Chronic bowel diseases are a multifactorial phenomenon ranging from psychological components to severe inflammatory damage to the intestinal mucosa and disorders of the intestinal microbiome. The therapeutic approaches are correspondingly diverse, and satisfactory concepts are still lacking. CBD could represent an important addition to therapeutic management in the future.
The term “chronic intestinal disease” usually refers to the two inflammatory diseases Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. Nothing is known about their mode of origin. It is assumed that there is a kind of autoimmune disease that leads to inflammatory disorders of normal intestinal function. Not infrequently, there is also a psychogenic component.
The gastrointestinal tract and the centre of well-being in the limbic system are directly connected.
This is not surprising, because only a few years ago science was able to prove that there is a direct – as it were express – nerve connection from the gastrointestinal tract to the centre of well-being in the limbic system. A large number of mediators are involved in pathogenesis. Messenger substances of the inflammatory system play an important role in this process. Depending on their severity, these diseases lead to massive restrictions in the quality of life, which in turn represent a factor in psychological stress. Pain also plays an important role in individual cases.
Today we know that disturbances of the intestinal microbiome – the functional bacterial colonisation of the intestinal mucosa – can have decisive consequences. These range from the actual functional disorder with chronic diarrhoea or malnutrition to the promotion of inflammatory processes in the entire organism. You can find out more about the microbiome here.
What can cannabidiol (CBD) do?
Apart from THC (tetrahydrocannabinol), CBD is the most important active substance in hemp plants. In addition, there are a number of other active components which are referred to as cannabinoids. CBD itself is attributed via the CB1 receptor (active binding site) above all to anxiolytic (in high doses also antidepressive), analgesic and anti-inflammatory properties. Further exciting details on the potential of CBD can be found in the article on the subject here.
In inflammatory diseases, the body’s own cannabinoids are increasingly degraded.
Some of these effects are derived from the “endocannabinoid system”. Just as there are endogenous morphines produced by the body, there are also endogenous cannabinoids. Their function is to stabilize homeostasis in the intestine.
In general, this means the balance of the intestinal system in terms of fluid intake and release, regulation of the electrolyte balance, bacterial colonisation and other components. Inflammatory diseases disturb this system sensitively and it probably comes to an increased degradation of the endogenous cannabinoids or to their reduced formation.
Exogenous supply of cannabinoids such as CBD could be an important correction of the disturbed balance. It is believed that the CB2 receptor also has a direct influence on the recruitment of inflammatory cells.
Psyche pain inflammation
In addition to these anti-inflammatory effects on the intestine, CBD now also offers psychological relaxation and pain relief as active components – also important qualities in connection with chronic inflammatory intestinal diseases. The psychogenic component in particular is insufficiently taken into account by the medical apparatus in the treatment of disease pictures. This could be another important value of the use of CBD without the massive administration of psychotropic drugs.
The actual verifiable findings to date are merely a mosaic of individual, mostly smaller studies. Nevertheless, in the field of massive chronic diseases, those affected do not wait until evidence-based medicine produces “big data”, but “try out” new therapeutic possibilities for themselves. In fact, the individual clinical pictures are not always easily comparable and in fact highly individual.
Concentration and quality of hemp oils different
For this reason in particular, it must be emphasised that, despite the initial strong approaches, the data situation is still insufficient to enable final conclusions to be drawn. The fact that there are already a large number of hemp oils containing CBD in quite different concentrations and qualities makes the question of dosage even more difficult for the patients.
An alternative here would be CBD processed in capsules, which facilitates dosage and can guarantee a consistently high quality.
In any case, however, it seems to be advisable to take the dosage slowly in ascending order of effect under medical supervision.
