CBD For Degenerative Brain Disorders

Cannabis may support neurodegenerative disorders including:

• Alzheimer’s disease
• Parkinson’s disease
• Multiple sclerosis (MS)
• Huntington’s Disease
• Prion disease (minor improvement)
• Lou Gehrig’s Disease (ALS)
• Spinocerebellar Ataxia (SCA)
• Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA)

1. Alzheimer’s Disease

Alzheimer’s disease is the most common form of neurodegeneration. It involves the buildup of toxic metabolites (TAU proteins or beta-amyloid plaque) around the neurons. Eventually, this results in neuron death and gradual cognitive debility. Alzheimer’s disease, like most other neurodegenerative disorders, is associated with excessive neuroinflammation [11, 12].

CBD offers benefits to this condition primarily through its anti-inflammatory effects.

2. Parkinson’s Disease

Parkinson’s disease is a neurodegenerative disorder affecting the basal ganglia where dopamine is manufactured. The result is a gradual loss of dopamine in the brain, causing muscle tremors, mood changes, and a gradual loss of cognitive function.

Like Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s is considered to rely on excessive inflammatory processes in the brain [11, 12].

CBD, therefore, offers relief from this condition through its anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective actions.

3. Multiple Sclerosis (MS)

Multiple sclerosis is an autoimmune-driven neurodegenerative disorder. Widespread neuroinflammation causes immune cells to attack the myelin sheath on the nerve cells, causing a gradual loss of neuron function.

CBD is very beneficial to this condition through its immunomodulatory and anti-inflammatory effects — both of which are primary factors involved with the progression of MS [15].

Additionally, CBD may provide direct benefits to some of the most common side-effects of MS, including muscle spasticity [16] and loss of bladder control [17].

Related: Best CBD:THC Ratio for Multiple Sclerosis.

4. Huntington’s Disease

Huntington’s disease is a neurodegenerative disorder with similar characteristics to Alzheimer’s disease. It’s a genetic disorder involving dysfunction in the gene encoding for a protein called huntingtin. People with Huntington’s disease manufacture huntingtin proteins that are too long. They fracture into smaller pieces and become tangled around the neurons — leading to their gradual death. As Huntington builds up, it causes widespread inflammation throughout the brain and loss of cognitive function over time.

There is no cure for Huntington’s disease, but CBD has been shown to offer significant benefits — slowing progression and alleviating many of the most common symptoms [14].

5. Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD) and Other Prion Diseases

Prion diseases such as CJD aren’t common but bring devastating side effects as the disease progresses. It involves a misfolded, protease-resistant protein (PrPres) entering the brain and replicating. Being resistant to protease means that the brain cells cannot break down and remove this protein from the brain. Therefore, as these proteins replicate and build up in the brain, they begin to interfere with healthy brain function. Currently, there’s no cure for prion diseases.

Although inflammation is a primary factor involved with prion disease progression, CBD has only been shown to have minor benefits on the condition by resisting the buildup of PrPres [13].

6. Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS)

Lou Gehrig’s Disease (ALS) is a neurodegenerative disease causing gradual — and ultimately fatal — disruption in signals controlling voluntary muscles throughout the body.

There is no cure for ALS, but CBD has been shown to offer significant benefits.

7. Spinocerebellar Ataxia (SCA)

SCA is a progressive, inherited neurodegenerative disease affecting the cerebellum — the part of the brain associated with coordination and muscle movement. There is no cure for the disease, and it’s often fatal.

Treatment is focused on alleviating symptoms such as muscle tremors, depression, and insomnia — all of which CBD is well-known to help.

8. Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA)

SMA is a rare neurodegenerative disorder affecting the motor neurons controlling the muscles. Eventually, the disease causes loss of muscle function and muscle wasting. Like many other neurodegenerative disorders, the condition is caused by a dysfunction in producing a particular protein in the brain. Over time, these dysfunctional proteins build-up, resulting in the death of the neurons. There is no cure for this condition.

It’s unclear whether CBD is beneficial to those with SMA. The majority of side-effects of this condition involve muscle weakness — something CBD isn’t thought to improve.

How to Use CBD Oil For Brain Health

Tips for Getting the Most Out of Using CBD for Neurodegenerative Disorders:

1. Use a full-spectrum extract (THC also offers benefits for these conditions)
2. Incorporate improvements of diet and lifestyle choices at the same time as CBD supplementation
3. If there is an environmental cause (such as heavy metal exposure), make sure this is removed immediately
4. Be consistent with dosing — it can take up to three months before any changes are experienced when it comes to neurodegenerative disorders

What’s Are The Best CBD Products For Brain Health?

Neurodegenerative disorders are a combination of many different neurological and systemic issues working together to produce a gradual loss of neurons.

Therefore, treating these conditions isn’t as straightforward as just addressing one of these issues at a time — it relies on addressing several of them at the same time.

CBD oils and other cannabis products should, therefore, be combined with other treatments and lifestyle and dietary changes for best results.

So, when searching for the best oils for neurodegenerative disorders, there are two things to consider:

1. Has the CBD product been proven to be free from contaminants such as heavy metals or pesticides?
2. Does the potency of the CBD product match the recommended dose? In the case of neurodegenerative disorders, this usually means using a high-potency extract.

It’s also useful to opt for a full-spectrum CBD extract rather than an isolate if you want to leverage the neuroprotective benefits of some of the other cannabinoids. However, if this isn’t possible, or you’ve decided you like a company selling CBD isolates, that’s okay. It will still work but just isn’t the best CBD oil for the job.

What Dose Of CBD Should I Use For Neurodegenerative Disease?

Most of the research involving CBD and other cannabinoids for neurodegenerative disorders involve very high doses — usually in the realm of around 500 mg per day.

Although it may not be totally necessary to use a dose this high, it does suggest that the heavy end of the dosage range is the most beneficial.

Use our CBD oil dosage calculator below to find the best dose for you based on your weight.

Remember to start low and build up over time. Everyone reacts differently to CBD, so it’s therefore important that you take a conservative approach to find the right dose to avoid any negative side effects.

Recommended strength for neurodegenerative disorders: medium to high strength

CBD Dosage Calculator

How Long Will It Take To Notice Improvement?

Neurodegenerative disorders are long-term medical conditions — and most of them have no cure. CBD can be used to slow the progression of the disease and alleviate common side effects but isn’t going to cure the condition.

Therefore, it’s helpful to track the progress of the disease over time to identify whether the CBD is working or if the dose needs to be increased.

You can do this by taking detailed notes about your symptoms. Then, you can go back and see if there have been any improvements over time. Additionally, in the case of progressive neurodegenerative disorders, you can track the rate of progression of the disease.

What Is Neurodegenerative Disease?

Neurodegeneration is an umbrella term for a series of unrelated medical conditions that result in a loss of neuron function.

The primary cause for this condition is dementia, including Alzheimer’s disease — accounting for up to 70% of cases around the world, according to JPND Research.

These disorders are generally progressive, worsening in severity and rate of degeneration over time. This can take any time from a few months to a few decades. However, the process of neurodegeneration usually begins long before symptoms start to appear.

Evidence in recent years has pointed the finger at inflammation in the brain as one of the primary drivers of neurodegeneration [8]. The problem with this is that it’s also necessary for resisting neurological damage — prompting researchers to regard neuroinflammation as the “double-edged sword” of neurodegeneration.

When something causes damage to the neurons in the brain — for which there are too many potential causes to count — local immune cells start the inflammatory process.

In the early stages, this is beneficial — even necessary — for eliminating toxic materials. This is because inflammation speeds the recovery of the neurons by boosting blood flow to the area and bringing in defensive immune cells to remove any infectious materials.

The problem is that, in many cases, this inflammation goes out of control, causing a cascade of devastating, long-term inflammation in the brain. Excessive inflammation causes the microglia to release toxic substances into the brain, ultimately leading to the death of the neurons. These microglia are tasked with keeping the neurons safe [9, 10].

The whole process goes from a typical inflammatory response to a devastating, self-perpetuating process of degeneration and loss of neurons.

What Causes Degenerative Brain Disease?

1. Environmental toxic exposure (such as heavy metal exposure)
2. Nutritional deficiencies
3. Stroke
4. Cancer
5. Oxidative damage
6. Genetic factors

When to Avoid Using CBD or Cannabis-Related Products

Even though CBD is very safe, there are some instances when you must first consult with an experienced medical professional before taking it:

• If you have psychosis
• If you have bipolar disorder (caution advised)
• Whenever taking antipsychotics or certain antidepressants

Key Takeaways: How Does CBD Support Brain Health?

Researchers are still disputing exactly how CBD and other cannabinoids are effective for slowing the progression of neurodegenerative disorders.

The interaction between CBD and the nervous system is complex — involving multiple separate processes going on at the same time.

However, the general idea is that CBD supports the homeostasis of the nervous system. This means it supports the balance of various factors involved with neurological function, including inflammation, pain transmission, nerve excitability, and immune function.

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References

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