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As the COVID-19 outbreak affects countries across the globe, we’re all hoping and waiting for new disease treatments. Thankfully, the latest studies and research shows cannabis’ potential to treat coronavirus-related symptoms.
Researchers and scientists suggest that CBD may help in several ways. This includes its known abilities to reduce pro-inflammatory cytokine production and ACE2 expression, which can reduce lung inflammation. In fact, a new peer-reviewed study featured in the International Journal of Molecular Sciences reveals that our endocannabinoid systems could help combat virus-related inflammation.
Many Covid-19 patients didn’t succumb to the virus. Instead, their body’s responded to this virus with a process known as a “cytokine storm,” which turns on your body’s “fight mode.” This results in an over-saturation of cytokines inside the body. It also causes breathing issues.
Now, any time a virus attacks, your body releases cytokines. These are secretions from cells charged with responding to the virus, allowing your immune system to fight or retaliate. And this brings us to the second fact, and a clue to how CBD could help fight Covid.
Early results of an ongoing study published in HealthEuropa suggest that a specific combination of cannabinoids and terpenes appears to be twice as effective as the corticosteroid dexamethasone at lowering COVID-19 inflammation. (Keep in mind that Eybna, a terpene manufacturer, and CannaSoul Analytics, a cannabis development and research firm, are conducting this study.)
Research from the Rabin Medical Center holds another clue. Their findings suggest that 8 out of the 11 patients receiving cannabis treatments program saw improvements in virus-related infections.
Many researchers believe that CBD might help fight COVID-19. It’s classified as a contagious respiratory illness that causes fatigue, breathing problems, and fever. For some people, it’s proven to be fatal. So could CBD and cannabis offer assistance in the ongoing fight against Covid-19?
A new study in the Aging journal discovered that cannabis might help patients suffering from Covid-19 in the ways we’ll list below.
The main biological event causing acute severe respiratory distress in Covid-19 patients is a process known as a “cytokine storm.” It causes your body to experience extreme increases in pro-inflammatory cytokines. The cytokines fall under the protein category, and dramatically escalate internal inflammation.
Covid-19 patients frequently suffer from a condition known as lung fibrosis. This is an untreatable and serious condition that scars your lung tissue, making it even harder to breathe. If we could stop these cytokine storms, it would suppress inflammation, stop lung fibrosis, and could even help put Covid-19 sufferers into remission.
The C.Sativa cannabis strain seems to lower several pathways and cytokines associated with fibrosis and inflammation in at least one cytokine storm study. Specifically, C.Sativa lowered two cytokines: IL-6 and TNFa, which seem to offer the best hope of blocking or stopping a Covid-19 cytokine storm and/or acute-respiratory distress syndrome.
The Aging study is just one research piece affirming that cannabis can block cytokine storms in Covid-19 patients.
In a mouse-model 2020 study, CBD lowered pro-inflammatory cytokines. It also improved the mice’s clinical symptoms.
This research suggests that CBD might work with other treatments to reduce cytokine storms and protect Covid-19 patients’ lung tissue.
Cannabis shows strong potential for reducing scarring and inflammation in Covid-19 patients. But are there other ways that cannabis may help Covid-9 patients?
Cannabis compounds such as THC and CBD may relieve anxiety and pain. While we’re still investigating these specific therapeutic benefits, they may provide exciting results in the future.
Covid-19 symptoms often include headaches, sore throats, and body aches. Most patients would probably welcome pain relief. Fortunately, cannabis shows strong potential as an effective pain reliever, especially since it may increase serotonin effects. (That’s the neurotransmitter that can induce effective pain relief.)
When someone finds out that they have Covid-19, it can be a very stressful time. Since this virus is highly infectious, patients are often isolated from family and friends. The scary and serious nature of this virus can often affect the patient’s mental health.
Now, CBD shows impressive anxiety-lowering qualities. CBD is one of the cannabinoid compounds that may reduce symptoms of anxiety and stress. CBD may also reduce cortisol levels and elevate serotonin activity. Reducing cortisol levels is vital for managing anxiety and stress since serotonin lowers anxiety. Plus, patients suffering from anxiety and depression tend to show higher levels of cortisol. So CBD could help in several different ways.
One of the most consume ways to consume cannabis involves inhaling cannabis flower smoke. But, today, you can find many other ways to explore cannabis’ therapeutic potential. In fact, most of today’s research involves cannabis extracts such as CBD oil.
You can easily enjoy cannabis oil topically. But you can also try tinctures, nasal sprays, vaping, or edible CBD. Most of these mechanisms don’t involve your lungs. So you don’t have to worry about potentially harmful substances linked to smoke inhalation.
CBD shows significant potential in the fight against Covid-19, mainly due to its significant anti-inflammatory properties. The latest research shows that cannabis and CBD might drastically improve Covid-19 symptoms. It could do so by lowering cytokine storms and protecting lung tissue from inflammation.
Studies also show that cannabis compounds such as CBD may offer other important therapeutic properties. Top on that list is CBD’s potential to lower anxiety and offer pain relief. Now, like those properties, we’re still exploring and learning more about how CBD works in your body. So, even though the latest research and studies are promising, all we can say now is that cannabis may treat Covid-19 symptoms. And that’s why we still recommended following your doctor’s advice about managing COVID-19.
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