcium in the Induction and Maintenance of Stroke-Induced Epileptogenesis," International Review of Neurobiology, 2007
Cowritten with Melisa J. Wallace, Robert E. Blair, Katherine W. Falenski, and Billy R. Martin, "The Endogenous Cannabinoid System Regulates Seizure Frequency and Duration in a Model of Temporal Lobe Epilepsy," Journal of Pharmacology And Experimental Therapeutics, Sep. 3, 2003
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