Cannabis & Schizophrenia

Harvard study: Cannabis does not cause schizophrenia

Recent research from Harvard Medical School comparing families with a family history of schizophrenia to families without the disorder shows little evidence linking cannabis use and the onset of schizophrenia. The study concluded that an increased incidence of the disorder within the family is the main risk factor for schizophrenia in individual cannabis users. Not cannabis use itself, as the researchers emphasise.

This recent study is the first to examine both non-psychotic cannabis users and non-cannabis users as two independent groups. This made it possible to test whether the risk of developing schizophrenia is higher among family members of cannabis users who develop schizophrenia compared to cannabis users who do not, and at the same time whether the risk of developing schizophrenia is similar or different among family members of non-cannabis users.

The use of marijuana is increasingly recognised and accepted. Thus, 2 US states have already legalised the ordinary use of cannabis, several others the medical use. But also in other parts of the world, the acceptance of cannabis as a useful and medicinal plant is growing. Some previous studies concluded that early cannabis use by adolescents leads to an increased risk of later being diagnosed with schizophrenia.

Researchers from Harvard Medical School and the VA Boston Healthcare System came together to find out if family risk of schizophrenia is a determining factor in adolescents who use cannabis and develop schizophrenia at the same time.

The researchers studied 282 patients from the New York and Boston regions. These patients were divided into 4 groups:

• A group without psychotic illnesses and no drug or cannabis use in their life history.
• a control group with no psychotic illness in their life history and heavy cannabis use during adolescence, but no other drug use.
• another group with no cannabis use or use of other drugs in their life history and an existing (schizophrenic) disorder of less than 10 years.
• the fourth group with heavy cannabis use in the past and no other drug use before the onset of psychosis.

This study also collected data on degree of relationship (first, second, third degree) and information on family members with a known psychiatric disorder. The study looked at cannabis and the relationship of family history to schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, depression and substance abuse.

The results of the study suggest that an increased familial risk of schizophrenia is the most significant factor for the occurrence of psychosis, not cannabis use.

While cannabis may have an effect on the age at which schizophrenia begins, it is unlikely that cannabis is the cause of the disorder, explain the Ashley C. led researchers from Harvard Medical School.

In general, researchers have found there is an increased tendency towards depression and bipolar disorder in the relatives of cannabis users, both in the patient group and the control group. Future research is needed to understand this relationship.

 

Canadian study: Cannabis can be helpful for schizophrenia patients

Despite the growing information about medical marijuana and its many benefits, little is known about its effects on schizophrenia. A Canadian study finds that Cannabidiol (CBD) plays a role in reducing Psychotic symptoms of schizophrenia.

Another recently published study suggests that cannabis can help reduce cognitive impairment.

Plus symptoms in psychoses of the schizophrenic type:

These include symptoms of delusions, psychosis, hallucinations, which are not experienced by the normal population.

Minus symptoms in psychoses of the schizophrenic type:

Are typically functional disorders e.g. restricted emotionality, inability to enjoy, lack of drive, lack of motivation, thought disorders.

Many schizophrenia patients have difficulty identifying emotions and may perceive situations and events differently. This often leads to interpersonal problems. A recent study published in Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging found that cannabis may be a solution to improve the emotional memory of schizophrenic patients.

 Cannabis can help treat the negative symptoms of schizophrenia

A team of Canadian researchers led by Stephane Potvin, Ph.D, conducted a study in which they compared the emotional memory of three groups: 1st group: 14 schizophrenia patients who use cannabis regularly, 2nd group: 14 schizophrenia patients who do not use cannabis, and 3rd group: 21 people in the control group (no schizophrenia and no drug or cannabis use).

Each group was shown pictures of positive and negative stimuli and asked to identify or describe the emotions depicted. Meanwhile, the researchers performed functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to assess the amount of brain activity in each individual.

According to the results of the study, the cannabis group was less successful in identifying emotional stimuli compared to the non-cannabis group. However, the difference was even greater when looking at the schizophrenia patients who did not use cannabis. Here, the non-cannabis group identified stimuli with less success than the cannabis group. This suggests that cannabis can help reduce and prevent memory deficits in schizophrenic patients. The imaging results suggested that the better emotional memory functions of the cannabis group were related to activity in the frontal lobe, the part of the brain responsible for thinking and organising.

Scans of the (healthy) control group showed significant frontal lobe activity, just as in the cannabis users. Scans of the non-cannabis group, however, showed extremely low activity in the frontal lobe.

As the author of this Canadian study suggests, more research is needed on the role of cannabis in the treatment of schizophrenia.

This study additionally showed that the cannabinoid cannabidiol (CBD) can help reduce psychotic symptoms. This would be an important step towards a natural treatment for schizophrenia patients. The well-known prescribed anti-psychotics have numerous side effects such as weight gain, nausea or anxiety. A suitable treatment alternative has therefore been long and desperately awaited by many sufferers.

CBD can help reduce and treat the pyschotic symptoms of schizophrenia

The cannabinoid CBD has been shown to help prevent cancer in smokers, reduce and prevent cardiac damage from chemotherapy, and play an important role in pain management.

CBD inhibits the absorption of anandamide , so that it remains in the bloodstream longer. Anandamide is an endocannabinoid that our bodies produce naturally. It interacts with the CB1 and CB2 receptors and has been found to fight human breast cancer.

Some research found evidence that anandamides may play a role in the psychotic symptoms of schizophrenia. According to this study, anandamide correlates inversely with psychotic symptoms. That is, higher levels of anandamide appear to reduce psychotic symptoms in patients.

Anandamide can delay the onset of psychosis.

The endocannabinoid system reduces psychotic symptoms, but also postpones the onset of psychosis. With regard to psychosis, there is a time window before the symptoms fully appear. In the new version of the DSM (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders) there is a completely new psychiatric diagnosis for this first period of psychosis: "risk syndrome for firstpsychosis".

Research has shown that anandamide helps to ward off a complete nervous breakdown. High levels of anandamide resulted in a longer period of time before a psychosis finally develops into a full-blown psychosis. The risk of an initial psychosis developing into schizophrenia is reduced.

Cannabidiol (CBD) Vs Antipsychotics

Last year, an international team of researchers published a study in the journal Translational Psychiatry. They compared CBD and amisulpride, a potent neuroleptic, in 42 acute schizophrenia patients.

Amisulpride was used for comparison, among other things, because it is one of the most prescribed drugs in this field in Germany and some German scientists were among the researchers. This drug is also widely used in France, Switzerland, Italy, New Zealand and Australia. It is astonishing that amisulpride has never been approved by the FDA in the USA.

Side effects of amisulpride include nausea, weight gain, orgasmic disturbances, anxiety, vomiting and insomnia.

The researchers found that both amisulpride and CBD showed efficacy, declaring CBD superior. CBD has a much better side effect profile than amisulpride. Many thousands of medical cannabis users confirm this, even without extensive studies. The study further concluded that CBD increases the amount of anandamide, which is also considered to be the reason for the cannabinoid's success.

Brazilian study: Cannabis therapy can help treat schizophrenia

For years, the flawed argument has been that cannabis causes or increases the likelihood of schizophrenia. Much of this position has been scientifically refuted. A 2004 study, for example, shows that cannabis can help prevent psychosis. A study published last year found that CBD can improve cognitive abilities in schizophrenic patients.

A group of Brazilian researchers led by Raquel Levin and Fernanda F. Peres recently published a study in the journal Frontiers in Pharmacology. This sheds light on the relationship of cannabinoids in the treatment of schizophrenia.

Researchers study cannabinoid therapy for schizophrenia

There is no cure for schizophrenia yet. Treatment is primarily concerned with controlling and reducing symptoms. The prescribed drugs have list-long and, for many, unacceptable side effects.

There is no cure for schizophrenia and existing treatments are primarily aimed at controlling the symptoms. Many of the treatments that are commonly used have the potential to cause a laundry list of side effects, such as increased light sensitivity, seizures and attention deficits.

Using a special strain of rats as experimental models, the Brazilian research team studied different cannabinoid treatments.

These included: WIN55212, 2 (synthetic cannabinoid agonist), Rimonabant (synthetic CB1 antagonist), AM404 ( anandamide uptake inhibitor) and cannabidiol (CBD) . Different cannabinoids were administered in different doses and tested for efficacy. The results of the study showed again the importance of the endocannabinoid system.

In summary, the research team offers the following conclusion: "Our findings strengthen the role of the endocannabinoid system in sensorimotor gating. CBD emerges as a potential and effective treatment for schizophrenia.

Of course, more studies will have to follow before marijuana is officially approved as a medicine in the USA or Spain, for example. However, many affected people already use cannabis for self-medication.

Cannabis use can reduce the mortality risk of psychosis patients

Cannabis use continues to be associated with a reduced risk of mortality in patients with psychotic disorders, study results show. This is in contrast to alcohol use, which is not associated with mortality risk in psychosis patients, according to a report by Maju Mathew Koola (University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, USA) and team. Thus, ill cannabis users have a reduced risk of mortality compared to non-users.

The researchers studied 762 patients with schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder or other psychosis, aged 18-55 years, who had been affected for more than 10 years. They distinguished between the patients' substance use, regular and heavy use, and between abuse and dependence. In total, 584 (77%) patients had a comorbidity (substance use + mental illness), with cannabis (39%) and alcohol (63%) as the most commonly used substances.

The examination of the Social Security Death Index showed that 62 patients died during the follow-up period. The analysis showed that cannabis users were significantly less likely to die during the study period than non-users, with 5- and 10-year mortality rates of 3.1% versus 7.5% and 5.5% versus 13.6%, respectively.

The reduced mortality risk among cannabis users remained significant even after accounting for age, sex, race and smoking status, (at a hazard ratio of 0.5) compared to non-users.

Koola et al summarise: "We observed a reduced mortality risk in psychotic patients using cannabis compared to cannabis non-users. Future research is warranted to replicate these findings and to learn more about the anti-inflammatory properties of the endocannabinoid system and its role in reduced mortality in people with psychotic disorders.

Further promising treatment options in the treatment of psychoses from the schizophrenic spectrum

In connection with schizophrenia, symptoms such as tension, anxiety, depression and sleep disorders often occur. For these symptoms, too, the effectiveness of cannabis has already been shown in numerous studies. It therefore stands to reason, and probably explains the increased interest of patients in cannabis, that marijuana can help to regulate the symptoms of the disease and achieve a better quality of life. The explanation that schizophrenia patients turn to cannabis because of a personality or psychological disorder is long outdated and cannot explain what current and modern studies are now revealing.

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