What are the diseases that can be treated with the therapeutic actions of Cannabidiol?
Student’s Name
University
Course
Professor
Date
“When you smoke the herb, it reveals you to yourself” is a famous quote about cannabis by Bob Marley. Cannabidiol is a compound found in the cannabis plant. According to Pisanti et bal. (2017) “over the past years, several lines of evidence support a therapeutic potential of Cannabis derivatives and in particular phytocannabinoids” (p.2). According to Gianoncelli et al. (2019) “Cannabis sativa produces more than 100 phytocannabinoids chemically well identified and characterized; Phytocannabinoids are biosynthesized during specific extreme environmental conditions of humidity, temperature, radiation, soil nutrients, and parasites and they are accumulated in the trichomes of Cannabis sativa as cannabinoid acids’ (p.2). Cannabis Sativa has been established to provide therapeutic treatments. Pisanti et bal. (2017) also stated that “t hanks to its good safety profile and the lack of psychoactivity, CBD is undoubtedly the more interesting cannabinoid with a lot of reported pharmacological effects in several models of pathologies, ranging from inflammatory and neurodegenerative diseases to epilepsy, autoimmune disorders like multiple sclerosis, arthritis, schizophrenia and cancer” (p.3). C annabidiol (CBD) is the most abundant non-psychotropic phytocannabinoid of Cannabis sativa. “CBD was originally purified in 1940 and its structure characterized in 1960, and since then, the phytoextracts have been characterized, and the therapeutic potential of Cannabis sativa has begun to be understood” (Gianoncelli et al., 2019 p.3). Cannabidiol does not make p eople who use it high because it is not psychoactive. “Neurobiological research on Cannabis sativa is complex and difficult, and consequently, its cultivation and use are illegal/banned in most of the countries and recently, preclinical and clinical trials on cannabidiol (CBD), a phytocannabinoid devoid of psychoactive effects, have highlighted encouraging results” (p.2). Cannabidiol has gained major attraction because of its therapeutic properties and it has been made available in forms such as gums, tablets and oils. Cannabidiol is used to treat diseases like epilepsy and psychotic disorders as it regulates their symptoms.
One of the diseases that Cannabidiol has been used to treat is Epilepsy. According to Beghi (2019), “E pilepsy is a chronic disease of the brain characterized by an enduring (i.e., persisting) predisposition to generate seizures, unprovoked by any immediate central nervous system insult, and by the neurobiological, cognitive, psychological, and social consequences of seizure recurrences. According to Walter (2018), “An epileptic seizure is defined conceptually as: “a transient occurrence of signs and symptoms due to abnormal excessive or synchronous neuronal activity in the brain.” This definition was updated most recently by the ILAE in 2005 and was not changed in 2014 when the definition of epilepsy was updated” (p.3). E pilepsy can affect everyone regardless of age and gender. According to Gianoncelli et al. (2019), “Recent clinical studies have shown that CBD reduces seizure frequency in patients with refractory epilepsies, although some limitations have been highlighted” (p.3). Cannabidiol manages and reduces the seizures in epilepsy. Gianoncelli et al. (2019) also stated that CBD is a safe drug because its most common side effects are diarrhea and decreased appetite. Thu s, one of the diseases that Cannabidiol has been used to treat is epilepsy by reducing the seizures in epileptic patients.
Cannabidiol can also treat psychotic disorders. According to Gianoncelli et al. (2019), “Psychosis means degeneration of the soul, and it is used to describe the illness generated from alterations in the thought; These disorders involve several neurotransmitter systems and brain regions, making treatment difficult and accompanied by heavy side effects in several preclinical and clinical trials” (p.5). According to Lieberman (2018) “before 1980, the term “psychotic” was applied generically to persons whose mental functioning was sufficiently impaired to interfere with their capacity to meet the ordinary demands of life but starting in 1980 with the publication of the third edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-III), the term indicated , disruption of the ability to distinguish between the internal experience of the mind and the external reality of the environment” (p.1). Cannabidiol regulates dopamine in the brain; dopamine is one of the factors that promote psychosis. “Cerebroventricular administration of CBD enhanced extracellular levels of dopamine in the nucleus accumbens; how it is related to the antipsychotic properties of CBD is unclear” (). Gianoncelli et al., 2019 p.5). Gianoncelli et al. (2019) also stated that “initial studies have shown that CBD, other than not showing psychotic symptoms, prevents some of the effects produced by D9-THC, supporting the idea that the CBD may have an antipsychotic activity or exhibits a profile similar to atypical antipsychotic drugs while other studies displayed that CBD reduced stereotypies induced by apomorphine, hyperlocomotion induced by amphetamine and ketamine and the perception of illusory image induced by nabilone’ (p.5). Thus, psychotic disorders can also be treated by Cannabidiol as it regulates the symptoms of psychotic disorders.
In conclusion, cannabidiol is used to treat diseases like epilepsy and psychotic disorders as it regulates their symptoms. CBD is used in the treatment of epilepsy by regulating the seizures. CBD is also used to treat pain, movement difficulties and anxiety. CBD does not make anyone get high. If taken in the right amounts, cannabidiol can be useful to the human body.
Beghi, E. (2020). The epidemiology of epilepsy. Neuroepidemiology, 54(2), 185-191.
Johnson, E. L. (2019). Seizures and epilepsy. Medical Clinics, 103(2), 309-324.
Lieberman, J. A., & First, M. B. (2018). Psychotic disorders. New England Journal of Medicine, 379(3), 270-280.
Pisanti, S., Malfitano, A. M., Ciaglia, E., Lamberti, A., Ranieri, R., Cuomo, G., … & Bifulco, M. (2017). Cannabidiol: State of the art and new challenges for therapeutic applications. Pharmacology & therapeutics, 175, 133-150.
Premoli, M., Aria, F., Bonini, S. A., Maccarinelli, G., Gianoncelli, A., Della Pina, S., … & Mastinu, A. (2019). Cannabidiol: Recent advances and new insights for neuropsychiatric disorders treatment. Life Sciences, 224, 120-127.