CBD for Autoimmune Disease: Can It Help?
For those struggling to manage the symptoms of an autoimmune disease, CBD may offer a beacon of hope. Over the past decade, CBD has experienced a gigantic surge in popularity. It’s touted by many as a “miracle molecule” that can help with anxiety, insomnia, chronic pain, and everything in between.
However, as you probably know, CBD comes from the cannabis plant. And since cannabis remains illegal in many US states, research examining CBD’s effects on humans – as opposed to mice, for example – is still limited. But limited or not, the research that does exist shows a lot of promise – especially when it comes to CBD’s potential for treating autoimmune disorders.
CBD may help with autoimmune disorders by acting as an immunosuppressant (big word, I know). An immunosuppressant is something that works to decrease your immune system’s response to certain stimuli. Now hold it right there – why on earth would someone want to decrease their immune function?? Great question!
See, normally, your immune system is your friend. It fights off sickness and infection and keeps your body functioning in tip-top shape. But sometimes, your immune system can turn against you. When this happens, it’s called autoimmune disease.
Here’s how the American Autoimmune Related Diseases Association (AARDA) puts it:
“One of the functions of the immune system is to protect the body by responding to invading microorganisms, such as viruses or bacteria, by producing antibodies…. Under normal conditions, an immune response cannot be triggered against the cells of one’s own body. In some cases, however, immune cells make a mistake and attack the very cells that they are meant to protect.” [1]
There are more than 100 different autoimmune diseases affecting roughly 50 million Americans, 80% of which are women. [2] When you suffer from an autoimmune condition, your immune system essentially becomes overly sensitive.
Rather than protecting against intruders, your immune system mistakenly identifies your own body as a threat, and your body begins to attack itself. The exact cause of autoimmune disorders is unknown, although genetics, environment, and hormones are all believed to play a role. One thing is for certain though: autoimmune diseases SUCK.
Many of them are progressive, meaning they get worse over time. They’re also often incurable. But don’t lose hope! Although they may not be curable, there are ways to reduce their effects. CBD may be one of those ways.
Let’s take a look at some of the most common autoimmune diseases – and see what current research says about how CBD can be used to make their symptoms more manageable.
CBD for Rheumatoid Arthritis
Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune disease in which the body attacks the tissues in and around your joints. It’s a very painful and limiting condition. It’s also progressive. Over time, the cartilage and bones within RA-affected joints begin to break down and wither away. [3]
Like with many other autoimmune conditions, a big focus of RA treatment is managing symptoms – that is, reducing pain. In a 2006 study at Oxford University, researchers gave RA patients a nasal spray containing CBD once per evening for 5 weeks.
What they found was that, compared to placebo, the CBD provided patients with “significant improvements in pain on movement, pain at rest, [and] quality of sleep” (Blake et al., 2006). That’s pretty encouraging news by itself. But wait – there’s more!
The researchers also stated that, as opposed to traditional pain medications like opioids, CBD treatment produced no serious negative side effects. [5]
That’s a big deal. If you’ve never had to live with the debilitating side effects of opioids, be grateful. If you have, CBD’s potential to reduce your pain without those unwanted side effects is a reason to jump for joy!
CBD for Fibromyalgia
Although it’s technically a neurological condition, fibromyalgia is much more common in people with autoimmune diseases than people with properly functioning immune systems. [6]
Fibromyalgia is characterized by widespread pain throughout the entire body with no specific cause. This constant pain leads to stiffness, fatigue, and, often times, depression. [7]
When it comes to the effects of CBD on fibromyalgia symptoms, research is still limited.
However, one 2011 study found that medicinal cannabis helped patients experience “reduction of pain and stiffness, enhancement of relaxation, and an increase in… feeling of well-being” (Fiz et al., 2011).
One important note: this study used medical marijuana rather than pure CBD.
This means that the researchers can’t be certain how much of the positive effects came from CBD vs. THC, the main psychoactive component of cannabis.
But since CBD has been shown to reduce pain and inflammation for lots of other health conditions (check out our article on that here), it’s reasonable to assume that CBD was responsible for at least some of the pain relief these patients experienced – so we’ll chalk it up as a win!
CBD for Psoriasis
Psoriasis is a skin disease that arises from immune system problems. The immune system attacks the skin, causing painful and itchy red patches with silver-looking scales. [9]
The disease process of psoriasis has to do with a class of skin cells called keratinocytes.
Keratinocytes make up about 90% of your skin, and they play an important role in maintaining your skin’s structure and strength.
When you have psoriasis, however, your body produces a much larger amount of keratinocytes than your skin actually needs. This is what leads to the scaly appearance of psoriasis sores. [10]
In a 2020 study, researchers found that applying CBD to psoriasis sores helped to speed up the death of those extra keratinocytes, helping the skin return to a healthier state.
The authors of the study concluded that “topical administration of CBD ointment may be suggested as a safe, non-invasive, and most effective treatment for psoriasis” (Luczaj et al., 2020).
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CBD for Multiple Sclerosis
Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune disease in which the immune system attacks the myelin sheath, a protective covering around the spinal cord.
Normally, your spinal cord serves as a “messenger” between your brain and the rest of your body. But when the myelin sheath gets damaged, those messages get slowed down or even stopped completely.
This causes a lack of communication between the brain and the rest of the body, resulting in muscle weakness, spasticity, poor balance, and other problems. [12]
A survey by the National Multiple Sclerosis Society found that 66% of patients with MS already use cannabis or cannabis products to manage their symptoms. [13]
There’s good reason for this.
In a study on the use of CBD to improve mobility in patients with MS, the authors stated “it is our opinion that CBD supplementation may be advisable for persons with MS to reduce fatigue, pain, spasticity, and ultimately improve mobility” (Rudroff & Sosnoff, 2018). The authors even went so far as to include this infographic in the study:
Figure 1 – Impacts of CBD on Mobility [10]
Pretty straightforward, wouldn’t you say?
Find Your Relief with CBD
As the amount of research on CBD increases, so does our understanding of how it works to alleviate the symptoms of various autoimmune diseases.
The existing research is promising, and more studies are being done every day.
If you’re suffering from an autoimmune condition, maybe it’s time to give CBD a try – click here to shop our wide variety of products and find the relief you’ve been searching for!
And don’t forget to use the coupon code IMMUNITY15 on our CBD oil tinctures, and code PAINGOAWAY for our topical CBD products – both codes are good for 15% off!
If you have friends or family members who are living with an autoimmune disease, share this article on Facebook – you just might change their lives.
Your turn! Have you used CBD to treat the symptoms of an autoimmune condition? What was your experience? Let us know in the comments below.
References
1. American Autoimmune Related Diseases Association (n.d.). Autoimmune disease list. Retrieved from https://www.aarda.org/diseaselist/
2. Invernizzi, P., Pasini, S., Selmi, C., Gershwin, M., Podda, M. (2009). Female predominance and X chromosome defects in autoimmune diseases. J Autoimmun, 33 (12–16).
3. Baker, S. (n.d.). Rheumatoid arthritis. Retrieved from https://www.susanbakermd.com/contents/rheumatology-conditions/rheumatoid-arthritis1
4. Blake, D.R.; Robson, P; Ho, M.; Jubb, R.W.; McCabe, C.S. (2006). Preliminary assessment of the efficacy, tolerability and safety of a cannabis-based medicine (Sativex) in the treatment of pain caused by rheumatoid arthritis. Retrieved from https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16282192/
5. Gonen, T., & Amital, H. (2020). Cannabis and cannabinoids in the treatment of rheumatic diseases. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7000161/
6. Mann, D. (2021). 7 conditions linked to fibromyalgia. Retrieved from https://www.health.com/condition/fibromyalgia/7-conditions-linked-to-fibromyalgia
7. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2020). Fibromyalgia. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/arthritis/basics/fibromyalgia.htm
8. Fiz, J., Durán, M., Capellà, D., Carbonell, J., Farré, M. (2011). Cannabis use in patients with fibromyalgia: Effect on symptoms relief and health-related quality of life. Retrieved from https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21533029/
9. American Autoimmune Related Diseases Association (n.d.). Psoriasis. Retrieved from https://www.aarda.org/diseaseinfo/psoriasis/
10. Habashy, J. (2020). Psoriasis. Retrieved from https://emedicine.medscape.com/article/1943419-overview#a3
11. Luczaj, W., Dobrzyńska, I., Wroński, A., Domingues, M. R., Domingues, P., & Skrzydlewska, E. (2020). Cannabidiol-Mediated Changes to the Phospholipid Profile of UVB-Irradiated Keratinocytes from Psoriatic Patients. International journal of molecular sciences, 21(18), 6592. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms21186592
12. American Autoimmune Related Diseases Association (n.d.). Multiple sclerosis. Retrieved from https://www.aarda.org/diseaseinfo/multiple-sclerosis-ms/
13. Rudroff, T., & Sosnoff, J. (2018). Cannabidiol to improve mobility in people with multiple sclerosis. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5874292/
Thomas Allred is a freelance writer and licensed Physical Therapist Assistant with a BA in psychology from Texas A&M University. He developed a keen interest in CBD during a 10-year struggle with uncontrolled epilepsy. When he’s not writing, Thomas enjoys cooking, playing guitar very badly, and exploring Austin with his wife and dog. Find him online at www.thomasallredwriting.com.