In 2018, the Food and Drug Administration approved Epidiolex (cannabidiol) to treat two rare forms of epilepsy known as Lennox-Gastaut syndrome and Dravet syndrome, both showing significant decreases in seizures relative to placebo treatment. Studies suggest it significantly reduced seizures compared to its control arm, according to studies.
CBD interacts with the body’s endocannabinoid system, which plays an integral role in maintaining homeostasis by regulating pain transmission, hunger and sleep patterns. Furthermore, studies have demonstrated its ability to decrease anxiety and boost mood.
1. Pain Relief
CBD has long been recognized for its effectiveness in alleviating pain, anxiety, insomnia and other health conditions. CBD works through your cannabinoid system – which includes receptors across your nervous system and brain – which respond to triggers to help bring balance back to your body’s homeostasis.
Research indicates that CBD can alleviate multiple sclerosis neuropathic pain as well as arthritis pain and inflammation, according to 2022 studies. A combination of CBD and THC (nabiximols) was shown to significantly improve pain management, muscle spasticity relief and depression in those living with MS.
If you want to use CBD for pain, there are two forms available for consumption – an oral tincture and topical cream are two methods of administration, respectively. When selecting the latter method, be sure to follow directions precisely so as not to cause burning or tingling sensations on the skin.
2. Arthritis
CBD interacts with two receptors to reduce pain and inflammation, which scientists believe may provide relief for people living with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), which causes painful, inflamed joints.
Animal studies demonstrate that CBD helps ease RA pain by desensitizing primary pain receptors and blocking pro-inflammatory cytokines, as well as decreasing production of pro-inflammatory chemicals by immune cells, thus decreasing flares caused by arthritis flare-ups.
CBD comes in both oral oil capsules and topical creams/gels/sprays for topical application on the skin, making it convenient and accessible. When selecting a company to buy from, be sure that every batch has been rigorously tested to ensure purity, potency, and safety before purchasing from.
3. Mood Disorders
Many patients suffering from mood disorders find relief through complementary medicines, such as CBD. It’s essential, however, that any medications prescribed by their psychiatrist or physician be adhered to.
CBD has been shown to produce anxiolytic effects in animal models of anxiety, such as the elevated plus maze (EPM) and electrical stimulation of the periaqueductal gray matter. Furthermore, CBD reduced sensitivity to SSRI class antidepressants in a rat depression model.
CBD may alter psychiatric phenotypes by impacting epigenetic mechanisms, including DNA methylation and histone modifications, which regulate genetic components related to stress and anxiety. Furthermore, CBD can modulate RNA expression through microRNAs that may regulate genes involved in stress response mechanisms.
4. Addiction
CBD can assist in helping individuals overcome addiction by strengthening cognitive functions and increasing resolve for sobriety. Furthermore, it has the ability to soothe withdrawal symptoms such as pain and anxiety easing the transition from substance abuse to recovery.
CBD has been found to alter drug-seeking behavior by interfering with reward circuitry of the brain, such as amygdala, prefrontal cortex and nucleus accumbens. CBD also prevents disruptions of homeostasis by acting upon dopaminergic, opioidergic, endocannabinoid serotonergic glutamatergic systems along with hippocampal neurogenesis (Figure 1). Furthermore, CBD was shown to reduce cocaine reward, consumption, motivation through activation of mTor and decreased gene expression of GluR5/GluR1 genes (Figure 3).
5. Heart Health
CBD may help protect against heart failure, in which the heart no longer supplies enough blood to the rest of the body, and treat high blood pressure that leads to cardiovascular disease and other serious health conditions. Additionally, CBD could treat high blood pressure which has the potential for increasing cardiovascular risks as well.
Studies published in 2022 demonstrated that CBD provided protection from the damage caused by high glucose environments, inflammation and type 2 diabetes in animal models by decreasing vascular hyperpermeability and slowing heart cell hypertrophy – both phenomena known as cardiac hypertrophy.
Studies of isolated mesenteric arteries from rats demonstrated that CBD induces vasorelaxation by both endothelium-dependent and independent mechanisms, including modulation of small conductance calcium activated potassium channels, cAMP, and PKA.
6. Cancer
CBD has demonstrated powerful anti-proliferative and pro-apoptotic effects against various cancer types in both cultured tumor cells and mouse tumor models, with notable decreases in cell migration, invasion and angiogenesis.
CBD treatment effectively inhibits melanoma cell growth at concentration-dependent levels and decreases tumor size in vivo, while attenuating metastasis through suppression of the expression of XIAP.
CBD’s exact mechanism of action to induce apoptosis has yet to be fully explained, although evidence suggests an upregulation of ROS and ER stress pathways. Treatment of EL-4 leukemia and lymphoma cells with CBD increased ROS levels significantly while supplementation with antioxidants such as NAC or a-tocopherol reduced its cytotoxic effect.
