Potential Therapeutic Use of CBD oil in Gastrointestinal Disorders and Inflammatory Bowel Disease
The Endocannabinoid System (ECS)
To understand why marijuana might be beneficial for IBD, it is useful to have a basic knowledge of the endocannabinoid system. The ECS helps our bodies regulate pain, mood, appetite, gastrointestinal (GI) motility, memory, emotions, stress response, immune function, and more. The ECS is a complex combination of endocannabinoids (cannabinoids that our bodies naturally produce) that stimulate the body’s cannabinoid receptors, which are located in many areas of the body, such as the brain, muscles, fat (adipose tissue), and the entire GI tract. When a person ingests THC and/or CBD, which are similar molecular shapes to endocannabinoids, they fit into the same receptors and trigger reactions that result in either very high or very low levels of specific molecules that the brain’s cells use to communicate with one another (neurotransmitters). This is important because a growing body of research suggests that the functioning (or lack of functioning) of the ECS has an important relationship to the pathology of IBD.
Inflammation
To date, most research around the effects of marijuana (or its THC and CBD compounds) on IBD has involved studies with animals or biopsied human tissue. The results look promising, but warrant additional research which is now being done.
In one study, researchers induced intestinal inflammation (colitis) in rodents and then tested the effectiveness of THC and CBD compared to sulphasalazine (one of the longest-used anti-inflammatory medications) on relieving the associated inflammation. The results showed that THC and CBD most effective and sulphasalazine was only slightly effective. Interestingly, the researchers found a synergetic effect when they combined a lower dose of THC (that they knew was ineffective on its own) with CBD; this treatment was even more beneficial than the previously noted effective dose of THC alone. This could mean that a future treatment that combines a lower dose of THC with CBD might be safer and have fewer side effects than a treatment with a higher dose of THC, since CBD does not cause intoxication. Unlike sulphasalazine, THC combined with CBD also improved the function of colonic muscle movement.
In another animal study, researchers used several different methods to test the effectiveness of CBD alone at reducing inflammation in colitis. They found that administering CBD after inducing inflammation reduced it and that administering CBD before inducing inflammation prevented it from occurring at all. Using biopsies from individuals with ulcerative colitis, they also found that CBD was an effective anti-inflammatory agent, whether the biopsy was from a patient in remission or experiencing active disease. The researchers found that CBD affects certain cells (enteric glial cells) that are the first line of defense against harmful pathogens. In the presence of pathogens, these cells normally stimulate the inflammatory process by manufacturing a specific protein but CBD modulates its production, thereby reducing inflammation in the GI tract.
Research made into the use of CBD oil for colitis and “found that administering CBD after inducing inflammation reduced it and that administering CBD before inducing inflammation prevented it from occurring at all.”
Dr. Jordan Tishler, a Harvard-educated physician from Inhale MD Health and Wellness, is also making use of this ancient plant - using cannabis to treat a number of ailments, including Inflammatory Bowel Disease. He says that cannabis is far less harmful in comparison to conventional medicine and maintains that he can count the patients experiencing negative side effects from cannabis on one hand alone.
Because of this, Dr. Tishler has found that when CBD is administered to his patients suffering from forms of IBD, they find the same or better relief from their symptoms, without the excessive side-effects felt from over-prescribed, conventional pharmaceutical medications. Although Tishler may believe in the benefits of CBD, he also highlights the necessity for careful regime planning, patient compliance and follow-ups as the keys to finding relief successfully - just like with any other medication.
We are only just scratching the surface when it comes to the benefits of CBD oil!
AI
