Evidence is accumulating that cannabis oil lessens the symptoms of autism in children. CNN recently ran a story written by Natalie Angley with input from Dr, Sanjay Gupta, the channel’s chief medical correspondent, that evidence is accumulating that CBD oil may help kids with autism – a neuro-developmental disorder that affects 1 in 44 children in the United States. The symptoms keep these kids from having anything like a normal life. Scientists have discovered that yet another compound in the cannabis plant – CBDV – which lessens excitation in neurons and increases inhibitions on behavior leading to a lessening of symptoms.
Dr. Doris Trauner, a pediatric neurologist and distinguished professor of neurosciences and pediatrics at the University of California, San Diego, told Dr. Gupta that kids suffering with autism have a certain routine. “They like to do things over and over again,” she said. “They have repetitive behaviors, the most typical of which are things like hand-flapping or spinning in circles.” The illness can lead to aggressive, violent behavior and an inability to communicate effectively, heaping untold stress on the child and their family.
Dr. Eric Hollander, director of the Autism and Obsessive Compulsive Spectrum Program at Montefiore Health System in New York, is conducting a similar double-blind placebo-controlled study. “We know that autism is a developmental disorder that begins early on as the brain is being shaped,” Dr. Hollander told CNN. “I think CBDV can play an important role in autism. It can decrease excitation in neurons and increase inhibition.”
LEARN MORE about the relief CBD oil may offer to the tens of thousands of children who are suffering with autism.