“Anxiety disorders in young people are frequently comorbid with other mental disorders and respond unsatisfactorily to first-line treatment in many cases.
Here, we report the case of a 20-year-old man with severe social anxiety disorder, major depressive disorder, insomnia and attenuated psychotic symptoms despite ongoing treatment with cognitive behavioural therapy and mirtazapine who was treated with adjunctive cannabidiol (CBD) in doses between 200 and 800 mg/day for 6 months.
During treatment with CBD, he experienced subjective benefits to his anxiety, depression and positive symptoms during treatment that were confirmed by clinicians and by standardised research instruments.
Findings from this case study add to existing evidence in support of the safety of CBD and suggest that it may be useful for young people with treatment refractory anxiety and for attenuated psychotic symptoms.”
“Background/objectives: Use of cannabis is increasing in a variety of populations in the United States; however, few investigations about how and for what reasons cannabis is used in older populations exist.
“Anxiety disorders have the highest lifetime prevalence of any mental illness worldwide, leading to high societal costs and economic burden. Current pharmacotherapies for anxiety disorders are associated with adverse effects and low efficacy.
“Emotional dysregulation and anxiety are common in people at clinical high risk for psychosis (CHR) and are associated with altered neural responses to emotional stimuli in the striatum and medial temporal lobe.
“There is no argument with regard to the physical and psychological stress-related nature of neuropsychiatric disorders. Yet, the mechanisms that facilitate disease onset starting from molecular stress responses are elusive.
“The endocannabinoid signaling system (ECSS) is altered by exposure to stress and mediates and modulates the effects of stress on the brain.
“Recent studies have shown that cannabidiol (CBD) could have a great therapeutic potential for treating disorders such as chronic pain and anxiety. In the target article, the authors propose that CBD modulates serotonergic transmission and reverses allodynia and anxiety-like behaviour in a rat model of neuropathic pain. Furthermore, this study shows an antinociceptive effect mediated by TRPV1 and partially by 5-HT1A receptors, as well as an anxiolytic effect mediated by 5-HT1A receptors.”
“Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) may stem from the formation of aberrant and enduring aversive memories. Some PTSD patients have recreationally used Cannabis, probably aiming at relieving their symptomatology.
“Cannabidiol (
“The major phytocannabinoid cannabidiol (