CBD Research - CBD and Parkinson's
HOW DOES CBD WORK FOR PARKINSON'S
50,000 new people a year in the US are scrambling to know.
That's the number of new diagnoses for Parkinson's.
That is what we're up against!
Interesting new research is shedding a light on a potential pathway that CBD is known to directly influence (for the better).
Just recently, an intriguing study found that a person who undergoes an appendectomy has a 20% reduction in risk of getting Parkinson's.
For those who don't know, the appendicitis is where the appendix is removed.
Long thought to be unneeded or to use the scientific term, vestigial organ, researchers finally discovered the purpose of the appendix which lies at a cul-de-sac in the digestive tract.
It was a reservoir of bacteria or gut flora which could re-populate our gut in case the gut bacteria were wiped out (by disease, outside bacteria/viruses, or in modern times...antibiotics!).
The tie with Parkinson's is fascinating.
Why would having this reservoir of bacteria removed cause a REDUCTION in risk for Parkinson's?
Parkinson's after all is affecting neurons deep within the brain.
We'll get into that below but we may need to partially add Parkinson's to the long list of autoimmune diseases.
Get in line!!
Furthermore, why are men more likely to get it than women?
At almost double the ratio!
That points to a hormonal influence and Estrogen has been implicated by research as a protective agent.
Not be glib but the ratio is usually flipped for autoimmune towards women.
So we have an immune system and hormonal influences.
That's right in CBD's wheelhouse!
Let's look at new research Parkinson's, and the endocannabinoid system (with CBD being a guest star).
You can jump right to 3rd party safety and cost screened CBD here:
Otherwise, let's dig deeper:
- Quick intro to Parkinson's based on current research
- Is Parkinson's an autoimmune disease
- Parkinson's and hormones – the Estrogen connection
- The endocannabinoid system and Parkinson's
- Can CBD help with Parkinson's – based on research
- How much CBD to take for Parkinson's
- What's the best CBD to take for Parkinson's
Let's get started.
Time...is of the essence!
Quick Intro To Parkinson's Based On Current Research
First, Parkinson's results from a reduction in the neurons that release Dopamine.
Dopamine is usually known for its role in mediating reward but it's much more than that.
It's also intimately involved in the control of motion and motor skills.
It helps different parts of the brain communicate with each other.
Parkinson's generally displays itself with effects on movement such as tremors or lack of body control.
Interestingly, there's also a correlation with anxiety (about 40%) and depression.
Again, Dopamine is a big player in the mood game.
The mainstay of treatment has been Lepodova which the implicated neurons can turn into dopamine.
The problem is that the brain segment continues to deteriorate which leaves fewer neurons to use the Lepodova.
There are many factors that can impact risk for Parkinson's including:
- Exposure to certain pesticides including paraquat, maneb, and glyphosate
- Genetic predispositions
- Hormonal effects primarily due to estrogen (protective)
- Some things can be protective:
- Appendicitis
- Use of caffeine, tobacco, and Vitamin D supplementation
- Absence of drug use
- Absence of reoccurring head injuries
- Immune system dysregulation
The latter is most intriguing as of late.
Let's start there.
Is Parkinson's An Autoimmune Disease
Some hard evidence is coming in that points to our immune system's potential role in Parkinson's.
It may not be the full picture but it's definitely adding color.
A group of scientists found a specific type of T-Cell which responded to the protein signature of Parkinson's, alpha-synuclein.
The new study found that T cells can be tricked into thinking dopamine neurons are foreign by the buildup of damaged alpha-synuclein proteins, a key feature of Parkinson's disease.
The fact that the immune system is targeting these proteins is important.
The "damage" that usually accompanies autoimmune diseases results from the collateral damage of our immune response to specific areas of the body.
In this case, it's where the dopamine-producing neurons reside in the brain.
Think of a skin infection.
Yes, the body is attacking the bacterial infection in our skin but the surrounding issue all takes a tremendous amount of damage.
That's the redness, pain, and swelling in the surrounding area.
Now picture that in your brain where dopamine is made.
Very destructive over longer periods of time.
Let's add to that another interesting clue.
People who took anti-autoimmune medications (primarily of the anti-inflammatory flavor) earlier in life had a significantly reduced risk of getting Parkinson's.
The researchers found a substantially lower risk of developing Parkinson's disease among people who used either of two categories of immune-suppressing drugs: corticosteroids (about 20% lower) or inosine monophosphate dehydrogenase inhibitors (about 36% lower). For people who took both, the risk of the disease was even lower.
This effect is even seen in NSAIDs earlier in life although they carry other negatives.
Further clues to an autoimmune connection.
We're also starting to finally narrow down the genes that may cause a higher risk for Parkinson's.
Guess what they control???
Immune response.
Parkinson's has been linked to some gene variants that affect how the immune system works, leading to an alternative theory that synuclein causes Parkinson's by triggering the immune system to attack the brain.
Furthermore, autopsies are showing antigens in the neurons under attack.
Antigens are the targets that our immune system goes after.
Scientists didn't think the brain had antigens but again...there's new insight all the time.
You can learn all about CBD and inflammation or CBD and autoimmune.
We'll hold there and come back around when we look at CBD and the endocannabinoid system.
Let's look at hormones.
Parkinson's And Hormones – The Estrogen Connection
The gender risk difference for Parkinson's points to a hormonal effect.
One of the three estrogens, estradiol, appears to be very neuroprotective.
In fact, in one study, pre-administering estradiol in animal models prior to toxin exposure that generally elicits dopamine producing neuronal death, was protective.
The research is coming fast and furious.
There's a great synopsis here:
Some key take-aways:
- Estradiol and Estriol appear to block the aggregation of the proteins tied to Parkinson's
- Testosterone deficiency mirrors non-motor symptoms of Parkinson's disease
- Estradiol and Estriol may also be neuroprotective
This was primarily a study of bioidentical hormone replacement's effects on Parkinson's.
Make sure to check out our CBD and Perimenopause article to understand just how important maintaining hormone levels can be.
Its effect on Parkinson's is no exception.
They have found a direct mechanism on Estrogen's effect here:
This gets a little deep in the weeds but essentially, there's a chemical cascading effect from the reduction in estrogen that results in inflammation in the area where the brain makes dopamine.
It's not just Parkinson's.
Dementia and Alzheimer's are equally impacted.
We'll leave you with this:
Estrogen is essential for maintaining nigrostriatal dopamine neurons in primates: implications for Parkinson's disease and memory.
I don't know if we could have put it more succinctly if we tried.
Women obviously have a lifetime of exposure to estrogen.
Much more so than men which speaks to the different risks by gender.
You can read up on CBD and Dementia Alzheimer's here.
Now...the reason we're here, to begin with.
The Endocannabinoid System And Parkinson's
Before we jump into CBD, let's talk about the system that it operates in.
The endocannabinoid system.
We all have one and by all, I mean all the way down to sea urchins.
It's been around for about 600 million years but researchers are only really teasing out what it does now.
Here's a quick image:
Its primary role is to help balance:
- The nervous system
- The endocrine system
- The immune system
Two of those are right in the crosshair of current Parkinson's research.
The first question...are endocannabinoid receptors in the area of question?
Yes!
The components of the endocannabinoid (ECB) system are highly expressed at different levels in the basal ganglia neural circuit where they bidirectionally interact with dopaminergic, glutamatergic, and GABAergic signaling systems.
This also explains it's effect on two mood issues that commonly accompany Parkinson's: Anxiety and Depression.
GABA is key to both...especially Anxiety as it's the calming neurotransmitter.
The system appears to help manage new cell creation and the so-called "brain plasticity".
This is the ability of the brain to change over time.
To enact this change, new neurons and brain connections must be made.
The endocannabinoid system appears to be key to this process.
Since Parkinson's is a disease of neuron loss due to inflammation, this is a key role to look at.
Speaking of inflammation, the endocannabinoid is showing great promise to help calm this activity...even in the brain.
Check out CBD and Inflammation article for more detail.
The article above points to the endocannabinoid's system functioning in the correct area of the brain.
Furthermore, the system is implicated in Parkinson's disease itself:
Several preclinical and clinical studies evidenced a substantial rearrangement of the endocannabinoid system in the basal ganglia circuit following dopamine depletion.
Again, dysregulation of the endocannabinoid system is implicated in the inflammation and immune response tied to the disease as well.
So...what about CBD?
Can CBD Help With Parkinson's – Based On Research
CBD is a plant-based cannabinoid that can interact directly with the endocannabinoid system we have in our bodies.
It's derived from hemp and is generally the largest cannabinoid by volume along with THC.
You can learn about CBD versus THC here.
CBD is a very popular target for research however due to its safety profile and lack of psychoactivity.
What about CBD and Parkinson's?
Research is just ramping up (finally) but some preliminary data is encouraging.
We've covered in-depth how CBD works with the different facets of Parkison's here:
- CBD for inflammation
- CBD for the gut
- CBD for autoimmune disease
Let's look at specific research on CBD itself with Parkinson's as all three facets above show strong results you can read about there.
First, treatment with 300mg of CBD:
the groups treated with placebo and CBD 300 mg/day had significantly different mean total scores in the PDQ-39 (p = 0.05).
PDQ-39 is a questionnaire that patients complete on their symptoms.
There was further good news for CBD with psychosis associated with Parkinson's:
The psychotic symptoms evaluated by the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale and the Parkinson Psychosis Questionnaire showed a significant decrease under CBD treatment.
And here...
we observed a reduction of both psychotic and motor symptoms during CBD treatment, with no worsening on cognition
Our findings suggest that CBD may be able to improve general parkinsonism in PD patients with no psychiatric comorbidities.
More data from animal models on CBD's effect for its neuroprotective abilities on the neurons in question (dopamine-producing in the substantia nigra).
In animal models of Parkinson's disease, CBD protects neurons by preventing the tyrosine hydroxylase activity reduction and the dopamine depletion in the substantia nigra (119, 129).
Furthermore, CBD has been shown to influence the critical cycle of cell growth and death:
CBD seems to protect neurons from death by enhancing the recycle of old/damaged cell components via facilitations of autophagic action.
There's a new range of research on mitochondria (our cell's power plants) and Parkinson's.
CBD is showing a positive effect here which has far-reaching results all the way to aging in general:
Both acute and chronic injection of CBD increased the activity of the mitochondrial complexes (I, II, II-III, and IV) and CK in the rat brain.
You can see a range of different studies on CBD and similarly-derived cannabinoids here:
An interesting note...the studies with CBD by itself is showing positive outcomes.
Check out the article on CBD and mitochondria here.
The studies with CBD and THC (unless with a very high CBD ratio) or synthetic cannabinoids are not doing as well.
Hmmm.
This points to the gut-brain interaction and it's why we're big proponents of CBD isolate!
Also, haven't we seen this show before?
- Hydrogenated oil (add hydrogen to oil and it's fine)
- Artificial sweetener (add chlorine to sugar and it's fine)
- Synthetic hormones (a slightly modified version of progesterone for example)
Not only does synthetic not work as well...there are generally knock-on effects that can actually make it dangerous!
All in the name of patenting it (in our humble opinion).
Stick with CBD isolate from the plant with 3rd party testing (more on that below).
You can access dozens of studies at the bottom of this page:
What's the recommended CBD dosage for Parkinson's?
How Much CBD To Take For Parkinson's
The baseline studies generally start with 300mg above.
It makes sense to start lower to test your body's response.
30-50mg is a good test.
CBD has been tested up to 1500mg with a strong safety profile.
Learn more about CBD safety here.
Obviously, Parkinson's is serious which points to a higher dosage.
Work with your doctor as CBD uses the same liver pathway as many other drugs.
It's advisable to take it 2 hours away from any other meds.
Please let us know your CBD results so we can publish them anonymously.
Let's help each other!
What's The Best CBD To Take For Parkinson's
A few caveats here.
We want the cleanest CBD available.
It must be a 3rd party tested to be free of:
- THC
- Heavy Metals
- Pesticides
- Solvents
- Bacteria
- Mold
There's a whole debate on CBD isolate versus Full Spectrum, which has other plant material in the oil.
Problem is that the research is based on CBD.
Not full spectrum!!
Many people have histamine or allergy issues (roughly 40% of the population and higher for women).
The extra "plant" material in full-spectrum might cause more harm than good for these people.
We recommend sticking with CBD isolate in MCT oil (not hemp oil) for this reason.
We would hate people to have adverse effects and miss out on the benefits of CBD!
You can check out top CBD brands with safety testing and ranked by cost per mg of CBD here:
CBD oil is generally the most popular.
We recommend going with a higher total CBD per bottle so you can actually get an effective dosage without lots of oil.
2000 mg of CBD+ per bottle is recommended.
You can see the safety screened CBD by price value here:
Let us know what your results are and we'll publish them here.