Can Cannabis Extract Help Treat Psychosis?
- 20 Sep, 2018
- William Levy
- 1
For the first time, brain scans show how a compound found in cannabis plants could help those suffering psychotic disorders. It does this by quieting abnormal activity in the brain, a massively contributing trigger among many patients. Just one dose of cannabidiol, or CBD, lowered strange patterns of behaviour in neurons, specifically those linked to delusions, hallucinations, and other psychosis issues. The effective impact of this molecule has increased hopes worldwide of therapies containing pure CBD extract, or at least new classes of drugs made from it. It appears particularly good at treating young folks who develop symptoms but react badly to existing treatments or do not respond to them at all. Today, the most common therapies for psychosis work by manipulating dopamine, a crucial brain chemical. However, since discovery of these dopamine-manipulator drugs back in the 1950s, nobody has developed any new drugs for this condition. Sagnik Bhattacharyya, leader …