Parkinson’s Disease is a neurological disorder inflicting 1% of the population of people over the age of 60. The disease affects the nervous system and symptoms include movement issues, tremors, balance and coordination problems, sleep disorders, slurred speech, inability to use facial expressions, and more. Will using CBD for Parkinson’s symptoms, like these, help at all?
Causes of the disease range from genetics and environmental factors and unfortunately, there is currently no cure.
Nevertheless, scientific literature reveals significant benefits of using CBD to alleviate Parkinson’s Disease symptoms. In this article, we’ll discuss what these benefits are, and what science has to say about them.
TL;DR – People using CBD for Parkinson’s Disease is becoming more popular due to several medical reviews which have shown significant positive results on a range of symptoms that involve both motor, and nonmotor, problems
What is CBD, or Cannabidiol?
With the popularity of CBD or cannabidiol use on a variety of health conditions such as chronic pain, inflammation, anxiety, and even cancer treatment, researchers began to study the effects of CBD on Parkinson’s Disease as early as 2005.
Since then, several studies, clinical trials, and research have been done to investigate the effects of CBD on the symptoms of the disease.
So far, data has shown significant positive results. However, while most studies reveal CBD alleviates symptoms, trials have been limited. These limitations include the lack of studies on the long-term effects of CBD on Parkinson’s Disease, experiments that have been limited on small numbers of subjects, as well as trials that have only begun in recent years.
What Does CBD Oil Do for Parkinson’s?
Let’s look into some of the benefits that CBD offers which may help manage some of the struggles that come along with having Parkinson’s.
Improve Movement Issues
One of the most characteristic symptoms of Parkinson’s Disease is dystonia or otherwise known as disordered movements. A major cause of dystonia in sufferers is the decrease in dopamine production in the brain.
Dopamine is a neurotransmitter and is partly responsible for sending messages from the brain to the body to direct muscle movement. The brain cells responsible for producing dopamine are damaged or they die, thus, explaining the difficulties in motor skills once the onset of the disease takes place.
CBD has been studied to block a receptor that causes dopamine-producing brain cells to die, thus, preventing the decrease in dopamine production in the brain.
A study that was published in Frontiers in Pharmacology showed that CBD also has a preventative role in delaying abnormal movement symptoms, but the study was limited to animal subjects and further research needs to be done.
Prevent or Alleviates Tremors
Common Parkinson’s Disease medications cause medicine-related tremors or uncontrolled muscle movements. One of the advantages of using CBD to ease symptoms is that it is virtually devoid of any adverse side effects.
Though CBD is not an overnight cure, nor has it been approved by FDA to be a registered treatment for Parkinson’s Disease symptoms, using it may help to lessen the use of common drug treatments, thus, helping to prevent or alleviate tremors.
Ease Symptoms of Psychosis and Mood Disorders
More than half of Parkinson’s Disease sufferers experience psychosis. These include hallucinations, delusions, delirium, paranoia, and other mood disorders. Psychosis is more common in people who are in the latter stages of the disease and could become one of the earliest signs of dementia in patients.
One study conducted at the University of Sao Paulo in Brazil shows that CBD could ease the symptoms of psychosis in Parkinson’s Disease sufferers.
A group of patients was given 150 mg of CBD per day, in addition to other therapy treatments over 4 weeks.
The researchers discovered that the subjects reported lowered episodes of psychosis, leading them to conclude that CBD might have a positive effect on the cognitive challenges of disease sufferers.
Improve Sleep
Among the most difficult symptoms of Parkinson’s Disease is poor sleep. With movement challenges, psychosis, and other symptoms, disease sufferers almost always report sleep difficulties.
REM Sleep Behavior Disorder or RBD is a common affliction among sufferers. The disorder is characterized by patients “acting out” their dreams during the REM phase of sleep.
They scream, yell, kick, punch, and express abnormal movements in their sleep, leading to physical injuries and poor quality of sleep.
A study that was published in the Journal of Clinical Pharmacy and Therapeutics revealed that subjects who were given CBD reported lowered symptoms of RBD, as well as having improved overall quality of sleep. For references, the subjects were given 75 to 300mg of CBD taken daily.
In fact, taking CBD oil for sleep is one of the more popular reasons for using CBD.
Neuroprotection Benefits
Parkinson’s Disease affects memory and cognition in patients. The degeneration of important brain cells can lead to the overall deterioration of cognition, leading to slurred speech, difficulties remembering, problems with decision making, mood issues, and more.
The disease has also been known to cause nonmotor symptoms, such as depression and anxiety in patients.
A 2005 comparative study shows data that CBD provides neuroprotection benefits. Isabel Lastres-Becker, et.al. conducted the study in Madrid, Spain, and their data revealed the neuroprotective effects of CBD, which help to prevent or improve cognitive challenges among Parkinson’s Disease patients.
This study was published in the Journal of Neurobiology of Disease and was one of the very first to show that CBD use may provide neuroprotective effects on Parkinson’s Disease sufferers. However, the study has a limitation, since its subjects were animals and not humans.
Since the results of the study were published, more and more trials and research have been done on the topic, and most of the data showed positive neuroprotective effects of CBD use.
Improve Overall Quality of Life
With improvements in sleep, movements, cognitive benefits, and anti-inflammation effects of CBD use, patients have reported an overall improvement in their quality of life since taking CBD.
One study that was conducted in 2014 that involved 21 patients found that CBD could improve the quality of life of patients due to CBD’s antidepressant, anxiolytic, anti-inflammatory, and anxiolytic benefits.
Dosage of CBD for Parkinson’s
There is no official dosage recommendation for using CBD for this disease. We can reference studies, though, and see how much they gave. For example, one study required 100 mg of CBD to be administered twice daily to patients orally.
If you are curious to see more in regards to a dosage guide for CBD, please visit our article on that topic. When there, you’ll find a dosage calculator that might be useful for you.
Which CBD Oil is Best for Parkinson’s Disease?
There is no proven, best CBD oil for Parkinson’s Disease. That said, we would definitely recommend New Phase Blends CBD as a great source of CBD products for many different forms of relief.
New Phase Blends is a veteran owned and operated organization that prides themselves in the production of high-quality items. All products are sold with a money back guarantee, and come with free shipping. If you don’t love what you buy, just return it.
We don’t want to take your money for something you don’t feel helps.
Summary
CBD for Parkinson’s Disease is becoming popular since studies have shown significant positive results on a range of symptoms that involve both motor and nonmotor problems. Improved quality of sleep, improved cognition, alleviation of tremors, decrease symptoms of psychosis, and more benefits show that CBD could be a natural and healthier alternative to ease the debilitating symptoms of Parkinson’s Disease.
Though results have been promising, studies are still relatively recent, long-term trials are virtually non-existent, and further clinical studies are still needed for CBD to be promoted as an effective treatment to ease Parkinson’s Disease symptoms.
References
Neurobiological Disorders: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15837565/
UC Health Today: https://www.uchealth.org/today/study-probes-whether-cbd-helps-for-parkinsons-disease-symptoms/
