PATIENTS SHOWED REDUCTION IN SYMPTOMS
In a recent article written by Philip Mcguire, Professor of Psychiatry, King’s College London on the site, The Conversation, he stated that, “Psychiatric patients treated with a substance found in cannabis, cannabidiol, showed a significant reduction in psychotic symptoms and were also more likely to be rated as “improved” by their psychiatrist, our latest study shows.”
SYMPTOMS USUALLY BEGIN IN EARLY ADULTHOOD
These Psychotic disorders affect two to three per cent of the population. The symptoms can be lifelong with patients typically experiencing paranoia, hallucinations and a lack of motivation.
TRADITIONAL TREATMENTS HAVE SIGNIFICANT SIDE EFFECTS
Since the 1950s, the treatment for psychosis has been antipsychotic drugs. They are usually effective, but in about a third of patients, they don’t work at all. They also have significant side effects in most all patients who take them.
NEW TREATMENT WITH CBD
The study, published in the American Journal of Psychiatry, was the first placebo-controlled clinical trial of CBD in patients with psychosis. Eighty-eight patients with psychosis were given either CBD or a placebo for six weeks along with their existing anti-psychotic medication.
There was a reduction in symptoms in the patients treated with CBD and the rate of possible side effects in patients given CBD was no more than in patients who were given the placebo.
MORE STUDIES NEEDED
We need to have more studies to determine exactly how CBD helps those suffering with psychosis and to know the efficacy of this treatment. Yet, this study gives hope for the possibility of a CBD treatment without the harsh and significant side effects of current drugs used for treatment.