Currently, CBD is taking an important turn as a treatment for Many sicknesses, helping to reduce symptoms or even eliminate them completely, functioning as an anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, analgesic, neuroprotective, among many other options that this cannabis compound offers us, but it has certain disadvantages in some diseases like any medicine.
Will this be the case in glaucoma? or on the contrary, CBD is once again victorious in the treatment of another disease as common as glaucoma. Below, we will see some information that will clarify all the questions on this topic.
Let's talk a little about glaucoma
This disease occupies the number one position in most common causes of blindness in elderly people, and it progressively damages the optic nerve of the eye, generally when fluid accumulates in front of the eye, this accumulation in turn produces an increase in intraocular pressure or IOP, thus causing gradual damage .
Glaucoma can be divided into chronic open-angle glaucoma and closed-angle glaucoma, also recognized as narrow-angle glaucoma.
Over the years, a number of ways have been implemented to treat this disease, from treatment with eye drops, to surgeries and laser treatments, however, with the discovery of the wonderful advantages of cannabis for various diseases, tests for glaucoma, obtaining both positive and negative results.
The important thing to understand this relationship between CBD and glaucoma is to take into account its main cause of optical damage, which is IOP, and secondly, its various symptoms such as intense eye pain, vomiting, stomach pain. , headache among others.
Research with CBD in the treatment of glaucoma
Just like any medicine, CBD of natural origin was tested in various studies carried out by scientists, but not only this compound was part of this experiment, since it was also accompanied by the rest of its brothers components of cannabis, especially tetrahydrocannabinol or THC which we will include in the topic.
A study carried out on six patients who suffered from ocular hypertension or who were in the first stages of open-angle glaucoma disease, were subjected to doses of both THC and CBD to observe the results.
The amount of 5mg of tetrahydrocannabinol or THC was administered sublingually and only by means of an oromucosal spray, resulting in a fairly significant reduction in intraocular pressure 2 hours after administration, this effect being temporary; On the other hand, cannabidiol or CBD was administered in a single dose of 20 mg sublingually with a content of 1 mg of THC as well, this did not show any positive or negative results.
However, when performing a test with a single dose of 40 mg of CBD, also sublingually and with an addition of 2 mg of THC, the patient presented a quite notable increase in intraocular pressure 4 hours after administration, highlighting that it was a transitory effect.
A randomized, uncontrolled study also participated in providing information for this research, which illustrated that there was some improvement in intraocular pressure in patients with end-stage open-angle glaucoma who did not respond to medications or to surgeries.
This occurs after the administration of THC from 2,5 to 5 mg orally up to a maximum dose of 20 mg/day for a period of 3 to 36 weeks. Some of these patients discontinued treatment due to the psychotropic and adverse effects of tetrahydrocannabinol, while others appeared to develop a tolerance to the compound.
The study carried out by researchers at Indiana University and published in the journal Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science, described that the study carried out in mice to which CBD was applied in the form of eye drops with CBD extract caused, at least four hours later, of dose administration, an 18% increase in intraocular pressure or IOP.
This increased the concern of researchers when these results together with other research reached the same conclusion, that CBD could be part of the risk factors for glaucoma, was commented by the associate scientist of the department of psychological and brain sciences. from the university, named Alex Straiker.
In addition to that, the study also showed that the effect of THC in terms of reducing intraocular pressure was different in both women and men, with the intraocular pressure of men obtaining a decrease of 30% after spending 8 hours. of the administered dose and 22% after 4 hours; As for women, this decrease was smaller, obtaining a decrease in IOP of only 17% after 4 hours of administration, after 8 hours no change in pressure was found.
“This difference between men and women, and the fact that CBD appears to worsen pressure in the eye, the main risk factor for glaucoma, are important aspects of this study” “It is also important that CBD actively opposes the beneficial effects of THC” commented scientist Alex Straiker.
Why THC and CBD not in the treatment of glaucoma?
Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC)
The psychoactive compound in cannabis called THC, YES it can be used in the treatment of glaucoma, because it interacts with a series of receptors in the endocannabinoid system, among which two specific neuroreceptors called CB1 and CPR18 stand out, through which it fulfills its function of reducing intraocular pressure.
The discovery of these receptors was thanks to researchers at Indiana University, where Straiker also mentioned that more than 50 years ago they found evidence that THC could lower IOP but they did not know by what specific mechanism it achieved it and now thanks to that The study they carried out had changed that, and they added that these results could have important implications in research carried out in the future on the use of cannabinoids as a treatment for intraocular pressure.
cannabidiol (CBD)
This main compound in the composition of cannabis that does not contain psychoactive effects called CBD, Should NOT be used in the treatment of glaucoma, because one of its functions in the body is to reduce blood pressure and control stress by increasing blood flow during these periods of stress.
So, when CBD acts as a vasodilator, it allows blood to circulate more freely, when it relaxes the smooth cells within the blood vessels, it eliminates the pressure exerted on the arteries.
So can I use cannabis for glaucoma treatment?
It is possible to use the cannabinoid compounds of cannabis for the treatment of glaucoma, as long as certain recommendations are taken into account to avoid mishandling this medication, which can further affect your health. Some of these parameters are:
- The use of oils is recommended with higher concentrations of THC and lower concentrations of CBD THC being the only one currently supported by science to reduce intraocular pressure.
- The correct dosage is important, so getting the right one for your body is essential to obtain favorable results, consult the dosage tables.
- Always consult your trusted doctor, he will tell you which dose is appropriate, as well as which oil to buy according to its percentage of cannabinoids.
- CBD doses above 40mg considerably increase intraocular pressure, which is why we recommend managing our cannabinoid consumption well.
How could CBD help in glaucoma?
Although we have made it clear that the function of CBD in the treatment of glaucoma is harmful to this disease, there are other functions of CBD that could be positive in this matter, such as the side effects of the disease mentioned earlier in the article.
As CBD contains great analgesic properties By working on the endocannabinoid receptors, it could help control or reduce the intensity of the side effects of glaucoma, such as severe stomach pain, headache and eye pain. However, consulting your doctor would be ideal before using it.
A very interesting fact about CBD and glaucoma is the possibility that it works against one of the effects described in a study carried out in a survey that had a scope of 6.700 people over 40 years of age in the United States, who answered questions about of the dream showing a possible relationship between glaucoma and sleep.
The study consisted of analyzing data from 2005 to 2008 from the National Health and Nutrition Examination survey, where the members of the group evaluated were patients with evident damage to the optic nerve and therefore loss of vision in certain parts of the visual field. Specific tests were performed to verify the loss and the degree of affectation. The participants answered a series of questions regarding sleep in relation to their lives, which resulted in a deduction by the researchers that There is an association between suffering from glaucoma and having sleep problems.
Concluding that, due to the functions that cannabidiol or CBD as a regulator of sleep conditions, this could be useful to combat this side effect of glaucoma, however, there are studies that must be carried out to respond to this possibility, so we recommend you stay informed about the advances with CBD.
Finally, CBD and glaucoma?
In this way we can conclude that, based on the research carried out over the years by important researchers, cannabinoids are once again an excellent treatment option for various diseases, however, in this case we place THC as the first option in the treatment of glaucoma, since this is the only one of the two compounds that allows the reduction of the main cause of glaucoma progression, such as intraocular pressure or IOP.
On the other hand, CBD could serve in smaller quantities or make a small contribution in terms of the decreased side effects of glaucomaHowever, much research is needed to reach something concrete that allows the regulated use of cannabidiol.
Research has shown more positive points of this compound than the negative ones, so this decline in cannabidiol as a treatment is nothing compared to the large list of scientifically supported benefits that CBD can provide us.
Finally, we recommend that users stay away from certain companies that attempt to provide false information and/or sell products with high CBD content for the treatment of glaucoma.