Mental illness Cannabidiol can be used against psychosis

How does cannabidiol affect psychosis??

The use of cannabis continues to increase. Many sufferers use cannabis to get intoxicants, but there are also people who take cannabis for medical reasons. Researchers have now found that cannabidiol can help to reduce disorders in people with psychosis.

The researchers from King's College London found in their current study that even a single dose of cannabidiol could reduce psychosis. The physicians published the results of their study in the English-language journal "JAMA Psychiatry".

What is a psychosis??

A psychosis is a mental disorder in which sufferers suffer from a consumed perception of reality. The activity of the brain in people with high susceptibility to psychosis is abnormal compared to healthy people. However, when affected took cannabidiol, the abnormal brain activity was less pronounced compared to subjects who received only placebo, the researchers say. This suggests that cannabidiol can help bring brain activity back to normal levels.

Cannabidiol can normalize dysfunctions in the brain

Cannabidiol seems to normalize dysfunction in the striatum, parahippocampal cortex and midbrain. Such dysfunctions have already been associated with psychosis. This could underlie the therapeutic effects of cannabidiol, the researchers explain. The current study helps to better understand the mechanisms in the brain that are affected by cannabidiol. This drug works in a completely different way than traditional antipsychotics, says study author Sagnik Bhattacharyya of King's College London.

How did the investigation go??

In the study, the researchers looked at a small group of young people who had not yet been diagnosed with psychosis but still had some prominent mental symptoms. In addition, there was also a control group with healthy volunteers. All participants were examined with the help of magnetic resonance imaging while performing a memory task involving three distinct regions of the brain already known to play a role in psychosis.

Further investigations are necessary

One of the main advantages of cannabidiol is that it seems safe and very well tolerated, which makes it an ideal treatment in some ways, the authors explain. If the role of cannabidiol in the treatment of psychosis can be further confirmed, it could in the future lead to the use of cannabidiol as standard in clinics. (As)