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JERUSALEM -- Adi Aran knows why families are willing to drive hours to see him.
"I believe they come to me because nothing else is working," said the Israeli doctor. "We are giving them hope. Yes, I think it's the hope."
Autism Spectrum Disorder
Developmental disability
Symptoms begin in early childhood
No cure
1 in 59 children
16,356 Students in Indiana (2017-2018)
4x More common in boys
Source: CDC, Indiana Department of Education
The hope Aran is talking about comes in a 10 milliliter bottle. It is cannabis oil -- also known as CBD oil -- and Aran says it has a profound impact on many of his pediatric patients diagnosed with autism.
"Some of the families say to me it's changed their life totally," he told 13 Investigates. "And I've seen that. It changes their lives."
Aran, who oversees the neuropediatric unit at Shaare Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem, has spent years studying the affects of CBD oil on children who have autism. His latest study -- the largest and most comprehensive of its kind in the world -- will be complete within the next few weeks. While the research is taking place half way around the globe, the impact could eventually be felt by thousands of families dealing with autism in Indiana and across the United States.
13 Investigates traveled to Israel to learn more about the groundbreaking research and what it could mean for young patients.
Nothing to lose
“We said, 'OK, we can't go on like that anymore.' We had nothing to lose, so we tried something new.”
The idea of treating autism with cannabis oil was not Aran's idea; it came from his patients. The tall, gray-haired doctor admits his first response was skepticism.
"My initial reaction was, 'No.' There were no human studies or clinical studies .... and we didn't have any evidence that it will work," he said.
But Aran, who treats some of the most challenging cases of pediatric autism in the Middle East, eventually changed his mind. Desperate pleas from parents who lived in fear of their children's unpredictable, uncontrollable and often violent autistic outbursts convinced him to take a chance on an unproven therapy.
"We said, 'OK, we can't go on like that anymore.' We had nothing to lose, so we tried something new," Aran explained. He got permission from Israel's Ministry of Health to provide CBD oil to some of his patients, and he quickly noticed dramatic results.
"Many of them, the kids were really calm. For the first time, they were calm. The parents can get out of the house with them, and before they couldn't," the doctor said. "I saw the kids before the treatment and after the treatment, and I was very happy to see what happened."
