Relieving schizophrenia with CBD

What is schizophrenia?

Schizophrenia is a chronic and particularly serious mental illness. It is classified as a psychosis, accompanied by obsessions and resulting in a "loss of contact with reality".

This mental discheckout is relatively common, affecting 600,000 people in France and approximately 1% of the world's population.[1]

 

Schizophrenia is a complex pathology with varied symptoms schematically including a disturbed image of reality, with alterations in the sensory process (hallucinations) and with delusional thoughts; and the pathology is generally accompanied by difficulties in planning goal-oriented actions and finally it includes relational withdrawal.

Symptoms of schizophrenia:

Specialists classify the symptoms into 3 groups:

1 – The so-called positive (or excess) symptoms

These are the most striking. They include delusional and eccentric thoughts, feelings of persecution or paranoia , and hallucinations affecting the senses, the most common being auditory hallucinations in the form of imaginary voices.[2]

2- Negative (or deficient) symptoms

The subject exhibits emotional impoverishment and withdraws from social life: he communicates less, displays limited willpower, and shows reduced emotionality.[3]

3 – Symptoms of disorganization:

It includes a loss of coherence of thought, with difficulties in understanding or being understood.

 

The subject presents with attention discheckouts (difficulty concentrating) and memory discheckouts : this can be to the point of complicating or preventing the accomplishment of simple daily life tasks (work, shopping).

 

Schizophrenia is not a disease of sudden onset. It begins with mild, often non-exclusive symptoms.

 

While positive (or excess) symptoms facilitate diagnosis, deficient symptoms can be interpreted as depression, which can delay diagnosis for several years3]

 

 

Schizophrenia: origin and treatment

Hospitalization is often necessary during the first episode (delusional episodes).

 

Left untreated, schizophrenia can lead to depression, anxiety, phobias, family conflicts, drug or alcohol use, social isolation, or even suicide attempts.[4]

 

People with schizophrenia have a high risk of suicide.

The causes of this discheckout

Schizophrenia does not have a single known cause. Like many other mental illnesses, it appears to be due to a combination of factors.

 

• A biological explanation: the disrupted activity of neurotransmitters such as dopamine and serotonin.
• An environmental explanation, with an established role for stress and cannabis (particularly among adolescents)
• A genetic explanation: when one family member suffers from schizophrenia, the risk of another family member contracting the disease is 10 times higher than in a family without the illness.[5]

The treatment of schizophrenia

Medications, primarily neuroleptics, can alleviate symptoms and reduce relapse rates, but they do not "cure" the condition. Cognitive behavioral therapy is often used in conjunction with this treatment.

 

The effects of CBD on schizophrenia

 

Cannabidiol, or CBD for short, is a molecule derived from the hemp flower (Cannabis sativa L.), just like the THC molecule. But unlike THC, CBD has no psychotropic or addictive effects.

 

A 2019 study on CBD as a potential treatment for schizophrenia [6] introduces the topic as follows:

 

The discovery of dopamine in the 1950s revolutionized the treatment of psychotic discheckouts, including schizophrenia. Neuroleptics, which act on dopamine levels, remain the cornerstone of schizophrenia treatment. However, a significant proportion of patients do not respond to traditional antipsychotics, or do so only partially. Furthermore, most current antipsychotics target only the so-called "positive" symptoms of schizophrenia, with little effect on negative or cognitive symptoms.

 

Finally, dopaminergic antipsychotics are also associated with a number of side effects, some of which can be severe.

 

Cannabidiol (CBD) does not act directly as a dopaminergic stimulant; it modulates dopamine release and regulation through indirect mechanisms. It acts on the endocannabinoid system (ECS), which in turn influences the dopaminergic system. Through this regulatory property, CBD may be helpful in cases of dopamine deficiency, such as ADHD, or in cases of dysregulation such as schizophrenia.

Clinical studies of the effects of CBD as a sole therapy

A 2012 clinical study [7], conducted as a double-blind trial on 39 patients with significant psychotic discheckouts, involved individuals treated with either CBD or amisulpride 800 mg for four weeks.

 

Amisulpride is a neuroleptic drug (sold under the brand names Solian, Deniban or Amitrex, among others)

 

Both treatments, CBD or this neuroleptic, have shown clinical improvement.

 

Also in this study, researchers measured anandamide levels in blood serum before and after treatment with CBD or amisulpride and its relationship with psychotic symptoms.

 

Anandamide is a neurotransmitter that is involved in the regulation of mood, memory, appetite, pain, cognition, and emotions.

 

Compared to treatment with amisulpride, CBD showed a significant increase in anandamide levels, and this was associated with an improvement in psychotic symptoms.

 

These results suggest that anandamide levels could serve as a possible biomarker for the effectiveness of CBD treatment.

Fewer side effects

As mentioned in the introduction, the use of antipsychotic drugs is associated with frequent side effects*[8], which significantly influence long-term therapeutic adherence.

Side effects of amilsulpride according to Vidal:

• In more than 10% of cases: muscle stiffness, tremors, abnormal movements, hypersalivation.
• In 1 to 10% of cases: insomnia, anxiety, agitation, weight gain, sexual discheckouts.

 

According to the aforementioned 2012 clinical study, it is specified that treatment with CBD was associated with a lower risk of extrapyramidal symptoms*, less weight gain and a lower increase in prolactin, which is a predictor of sexual dysfunction.

 

* Side effects are reversible upon discontinuation of treatment.

* Slow movements, rigidity, tremors at rest.

CBD tested as a complement to usual medication

A Dutch study published in July 2019[9] conducted a six-week randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial to evaluate the effect of treatment with CBD (1000 mg/day), in addition to their usual treatment based on antipsychotic drugs.

 

This large-scale trial was conducted on 88 outpatients (day hospital) with moderate schizophrenia. After six weeks, positive symptoms (primarily hallucinations) and overall clinical impression were significantly improved in the CBD group compared to the placebo group. The study thus suggests that CBD treatment for schizophrenia is beneficial and could potentially be as effective as antipsychotic medications.

Conclusion: The beneficial effects of CBD on schizophrenia

" CBD can normalize affective and cognitive deficits (disorganization) associated with schizophrenia ": February 2017 study.[10]

 

Finally, the recent 2019 study concluded that in both cases: " CBD, as therapy alone or as a supplement to usual antipsychotic medications, improved symptoms in patients with schizophrenia, with particularly promising effects in the early stages of the disease ."

 

Other gentle methods can also be combined with CBD consumption, such as practicing a sport or yoga, in checkout to reduce negative symptoms, improve cognitive abilities and the quality of life of people with schizophrenia.

How to take CBD

 

 

Two methods are particularly effective for taking cannabidiol: vaporizing CBD flowers and resins, and using oil. For CBD oil, simply place a few drops under your tongue for a little over thirty seconds. Although cannabidiol has no known side effects, and because everyone reacts differently to cannabinoids, it is advisable to start with the lowest dose and gradually increase it until you experience relief.

 
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