What is Cannabidiol or CBD? Cannabidiol (CBD) is a molecule of the cannabinoid family, with multiple medicinal properties, which in its natural form is found as an important component in Cannabis plants. However, unlike the famous Tetrahydrocannabidol (THC), CBD does not possess its characteristic psychoactive properties.
However, Why have we heard so little about CBD? In fact, medicinal cannabis plants, rich in CBD, have been used empirically for centuries in many cultures. In Victorian times, for example, the cannabis plant was used to treat pain, anxiety, nausea, and joint pain. However, due to the «boom ludic »that has obtained THC since the middle of the 20th century, cannabis growers have been selecting the plants with the highest levels of THC in each new generation. This unnatural selection led to strains high in CBD in short supply. In such a way that until relatively recently we have looked again at the virtues of medical marijuana.
The resurgence of CBD It did not happen until a few years ago, when CBD-rich varieties (rich and with high percentages of CBD) were re-discovered, and the medicinal properties of CBD or cannabidiol were once again on the scientific agenda. Since then, high-CBD plants and their seeds have become “flagship gene lines”.
In what types of diseases can the cannabidiol?
Thanks to their medicinal properties, hemp extracts from plants rich in CBD are gaining worldwide recognition due to their proven usefulness in the treatment of multiple diseases.
Next, we mention in more detail some cases in which we can resort to the use of cannabidiol:
Diseases neurological Y neurodegenerative
Scientific studies published in important high-impact journals make clear the advantages that can be obtained from the use of this type of cannabinoids as adjuvants in the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s, Huntington’s disease, Tourette’s syndrome, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, autism, insomnia . The use of CBD gives the patient a better quality of life by alleviating their symptoms (pain or memory loss), in the same way it slows down the deterioration of their condition.
Psychological illnesses and psychiatric
Regarding this type of diseases, it has been proven that Cannabidiol has an important role; specifically in the treatment of pathologies such as anxiety, depression, mood disorders and eating disorders.
Diseases osteomusculares
CBD takes center stage in the brain and immune processes that regulate pain and inflammation, through a complex biological mechanism at the cellular level. This analgesic capacity is very useful in diseases such as arthritis, muscular and musculoskeletal pain, rheumatic pain, fibromyalgia, chronic cancer and non-cancer pain.
In addition, it has been shown that, together with the treatments commonly used for pain relief, such as opioids, analgesic therapy with Cannabidiol is a powerful adjuvant, offering the possibility of reducing the doses of those, and incidentally, their Adverse effects.
Chronic, metabolic and endocrine diseases
Medical cannabis for diabetes, cancer, glaucoma, among others, has become a source of relief for many patients. A 2013 American Journal of Medicine study, with a follow-up of almost 5000 patients for 5 years, concluded that Cannabis had protective properties against Diabetes, decreased obesity, oxidative stress and the neurotoxicity of high glucose levels, therefore, it is an excellent alternative for the treatment of diabetic neuropathy and retinopathy.
Diseases of the respiratory system
Cannabidiol has shown a beneficial effect in diseases such as asthma, and its effectiveness is being studied for other conditions of the bronchi such as COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease), among others. In addition to having a bronchodilator effect such as beta-agonist drugs, medical marijuana has an immunomodulatory action, intervening in the inflammatory nature of the disease.
The Cannabidiol serves to cure Cancer?
The mechanism by which cannabinoids interact with our cells has been studied in detail for decades. A special type of receptors on cell membranes, called precisely “cannabinoid receptorsThey play an important role in a variety of physiological processes including appetite, pain sensation, immunity, mood, and memory. But beyond this, more recent studies show cannabis molecules as a possible arsenal in the battle against the dreaded cancer disease.
In a renowned scientific journal, the Nature Reviews Cancer, an article has been published where it is demonstrated with high reliability and under laboratory standards, that cannabis molecules such as CBD, manage to inhibit tumor growth, both in cell cultures in vitro, as in animal models.
There are documented cases of patients, both adults and infants, in full remission; that is, with an apparent cure of this disease inasmuch as the symptoms do not reappear. These reported cases have surprised the medical community because thanks to the use of Cannabinoids, their prognosis changes radically: patients, after being evicted due to their disease refractory to all therapeutic possibilities (chemotherapy, radiotherapy and immunotherapy) decided to stick with this last hope, with really surprising results.
Apart from the desired therapeutic effect, cannabinoids are very well tolerated, unlike chemotherapy or radiotherapy whose adverse effects are devastating; In addition, they do not produce generalized toxic effects, hair loss, nausea, weight loss, and they do not attack the healthy cells of the body.
In conclusion, a medical revolution is already taking place in the world, and in this, the ancient Cannabis plant comes to show itself as a more than adequate option in the treatment of multiple diseases.
The in-depth study of the different types of cannabis molecules has given us the possibility of handling the safest and most reliable ones, such as Cannabidiol, which promises from now on to be a hope that opens with force in the midst of the gray panorama of patients, even of those who have been evicted by medicine and pharmaceuticals that rule the health systems.
