Treating Schizophrenia with CBD

In spite of the legal and regulatory challenges surrounding CBD, the science of the subject continues to gather pace and legitimacy. However, because research is still in its relative infancy, the use of CBD is legal for the treatment of seizures, but overall making medical claims related to CBD is still frowned upon by the FDA at this moment in time.

This is not deterring researchers though, and in one such area, there is cause for optimism. The area in question relates to a group of scientists who have discovered a possible use case for CBD is in the control of symptoms associated with schizophrenia.

While some reports claim that cannabis may possess some properties capable of increasing the risk of developing schizophrenia, others believe cannabis-based compounds like CBD has a potent ability to reduce the symptoms attached to the condition. In this article, we shall take a look at these claims to determine if CBD has the potential to reduce symptoms linked to schizophrenia or not.

Overview of Schizophrenia

In simple terms, schizophrenia can be described as a severe mental disorder that affects how a person thinks, behaves, or feels. In some cases, where the function of the brain function is impaired extensively, the condition can make people lose touch with reality.

As uncommon as this disease may sound or appear, it will interest you to note that about 7.5 million American adults battle with the disease. The prevalence of the condition is not sex-linked but tends to start earlier in men. The onset of the symptoms starts between the ages of 16 and 30. There are cases where symptoms of the disease can be expressed in children too. The most common symptoms associated with schizophrenia are placed into three broad categories, namely; positive, negative, and cognitive.

The positive symptoms of schizophrenia are described as psychotic behaviors that are often produced in healthy people. This tends to make healthy people lose touch with some aspects of reality via movement disorders, thought disorders, delusions, and hallucinations.

Negative symptoms consist of disruptions to normal behaviors and emotions via reduced speaking, difficulty starting or sustaining activities, reduced feelings of pleasure, and flat affect while the cognitive symptoms are regarded as the most chronic of all. They tend to produce noticeable changes in the overall behavior of patients and may be linked to trouble focusing challenges with working memory, and poor executive functioning.

Schizophrenia is mostly caused by two factors; gene and environmental or different brain chemistry and structure. In terms of gene expression and environmental challenges, individuals could inherit schizophrenic genes from their parents or may be caused by a host of other environmental factors such as exposure to viruses, psychosocial factors, problems during birth, and malnutrition before birth. Scientists also believe an imbalance in the complex, interrelated chemical reactions occurring in the brain between dopamine, glutamate, and other neurotransmitters could lead to schizophrenia.

Regardless of the possible conditions leading to the establishment of schizophrenia in the body, treatment measures focus on the use of antipsychotics, psychosocial medications, and coordinated specialty care (CSC). In cases where traditional treatments are used, they may only focus on the negative symptoms while neglecting cognitive and positive symptoms.

Cannabis’ effect on schizophrenia

Scientists have identified the frequent use of cannabis as one of the risk factors of coming down with schizophrenia. This is because THC is highly psychotic and may interact with the dopamine and glutamate levels in the brain. The frequent and incessant use of cannabis increases episodes of schizophrenia. In the midst of these crises, CBD was discovered to possess some antipsychotic effects, which may play critical roles in reducing the symptoms of schizophrenia even though evidence points only to its ability to block THC-induced psychosis.

Information gathered from research shows that about an estimated 8% of worldwide schizophrenia cases are attributed to cannabis use. The risk of developing schizophrenia due to the presence of THC can be linked to the role of CB1 receptors in controlling how neurons connect and communicate with each other. There is evidence pointing to how THC can produce some psychotic episodes after using cannabis. These episodes may persist even after the effects of THC have worn off, thus requiring medical attention. The higher the THC dose presented in the body, the higher the chances of experiencing such psychotic episodes.

While the statistics and facts presented by these studies are true, adequate care must be taken to note that the results were quite biased since the cannabis plant contains over 100 different cannabinoids and 120 terpenes. These compounds can, however, interact with the endocannabinoid receptors and neurotransmitters to produce several symptoms. Although THC is highly psychoactive, there is a growing body of research indicating how CBD possesses an excellent antioxidant property, which can serve to play significant roles in controlling the episodes experienced during schizophrenia.

What are the roles of CBD in schizophrenia?

CBD or cannabidiol was reported to possess some excellent therapeutic properties. Information from research shows how it can play significant roles as antioxidant, anticancer, antitumor, antimicrobial, antidepressant, antipsychotic, and antimicrobial property. Unlike THC, it is not psychoactive and also serves to inhibit the psychoactive properties of THC via the entourage effect. There is also a growing body of interest indicating how CBD may serve as a potential remedy for schizophrenia.
In one study published in the American Journal of Psychiatry, it was reported that CBD could reduce psychotic symptoms linked with schizophrenia. In their research, the scientists administered 1000mg/day of CBD to schizophrenic patients for six weeks and were accessed before and after the treatment. After the treatment, it was discovered that the administration of CBD lowered the psychotic symptoms than those treated with medications.

Unlike what is obtainable with the commonly utilized traditional remedies for schizophrenia, CBD has a great promise of improving the negative and cognitive symptoms of schizophrenia. In one study conducted on animal models, it was reported that CBD improved some negative symptoms related to working memory deficits and social interaction deficits.
It is also pertinent to note that CBD offers schizophrenic patients a better chance of dealing with their symptoms since it produces little to no severe side effects. CBD does not tamper with food intake or lead to weight gain, which is a common side effect of antipsychotic medications.

However, while these research reports showed an excellent activity of CBD on the symptoms of schizophrenic rats and lab animals, there is a need to expand the research work to include human subjects.

Bottom line

For users to obtain the best antipsychotic activities of CBD, it is highly recommended that they settle for only broad-spectrum or CBD isolates since they contain zero THC and have a higher chance of inhibiting improving symptoms linked with schizophrenia.

Don’t forget to contact us if you have questions on the use of CBD for antipsychotic effects or as a potential remedy for schizophrenia.

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