Cannabidiol shows promise as a potential treatment option for alcohol use disorder, according to a new study published by the journal Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, and epublished by the U.S. National Institute of Health.
“There is substantial interest in the therapeutic potential of cannabidiol (CBD), a non-psychoactive cannabinoid found in plants of the genus Cannabis”, begins the abstract of the study. “The goal of the current systematic review was to characterize the existing literature on this topic and to evaluate the credibility of CBD as a candidate pharmacotherapy for alcohol use disorder (AUD).”
Using a comprehensive search strategy, “303 unique potential articles were identified and 12 ultimately met criteria for inclusion (8 using rodent models, 3 using healthy adult volunteers, and 1 using cell culture).” In both rodent and cell culture models, “CBD was found to exert a neuroprotective effect against adverse alcohol consequences on the hippocampus.” In rodent models, “CBD was found to attenuate alcohol-induced hepatotoxicity, specifically, alcohol-induced steatosis.”