CANNABIS OIL (CBD) MEDICINE

CBD oil is a legal substance as it is produced not from the buds of the marijuana plant but rather from the stalks or seeds.  It is classified as a food or nutritional supplement, not as medicine.  It is used topically in creams or oils that are applied externally or it can be ingested as a supplement.  The real boon of CBD  though is in the perceived medical applications. 

Anecdotal information passed around by word of mouth and on the internet led many parents of children with epilepsy and seizure disorders to seek out CBD oil as medication to reduce the number of seizures or to, in some cases, stop the seizures altogether.  Most of these children suffer from severe seizures multiple times every day and have not been helped by any of the current traditional treatments. The severity and extent of the seizures lead to developmental issues for these children, both physical and mental.  Parents are desperate to help their children and CBD oil has been shown to help in many of these cases.  Many health professionals are starting to support the use of CBD oil and to urge that more studies be performed to further examine CBD. 

One of the main issues has been that most of the plants currently being produced have been bred to be high in THC, the chemical part of marijuana which causes the “high” and are extremely low in CBD (non-psychoactive).  The increased interest in CBD oil has led growers in the states where marijuana is legal to try to cultivate plants with a higher CBD content.

Alzheimer’s Disease, Can CBD Help?

Alzheimer’s is a progressive neurological disease which causes people to forget skills, familiar faces  and simple tasks.  Many of the current drugs prescribed for Alzheimer’s patients have been proven to be ineffective and have many undesirable side effects.  Recent research indicates that chronic inflammation is instrumental as

a cause of Alzheimer’s.  As plaque builds the ability of neurons to send signals is blocked, ultimately triggering cell death through arterial inflammation.  CBD has been tested and shown to be a powerful anti-inflammatory and to promote the growth of new brain cells, making it a good candidate for study in treating Alzheimer’s.

Scientists have identified that CBD oil can counter some chemical imbalances in the brain.  This discovery could be useful in developing treatments for a number of disorders such as Alzheimer’s Disease and Parkinson’s Disease.  The main chemical identified is iron.  Even though iron is an essential nutrient high levels of iron can damage brain cells and lead to symptoms such as the memory loss of Alzheimer’s.   Abnormal levels of iron have also been linked to the progression of Parkinson’s.

Using CBD oil researchers in Brazil studying rats were able to reverse markers of brain damage caused by high iron levels and basically restore them to normal levels.  The scientists concluded that CBD has great potential in restoring brain function and protecting the brain from any further damage.  As iron has been shown to cause degeneration of the brain by aiding oxidative stress, CBD is known to have powerful antioxidant properties and is a promising candidate for treating disease such as Alzheimer’s and possibly Parkinson’s.

Additional studies were conducted by a team of Australian scientists which also lead many to believe more consideration should be given to cannabinoids for development of future treatments and possible cures for Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, Huntington’s and other conditions that cause loss of cognitive ability.

These studies were done on mice suffering from memory loss.  After treatment with CBD the mice showed signs of regaining cognitive ability.  Basically, the performance of the mice was brought back to the level of a healthy animal. 

More research needs to be done to further determine the actual cause of the degeneration of the brain and its ability to process and maintain memory. 

It has been previously shown that accumulated iron in the brain is a probable culprit which, according to studies, tampers with the generation of neurons in the brain.  CBD helps in neurogenesis, generating new neurons in the part of the brain that forms and stores memories, the hippocampus. Neurons also help in the transmission of messages throughout the nervous system.  Much more research will need to be done, but with approximately 5 million American’s suffering from Alzheimer’s, 1 million suffering from Parkinson’s and another 500,000 patients suffering from other neurodegenerative diseases it is very important the find treatments and/or cures for these types of diseases.  As our population ages these numbers will likely increase since many of these types of neurodegenerative diseases affect the elderly in greater numbers than the young - www.cbdhempoilproductbenefits.com