Science is unraveling the truth behind why cannabis provides health benefits
Epilepsy is a chronic neurological disease. If it is well diagnosed and the patient receives the appropriate treatment, it can be controlled in a high percentage. Studies conducted in recent years have shown the high effectiveness of cannabidiol (CBD) to treat this condition. According to new research in mice, CBD is able to alleviate seizures by blocking a signaling molecule that promotes excitation at synapses in the hippocampus.
The imbalance between excitation and inhibition is a factor that’s evident in certain types of autism. As a result, in addition to helping to further understand its relationship to epileptic seizures, this new study may help explain why CBD appears to alleviate some features of autism.
Chair of neuroscience and physiology at New York University in New York City Richard Tsien brought together several experts to conduct this study. “Excitatory synaptic transmission and inhibitory synaptic transmission are universally found in all parts of the brain, not just the hippocampus, and these types of circuits have been previously implicated in autism itself,” the specialist explains.
Tsien’s team conducted experiments based on the epileptic behaviors of rats and mice. According to researchers who analyzed this research, the new findings may be more relevant to the biology of autistic people with epilepsy.
The use of cannabis, and particularly CBD, in the treatment of epilepsy, has been expanding based on preclinical and clinical research findings. There have also been multiple reports of significant improvements in various types of epilepsy that are difficult to control and in the context of syndromes such as Dravet, Lennox-Gastaut, Doose and West.