CBD is being part of something quite new, in the midst of a fight against the bad version that exists about it, when compared to the use given to cannabis plants recreationally, playing a role in recent years quite hopeful for many patients with various diseases.
Effects like those of neuroprotection, are what characterize CBD and make it an excellent option for the treatment of disorders such as autism spectrum; This disease does not have an established conventional treatment and the possible frequent symptoms in these patients are simply treated, but then what would be the exact function of this cannabis compound to help combat the side effects of this disease? Could this be the ideal medicine for autism?
In this article we will talk about the interaction that exists between cannabidiol and autism, we will include a real-life case that shows us the magnitude of benefits that this compound has to treat this disease.
Autism spectrum disorder
It is known as a mental development disorder to autism, since it is nothing more than a deficiency that occurs from childhood and limits the development capacity in the brain specifically of communication and behavior, so as the child grows, he begins to have problems at school and when interacting with other children, since one of its symptoms is loss of interest in certain things and difficulty communicating and interacting.
This is a chronic disease, which means that it has no cure, however, it has certain treatments that treat some of the most common symptoms to improve its evolution, The earliest stage is the most important for treatment, since this will decide the outcome of the patient's development, an earlier treatment in a less affected patient.
There are some warning signs that indicate whether a child has an autism spectrum disorder or not. This diagnosis is important and the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that every child between 18 and 24 months of age undergo a thorough evaluation to detect ASD, in which it can be carried out in well-child visits.
In this way we name some of the symptoms in patients with autism spectrum disorder: delay in responding to being called by name or by any other method, little or unconscious eye contact, auditory attention deficit, difficulty in congruence of a conversation, repetition of words, behaviors or phrases, increased interest in specific things, among many others.
Although a specific cause of this pathology has not been discovered, some risk factors have been associated, such as having an autistic sibling, low birth weight, genetic conditions and older parents.
Science and its research on the effect of CBD on autism
To begin, we mention a study in which a relationship was established between plasma concentrations of Anandamide, a main compound of the endocannabinoid system, with the presence of an autism spectrum disorder. In the study, children with this condition were recruited for a subsequent evaluation and blood tests.
116 children, 60 of whom suffered from autism and 56 from neurotypical control, aged between 3 and 12 years, underwent a reevaluation based on some parameters established by certain manuals and then blood tests were performed for subsequent analysis, which which allowed us to conclude that low plasma concentrations of Anandamide were associated with the chances of suffering from ASD, compared to neurotypical control patients.
So, apparently, the endocannabinoid system or its deficiency is involved in the chances of having an autism spectrum disorder, however, this has not been scientifically proven yet.
Another study published in 2015, also related to Anandamide, demonstrated that its deficiency can cause an alteration in the social response in relation to oxytocin, so it was concluded that greater Anandamine signaling significantly improves the social response.
In turn, a study published in 2017 demonstrated the effectiveness of cannabis consumption in the treatment of autistic-type social behaviors and seizures in patients suffering from Dravet. This study was carried out in mice. In the case of seizures it is also relevant, since there is a percentage of patients with autism spectrum disorder who suffer from this condition.
A study carried out in one of the cities with the greatest scientific advances on cannabinoids, Jerusalem, was carried out by researchers from the Shaare Zedek Medical Center, which consisted of evaluating 60 patients between 5 and 18 years old, with ASD, to whom a dose of CBD and THC was administered in a 20:1 ratio, where 10 mg were CBD and 5 mg THC by weight.
This allowed the researchers to obtain an improvement in behavior in approximately 61% of the cases studied, a 39% improvement in anxiety and 47% in communication difficulties. In addition to this, parents reported being satisfied with the results and noticing a significant reduction in stress.
In conclusion, it was noted that CBD could be a future hope in the treatment of patients with ASD, specifically at an early age of life. This was a pioneering study of the interaction of CBD and autism in humans, since those carried out previously had been carried out in mice.
Mechanism of action of CBD to treat autism
Cannabidiol is normally administered as About our CBD oil sublingually in drops, it is absorbed quickly and completely by this route, upon entering the body a search for specific endocannabinoid receptors begins, for its subsequent interaction and as we have seen in the studies mentioned above, it was shown that The ECS has a relationship with autism spectrum disorder.
This oil does not only contain CBD, it also has THC, but in much smaller quantities, and since cannabidiol has the ability to attenuate the psychoactive effect of tetrahydrocannabidiol, there is no problem in the use of this natural medicine.
CBD in combination with THC, but in a 20:1 ratio, participate in the relief of symptoms such as anxiety, irritability, falling asleep, improvement of social behavior, reduction of physical aggression and aggressive behavior in general. A fairly important benefit is to increase Anandamine signaling, since its presence has been associated with autism spectrum disorder.
CBD has been successful in real cases!
Beyond the scientific studies that can be carried out, a real-life case that involves a patient, in this case a pediatric patient, and his mother worried about the health of her child, will always be an anecdotal and hopeful event for others. people, in addition to providing a higher point of credibility, this is why we tell you the following story below:
Valeria Salech, mother and founder of the NGO Mamá Cultiva, tells how CBD significantly improved her son's quality of life. He is a child with autism spectrum disorder, who interacted very little with other people, the TV was nothing more than a wall in his environment, in addition to this he had seizures more than 200 times a day.
He was treated with various conventional medications, to the point that he consumed a cocktail of these, which helped him a little, however they made him asocial and irritable, one day Valeria decided to apply a few drops of CBD oil to her son. “One day I came home desperate because I had run out of medicine, and I was scared, because when the child did not have the medicine, he would start to convulse, so I went and put a drop of oil in a cookie, as they told me, he “He ate it and I went to the kitchen and stayed washing the dishes, when suddenly I heard his laughter.”
He was a child who laughed very little, he needed encouragement to do so, Valeria went to the other room and found her son watching TV and laughing with the pink panther, this was a great shock for her, so her tears made an appearance at that precise moment “I was laughing with him and he with me and suddenly he started crying, because I didn't know his laugh and that was something quite strong for me.”
Thanks to CBD, Valeria learned about facets of her son that she did not know and brought her a new expectation of his future. considerably improved his symptoms and therefore his quality of life.
Outcome of the topic
The use of CBD in the treatment of autism spectrum disorder could be the cornerstone of this disease, but research must continue to raise the value of this cannabis compound in said disease, it is important to consider CBD oil with THC for optimize the result, as long as it is a 20:1 ratio in abundance of cannabidiol.
The benefits of these compounds in autism spectrum disorder are quite numerous, and they promise to improve the patient's quality of life, adding an improvement in both their physical and mental development.
We recommend assistance to a specialist doctor, so that treatment with cannabinoids can be considered along with this and to be able to keep a more exhaustive control of the results, evaluate the interaction of this compound with other conventional medications and propose a substitution or inclusion of the treatment.