By Joseph Jaramillo
Volume 5 Issue 4
A concussion is a mild brain injury that typically occurs after a direct blow to the head, which can often lead to Post Concussion Syndrome, or ‘PCS.’ PCS has a variety of symptoms that can linger following a concussion, including but not limited to headaches and dizziness lasting for weeks or even months! Not all head injuries cause Post Concussion Syndrome, and the condition does not seem to be correlated to the severity of the initial blow.
In addition to headaches and dizziness PCS commonly causes fatigue, irritability, anxiety, insomnia, loss of concentration and memory, as well as sensitivity to noise and light. Typically symptoms associated with PCS develop within the first seven to ten days after a concussion and eventually alleviate within a three month period. In some cases however the symptoms can persist for a year or longer.
What causes PCS symptoms to develop following certain concussions and not others has yet to be identified. Some experts believe the symptoms come from structural damage to the brain or the disruption of neurotransmitter systems. Others believe that psychological factors may contribute.
Treatment for PCS can vary depending on individual needs and symptoms. Headaches are often treated with medications. Time however is often the best therapy for treating memory and thinking problems.
Where Cannabis Comes In
While research on cannabis’ direct effect on post-concussion syndrome is lacking, preclinical findings have shown that cannabis offers therapeutic benefits following brain injuries. Studies have shown that the compounds found in cannabis, most specifically cannabidiol (CBD), activate the body’s cannabinoid receptors. Other evidence suggests that the neuroprotective effects from CBD may also come from the cannabinoid’s activation of the 5-hydroxytriptamine1A receptor. When these receptors are activated, they provide protection against neural damage following acute and chronic brain damage. The administration of cannabinoids following a traumatic brain injury decreased brain swelling and inflammation and was shown to improve recovery.
Another study showed that CBD alone provided neuroprotection and limited brain cell death in newborn mice following a hypoxic-ischemic event. Others have shown that cannabinoids, through the activation of the endocannabinoid system, prevent glutamate excitotoxicity, intracellular calcium accumulation, the activation of cell death pathways, microglia activation, neurovascular reactivity and circulating leukocytes following a brain injury. Researchers concluded that modulating the endocannabinoid system is an effective way to provide neuroprotection and prevent and reduce brain injury.
Its now known that CBD reduces the oxidative stress and Alzheimer’s hallmark protein, thus limiting nerve damage that might cause the disorder and improving cell viability. An study on animals showed that CBD and tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) treatments were effective at delaying and limiting neural damage caused by Huntington’s disease. Additionally, CBD can lower stress, help combat depression, improve sleep and reduce pain – all symptoms of a mind suffering from concussion.
Currently, only the state of Illinois has approved medical marijuana for the treatment of Post Concussion Syndrome… but this could change soon with the mounting pressure on the National Football League and other semi-violent sports that has come from the rise of ‘CTE,’ or ‘Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy.’ Formerly believed to exist primarily among boxers and was referred to as ‘dementia puglistica,’ CTE is a progressive degenerative disease which afflicts the brains of people who have suffered repeated concussions and traumatic brain injuries. It is common among athletes who take part in contact sports, members of the military, and many others. CTE can persist over a period of years or decades. CBD is proving itself to these people to be a valuable treatment in reducing neural damage and helpful in improving recovery following a brain injury… and both THC and CBD treatments have been found to mitigate pain and improve sleep.
Naturally occurring ‘endogenous cannabinoids’ are produced in the bodies of humans and even some animals. Their main function is to bind to cannabinoid receptors, manufactured by the body in response to trauma, and may be useful as a treatment for complications resulting from brain injury according to an Israeli researcher’s report.
“We believe that this compound, that the brain itself produces, may serve as a neuroprotectant agent” says lead author Esther Shohami, a professor in the School of Pharmacy at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. ‘This compound,’ named ‘2-arachidonoyl glycerol (2-AG),’ is a natural cannabinoid with similar structure to the compounds found in the cannabis plant. The Isreali researchers theorize that the compound somehow helps prevent secondary complications associated with brain injury, possibly by reducing the inflammatory response, slowing the production of toxic chemicals, or by boosting the blood supply to the brain immediately after injury.
However, the natural amounts the brain produces following trauma do not reach high enough levels to always be effective, To investigate the effects of the compound, the researchers synthesized 2-AG and injected it into mice an hour after brain injury had been induced. The mice were evaluated 1 day, 4 days, and 7 days after the injury; with results showing the drug’s protection against neurological damage was short-lived, with beneficial effects lasting only 1 day after treatment.
Modern science has refuted the notion that marijuana is neurotoxic, and recent scientific discoveries have indicated that cannabinoids are in reality a neuroprotective, particularly against alcohol-induced brain damage. In a preclinical study researchers at the US National Institutes of Mental Health (NIMH) reported that the administration of the non-psychoactive cannabinoid cannabidiol (CBD) reduced ethanol-induced cell death in the brain by up to 60 percent, and revealed a resounding irony.
“This study provides the first demonstration of CBD as a vivoneuroprotectant in preventing binge ethanol-induced brain injury. Alcohol poisoning is linked to hundreds of preventable deaths each year in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control, while cannabis cannot cause death by overdose.” Dr. Lester Grinspoon, a Professor Emeritus at Harvard University and the author of ‘Marijuana Reconsidered.’
Grinspoon has recently written an open letter to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, advising him to consider allowing cannabis as a treatment for post-concussion syndrome. With the recent dicussion of CTE and a frightening 110 of 111 volunteers amongst NFL players showing signs of CTE, we all need to support more scientific study of cannabis treatments as a viable tool to help our brothers and sisters afftected by such trauma.
Peace And Love.
