Stress & Anxiety Articles

“Results from a growing number of preclinical and clinical studies identify a novel treatment application for CBD in disorders of motivation, including drug addiction, anxiety, and depression. A review of the findings suggests that CBD may attenuate motivational dysfunction through activation of the 5-HT1Areceptor and elevations in eCB tone. Given the multitude of molecular targets for CBD, there is substantial potential for additional beneficial effects through actions at other receptors. Further in vivo exploration of these targets will be fundamental for developing a thorough understanding of the therapeutic efficacy of CBD for drug addiction and affective disorders. Critically, isolating the mechanisms of CBD may pinpoint selective targets for rational drug development. Yet the greatest treatment value of CBD may lie in its multitarget actions or polypharmacology (Hopkins 2008). Pharmacotherapies that target numerous receptors across neural networks may be more efficacious than those that are maximally selective for a single target (Hopkins 2008, Mencher & Wang 2005). Evidence for this comes from the use of antidepressants and antipsychotics, which derive their therapeutic effects via interactions across various GPCRs (Anighoro et al. 2014). Therefore, in motivational disorders with complex etiology and underlying neural substrates, the multitarget effects of CBD may make it a highly efficacious treatment option.”

“Cannabidiol (CBD) is a non-psychotomimetic compound from Cannabis sativa that induces anxiolytic-like effects similar to diazepam in animal models of innate aversive behavior. However, the effects of CBD contextual conditioned fear have not been studied. Therefore, the aim of this work was to compare the behavioral and cardiovascular effects of CBD and diazepam, a prototype anxiolytic, in animals submitted to a contextual conditioned fear paradigm. Male Wistar rats were submitted to a 10min conditioning session (six footshocks, 2.5 mA, 3s, delivered at pseudo-random intervals). The behavioral and cardiovascular responses to the context were measured 24h later in a 10 min test session. Diazepam (2.5 mg/kg), FG-7142 (8 mg/kg), a benzodiazepine inverse agonist, or CBD (10 mg/kg) were administered i.p. before the test session. Conditioned rats submitted to the aversive context exhibited more freezing behavior and a larger increase in blood pressure and heart rate as compared to non-conditioned animals. These effects were attenuated by CBD and diazepam in the conditioned animals. These drugs did not have any effect in non-conditioned rats. FG-7142 treatment failed to change the behavioral and cardiovascular responses to the aversive context. In conclusion, the results suggest that CBD has anxiolytic-like properties similar to those of diazepam in a rat model of conditioned fear to context.”

Preclinical evidence conclusively demonstrates CBD’s efficacy in reducing anxiety behaviors relevant to multiple disorders, including PTSD, GAD, PD, OCD, and SAD, with a notable lack of anxiogenic effects. CBD’s anxiolytic actions appear to depend upon CB1Rs and 5-HT1ARs in several brain regions; however, investigation of additional receptor actions may reveal further mechanisms. Human experimental findings support preclinical findings, and also suggest a lack of anxiogenic effects, minimal sedative effects, and an excellent safety profile. Current preclinical and human findings mostly involve acute CBD dosing in healthy subjects, so further studies are required to establish whether chronic dosing of CBD has similar effects in relevant clinical populations. Overall, this review emphasizes the potential value and need for further study of CBD in the treatment of anxiety disorders.

Collectively, the non-psychoactive plant-derived cannabinoid CBD exhibits pro-apoptotic and anti-proliferative actions in different types of tumours and may also exert anti-migratory, anti-invasive, anti-metastatic and perhaps anti-angiogenic properties. On the basis of these results, evidence is emerging to suggest that CBD is a potent inhibitor of both cancer growth and spread.