A review of research on marijuana components and autism spectrum disorders (ASD), which was conducted by a new group of scientists, found that preliminary evidence indicates potential benefits. These include improvements in anxiety, sleep patterns, and behaviour. But more work—especially randomized controlled trials—are needed “to confirm these results and establish clear treatment guidelines,” authors said.
According to a peer-reviewed article published in Cureus, “Preliminary results suggest that CBD rich formulations can provide modest benefits with regard to sleep and social interactions. They may also reduce anxiety symptoms.” In some studies, the cannabinoids were more effective than placebo in treating core ASD traits and behavioral outcomes.
Researchers acknowledged “various adverse effects” in patients and that the response to treatments was “inconsistent across individuals”, underlining the need for additional study.
This new paper states: “While CBD, especially in CBD-rich formulas, appears to be relatively harmless and potentially beneficial,” it says that further large-scale controlled trials, comparing CBD with existing ASD treatments, are needed to clarify CBD’s role and impact on ASD management.
This 13-person research team includes scientists from different hospitals and Brazilian universities.
The authors concluded, “While preliminary data suggests possible benefits, especially for anxiety and sleep disorders, as well as behavior, these findings are still inconclusive, due to the heterogeneity of studies and limitations associated with their methodology.”
The authors analyzed seven studies that involved 494 patients. They focused on “key outcomes such as sleep and autistic symptoms core, anxiety, behaviour, social effects and adverse events”.
The researchers concluded: “Improvements in anxiety, sleep, social effects and behaviour were observed, though these results varied between studies.” The study concluded that “adverse events are generally mild, and occur at the same rate in both cannabinoid groups and placebo group, supporting intervention’s safety profile.”
The report also states that studies showed “a slight improvement in sleep” and “autistic symptoms responded positively.” The report says that some studies have also shown improvements in hyperactivity, self-injuring behavior, epilepsy as well a reduction in hyperactivity.
Most common was drowsiness followed by anxiety, restlessness, reduced appetite and weight loss.
The authors concluded that “despite these events, cannabinoids tend to be considered safe compared to other pharmacological treatments.” “However,” the authors wrote, “careful monitoring and individual dosing is essential to minimise potential risks. And further research in order to fully understand the long-term effectiveness of cannabinoid treatment for ASD.”
The study states that CBD interacts with ECS to explain cannabis’s effect on ASD. [endocannabinoid system], a critical signaling network involved in neurodevelopment, social behavior, and homeostasis.”
This report also states that, “Emerging data suggests its involvement in gut brain communication and further links ASD to pathophysiology.” Additionally, there’s some evidence based on mouse models suggesting that CBD might reduce the “repetitive behaviours and anxiety related symptoms associated with ASD”, as well as indications that low doses THC may be beneficial to social behavior.
Authors acknowledged that some obstacles in the research were the fact that study types, dose regimens, or outcome metrics vary from one study to another. The authors said other studies did not include basic statistics “such as standard deviations and interquartile bands” or the means.
The paper notes that “methodological biases are sometimes present, especially in the selection of patients and randomization” in certain cases.
This report states that more rigorous RCTs with well-designed designs are required to confirm this result and set clear guidelines on cannabinoid treatment in ASD.
This new research from Brazilian researchers follows separate studies that found high-CBD and low-THC products could improve “significantly the quality of the life” of children with epilepsy or autism.
While more research was needed, the authors of this study concluded “this review along with other reviews in the literature suggests that medical cannabis could be a viable alternative to established medical guidelines.” It is particularly true in the case of pediatric autism spectrum disorder.
The Journal of the American Medical Association published a federally funded study last year that found cannabis use in early pregnancy is not linked to autism.
The analysis covered 178,948 births to 146 2,96 distinct individuals from 2011 through 2019. At various stages, children were tested for developmental and autism measures.
This study found that maternal prenatal marijuana use is not related to childhood autism after controlling for other cofounders. These include sociodemographic factors, substance abuse by mothers, and maternal conditions.
Last month, Ohio’s officials decided to consider autism spectrum disorder for the medical marijuana program. The proposal next proceeds to an open public comment period and expert review.
Connecticut has added ASD to the list of qualifying conditions for medical marijuana. Colorado, Delaware Georgia Louisiana Michigan Minnesota Pennsylvania Utah and Utah are other states which recognize ASD as an eligible condition.
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