As new daily coronavirus infections continue to break records in the U.S., researchers are considering whether the cannabis plant has the potential to be used in the treatment of COVID-19.
Experts from the University of Nebraska and the Texas Biomedical Research Institute recommend that scientists study the anti-inflammatory properties in CBD as a possible treatment for lung inflammation caused by the coronavirus.
There’s no scientific evidence that cannabis or its compounds can help with COVID-19 specifically, but in a peer-reviewed article in Brain, Behavior and Immunity, the authors said more research is needed to understand if CBD can help virus infected patients.
Emily Earlenbaugh, a Forbes contributor and co-founder of Mindful Cannabis Consulting, joined CBSN to discuss the study. She explained that in severe cases of COVID-19, the body’s immune system overreacts and releases too many cytokines, called a “cytokine storm.”
“Cytokines will normally help create inflammation to fight infection,” said Earlenbaugh. “But in these extreme cases, you see so many cytokines being released into the system that it creates a cytokine storm. You can see high fever, inflammation, severe fatigue and nausea, and in severe cases, it can lead to death from organ failure.”
Earlenbaugh said CBD is known from previous research as an IL-6 cytokine inhibitor, which means it helps reduce cytokine production.
The study authors wrote that one medication, Tocilizumab, resulted in “clearance clearance and lung recovery” in 90% of the 21 treated patients. However, the drug caused adverse side effects such as inflammation of the pancreas and hypertriglyceridemia.
The researchers then turned to cannabis, specifically CBD. The authors said that various cannabinoids in the cannabis plant have anti-inflammatory properties. They said that CBD “has shown beneficial anti-inflammatory effects in preclinical models of various chronic inflammatory diseases” and noted that the FDA approved a CBD product to treat certain forms of epilepsy.
“CBD has very few side effects, so it is something that is being considered as a much milder treatment that still has many anti-inflammatory powers,” Earlenbaugh told CBSN.
The study authors said that CBD can help reduce anxiety in patients and increase the production of interferons, a protein that helps the body fight infection.
But given the early stages of this investigation, Earlenbaugh cautions that people should “definitely express caution” against using cannabis to fight COVID-19. She said some researchers have warned that using the drug early in the infection stages could cause negative side effects.
“We are a long way from human research that could really definitely answer those questions for us,” says Earlenbaugh. “The other reason for caution is that cytokines are important in fighting infections. Therefore, we don’t want to reduce them as a preventive measure or in the early stages of infection.”
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