Does CBD Help Parkinson’s Symptoms?
CBD and Parkinson’s
The Parkinson is the second most common neurodegenerative disease after Alzheimer’s disease. Today there is no cure for the condition. Could the CBD or Cannabidiol To protect the brain of Parkinson’s patients or alleviate their symptoms?
Conventional medications currently exist to control almost any symptom, but they can often have unwanted side effects. The side effects of plants, however, can be less severe or even non-existent. CBD or Cannabidiol is a great example of this phenomenon.
It is not just the Parkinson’s Disease community that has been interested in CBD or Cannabidiol, there are countless claims that CBD is useful for a host of conditions.
What is CBD or Cannabidiol?
CBD is a compound derived from the Cannabis plant and is commonly sold in. oils, creams and foods.among others. According to the product, CBD could treat pain, anxiety, depression, insomnia, and inflammation, among other problems. In addition, research suggests that CBD could potentially be useful for other conditions, including improving well-being and quality of life in Parkinson’s disease (PD).
Parkinson’s Disease Symptoms.
Parkinson’s being a chronic degenerative disease of the central nervous system, it mainly affects the areas of the brain that are responsible for controlling movement. It usually appears in people over 60 years of age (although in the case of young-onset Parkinson’s disease it affects people under 40 years of age) and is more common in men than in women.
The primary symptoms of the disease are motor symptoms. In addition to the characteristic tremors commonly associated with the disease, other symptoms include rigidity, postural instability, and bradykinesia (slowness in executing movements). In later stages of the disease, sensory, sleep and emotional problems (depression or anxiety) may also appear, accompanied by dementia in the later stages. At this stage, there is no cure for the disease and medical intervention is limited to treating the symptoms.
Some clinical evidence on the performance of CBD on Parkinson’s symptoms:
- Patients participating in a study from the Department of Neurology, University of Colorado and Colorado School of Public Health, who reported using Cannabis to treat their Parkinson’s symptoms mostly reported improvements in mood and sleep, while a smaller percentage reported improvement in their motor symptoms. None reported worsening symptoms or side effects.
- In a publication in the Journal of Psychopharmacology they reported that, although no neuroprotective treatments for Parkinson’s Disease have been found to date, the Endocannabinoid System has emerged as a promising target. Concluding that their findings point to a possible effect of CBD in improving quality of life measures in PD patients without psychiatric comorbidities; however, studies with larger samples and specific targets are required.
- According to a 2018 review study published by the journal Frontiers in Pharmacology, “Cannabidiol is a compound from Cannabis Sativa that exhibits antipsychotic, anxiolytic, anti-inflammatory, and neuroprotective effects.” The data suggest that CBD could potentially play a protective role in the treatment of certain movement disorders.
- A recent study conducted in Brazil, showed that a daily treatment based on CBD or Cannabidiol improved the well-being and quality of life of patients diagnosed with Parkinson’s. However, they noted that the treatment did not reduce the disease itself, but only some of its symptoms.
- Another observational study suggested that Cannabis might improve motor symptoms. Patients who used Cannabis reported experiencing improvements in some of the symptoms of the disease: tremor, bradykinesia, uncontrolled movements caused by treatment, problems with sleep, and pain. In other studies, however, patients did not experience improvement in tremor, but reported improvements in some psychotic symptoms and in their sleep problems.
- Scientists at the University of Louisville School of Medicine in Kentucky have identified a previously unknown molecular target for Cannabidiol (CBD) which may have significant therapeutic implications for Parkinson’s Disease (PD), from motor symptoms to neuroprotection.
Conclusions:
CBD could act as an adjunct to existing treatments, or as a possible future treatment. On the other hand, animal studies indicate that Cannabis compounds could slow the progression of Parkinson’s disease and other neurodegenerative disorders such as dementia.
Parkinson’s Disease is a constant reminder that Cannabinoid research is essential to discovering an appropriate treatment for one of the most debilitating and perplexing neurodegenerative diseases in existence.
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