It has been shown that full-spectrum CBD oil is able to treat issues related with anxiety, learning, motivation, attention etc. In this article, we will look specifically at how full-spectrum CBD (cannabidiol) oil is being used to treat ADD/ADHD.

In this article, we will look specifically at how full-spectrum CBD (cannabidiol) oil is being used to treat ADD/ADHD. Currently, more research is undergoing to understand more about how hemp oil and other components in the cannabis plant such as terpenes are able to considerably improve the symptoms of patients with various mental health conditions. It has been shown that full-spectrum CBD oil is able to treat issues related with anxiety, learning, motivation, attention etc.

Supporters of medical cannabis often cite that it is a completely safe drug that has no established side effects. With more research being completed every day about the medical benefits of cannabis, it is now clear that cannabis is a valuable alternative for managing a variety of health conditions as well as pain.

In order to get rid of the “high” effect usually associated with cannabis, We extract the main cannabinoid, cannabidiol (CBD) as well as minor compounds such as terpenes and other cannabinoids that have been shown to cause positive medical effects. As a result, they end up with a whole-spectrum hemp oil that is safe and non-euphoric. This is a huge factor especially when it comes to the treatment of ADD.

Based on a study carried out in 2013 and published in the Journal of Substance Use and Misuse, a lot of patients have resorted to self-medication in order to treat the impulsiveness, hyperactivity and other symptoms caused by ADD. Another German study in 2015 also considered the effect of CBD on 28 male and 2 female ADD patients that could not respond to prescribed medication such as Ritalin. Most of the subjects showed signs of improvement especially in terms of sleep, concentration and reduction in hyperactivity and impulsivity. Researchers have now confirmed that the current available drugs are more demanding on patients while CBD allows people with ADD to work and live without any significant side-effects.

Depression can be a predisposed condition (something you were born with) or brought on by an unfortunate event or trauma. Regardless of the cause, the symptoms of depression are often the same: feeling sad, loss of interest or pleasure in activities, changes in appetite, trouble sleeping, loss of energy, feeling worthless, and difficulty thinking, concentrating, or making decisions.

While human neurochemistry plays a vital role, it is commonly debated that depression is caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain. Rather, Psychology Today argues, “regarding depression as ‘just’ a chemical imbalance wildy misconstrues the disorder.” Scientists agree that levels of neurotransmitters (i.e chemicals in our brains) are reduced during depression, but this reduction is a symptom of depression rather than a cause.

Two of the neurotransmitters affected during depression are serotonin and dopamine. As previously mentioned, it is common for someone experiencing a bout of depression to feel sad, have a lack of interest in activities, have difficulties sleeping, and loss of energy. Because levels of serotonin and dopamine are affected by things like diet, exercise, mental state, and stress levels, research supports the idea that some depressed people have reduced serotonin and dopamine transmission. This is where the use of CBD products can come into play.

Two recent studies uncovered these benefits of CBD oil with symptoms of depression. In one study, conducted in 2011 while studying the modulation of the serotonin system through endocannabinoid signaling, researchers found “ample evidence that endocannabinoids are important regulators of stress responses.” Thus it can be assumed that, during depression, plant cannabinoids such as CBD have the ability to regulate one’s response to stressful situations.

Additionally, Jose Alexandre Crippa and his colleagues at the University of San Paulo in Brazil and King’s College in London observed that, at high concentrations, CBD directly activates the 5-HT1A (hydroxytryptamine) serotonin receptor, thereby conferring an anti-anxiety effect.

Parkinson’s disease has no cure, and existing therapies only relieve symptoms or supply the body with dopamine; none address the destruction of dopamine-producing brain cells, which is the root cause of the disorder. Researchers are looking at CBD’s anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective properties in hopes of alleviating symptoms and perhaps even slowing, stopping and reversing disease progression.

“The most promising aspect of cannabis to help Parkinson's patients, as well as any other neurodegenerative disease, lies in the plant’s anti-inflammatory properties, which impart nerve protection and possible reduction of amyloid buildup in brain cells,” says Dr. Perry Solomon, HelloMD’s chief medical officer.

Amyloid is a protein that’s normally found throughout the body, but in Alzheimer’s disease it divides improperly, forming plaque in the brain that interferes with cerebral function. Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s share common characteristics like the buildup of proteins in the brain, and it’s thought that some drugs that treat Alzheimer’s could also help Parkinson’s patients.

Dr. Solomon points to lab research in mice that used a combination of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and CBD to reduce amyloid buildup, resulting in improved memory.

Research also suggests that CBD can help with reducing inflammation caused by microglial cells. Microglial cells in the brain “clean up” debris in neurodegenerative disorders, but there’s a caveat: The cleaning actions of microglia can be detrimental to surrounding cells. In patients with Parkinson’s disease, activated microglia are often found near dying, dopamine-producing cells.

Researchers think that controlling this microglial action could have neuroprotective benefits. A study in a mouse model of Alzheimer’s disease suggests that CBD’s anti-inflammatory properties weaken the actions of these microglial cells.

And lastly, studies in rats have also shown that CBD is neuroprotective. According to a study published in 2007, CBD protected brain cells that projected into the substantia nigra—the part of the brain that’s affected in Parkinson’s disease and other neurological diseases.

While these preclinical studies show much promise in developing effective treatments for Parkinson’s disease, much more work needs to be conducted—especially trials that have large sample sizes and clear objectives. Until then, Parkinson’s patients will continue to use CBD and other cannabis constituents to manage the symptoms of their disease.

Something strange is happening to our immune systems. Over the last fifty years there has been a dramatic rise in the incidence of autoimmune diseases, conditions in which the body’s immune system begins to attack itself. Multiple Sclerosis, Crohn’s disease, Diabetes Type 1, Rheumatoid Arthritis and Lupus are just the more well known of over one hundred autoimmune diseases, all of which are reaching record levels.

What causes autoimmune diseases?

Theories abound as to why these conditions are getting such a stranglehold on the developed world, such as ‘the Hygiene Hypothesis’ which suggests a lack of exposure to bacteria and viruses – the normal targets of a healthy immune system – is causing our immune systems to get confused and either attack themselves or develop allergies.

Others view chronic inflammation as a possible cause. It would be wrong to say that inflammation per se is bad as it forms a crucial role in the body’s immune response to viruses and bacteria, and healing injuries. The problem occurs when this inflammatory response is called upon unnecessarily and its action is directed towards the body’s own tissues, as in the case of autoimmune disease. The result is the body literally destroying itself.

Chronic inflammation a contributing factor

So why does the inflammatory response get out of whack in the first place? It would seem for many autoimmune conditions a contributing factor is an overproduction of cytokines, which are small proteins released by cells affecting the inter-cell communication. The cytokines includes interleukins, lymphokines and cell signal molecules, which trigger inflammation and respond to infections.

So the next question is why are too many cytokines produced? A major cause is something called oxidative stress.

Living in the modern age leaves us open to a constant bombardment by chemicals, pollutants and free radicals. When the body doesn’t have enough antioxidants to counteract them, oxidative stress is caused, making the body more likely to develop age related illnesses such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, Cancer, and of course autoimmune diseases.

According to one study by scientists at the University of Kobe in Japan, ‘when the state of oxidative stress was investigated in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), systemic lupus erythematosus, and Sjögren’s syndrome by oxidative stress profile, most subjects were in excessive oxidative stress’. Another study found that ‘Rheumatoid Arthritis synovial fluid and tissue have demonstrated oxidative damage to the tissue. Signs of oxidative stress such as DNA oxidative damage, are present in the inflammatory synovium (the membrane lining synovial joints) of RA patients’.

Patients diagnosed with an autoimmune disease are usually prescribed a cocktail of anti inflammatory medication and immunosuppressants, which are often accompanied by a host of side effects and may only work for finite periods of time before another drug has to be tried.

Could cannabis provide provide an answer?

But what if there were a substance that were both an antioxidant and an anti inflammatory agent? Well it just so happens that the cannabis plant does both.

Biochemist Dennis Hill, who himself used cannabis to treat his prostate cancer, describes how compounds within the cannabis plant called cannabinoids ‘have the ability to suppress the inflammatory cytokine cascade by inhibiting glial cell production of the cytokines interferon or interleukin’ (both of which are proteins used in the immune system response). ‘Here we see the seeds of chronic inflammation dissolved by the modulation process of cannabinoids bringing homeostasis to systems out of balance’.