Publisher's Synopsis
We mentioned that psychosis and schizophrenia are mental disorders that represent a total detachment from reality, but what is it that actually causes this to happen? What takes place in the brain that drives an individual to become separated from the real world?
In short, scientists are not sure what exactly causes the onset of psychosis or schizophrenia. Regardless of what you may have heard in the past, they are unsure of why some people develop psychotic symptoms over the course of their life, and others do not. Unlike medical conditions like diabetes or heart disease, no one has been unable to pinpoint an exact physiological condition which accounts for the disorder.
The endocannabinoid system (ECS) in the brain plays an important role in maintaining normal mental health. ECS modulates emotion, reward processing, sleep regulation, aversive memory extinction and HPA axis regulation.. The cannabis plant synthesises a large number of pharmacologically active compounds unique to it known as phytocannabinoids. In contrast to the euphoric and pro-psychotic effects of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), certain non-intoxicating phytocannabinoids have emerged in pre-clinical and clinical models as potential APs. Since the likely mechanism of action does not rely upon dopamine D2 receptor antagonism, synergistic combinations with existing APs are plausible. The anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory effects of the non-intoxicating phytocannabinoid cannabidiol (CBD) are well established. Preliminary data reviewed in a paper suggest that CBD in combination with a CB1 receptor neutral antagonist could not only augment the effects of standard APs but also target the metabolic, inflammatory and stress-related components of the schizophrenia phenotype.The medical properties of cannabis have been known for many centuries; its first documented use dates back to 2800 BC when it was described for its hallucinogenic and pain-relieving properties. In the first half of the twentieth century, a number of pharmaceutical companies marked cannabis for indications such as asthma and pain, but since then its use has sharply declined, mainly due to its unpredictable effects, but also for socio-political issues. Recently, great attention has been directed to the medical properties of phytocannabinoids present in the cannabis plant alongside the main constituent Δ⁹-Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC); these include cannabinoids such as cannabidiol (CBD), cannabigerol (CBG), and tetrahydrocannabivarin (THCV). Evidence suggests an association between cannabis and schizophrenia: schizophrenics show a higher use of marijuana as compared to the healthy population. Additionally, the use of marijuana can trigger psychotic episodes in schizophrenic patients, and this has been ascribed to THC. Given the need to reduce the side effects of marketed antipsychotics, and their weak efficacy on some schizophrenic symptoms, cannabinoids have been suggested as a possible alternative treatment for schizophrenia. CBD (cannabidiol), a non-psychoactive constituent of Cannabis.Cannabis sativa plant, has been receiving growing attention for its anti-psychotic-like properties. Evidence suggests that its non-psychoactive component, i.e CBD can ameliorate positive and negative symptoms of schizophrenia. Behavioural and neurochemical models suggest that CBD has a pharmacological profile similar to that of atypical anti-psychotic drugs and a clinical trial reported that this cannabinoid is a well-tolerated alternative treatment for schizophrenia. This book gives an account on everything about CBD Oil, psychosis & schizophrenia, and how CBD can help to cure it.
