Written by Renata Filiaci, MSHW

CBD for Autoimmune Disease

What is an autoimmune disease?

Autoimmune disease occurs when the immune system attacks self-molecules as a result of a breakdown of immunologic tolerance to autoreactive immune cells. They result from complex interactions among different immune cell types, including both T and B lymphocytes and professional antigen-presenting cells, such as macrophages and dendritic cells. These cellular interactions result in auto-aggressive responses that target a number of different cell types in different tissues and organs in a relatively large number of autoimmune disorders. That means that your immune system fights both bad and good cells throughout our physiological systems.

Who develops them and why? Pathophysiology

Many autoimmune disorders have been strongly associated with genetic, infection, and/or environmental predisposing factors. The genes confer what is called “predisposition” or genetic susceptibility. The immune system becomes dysregulated and provides the tools for executing the pathological damage. The environment delivers the triggers that may make the autoimmune disease clinically apparent. Environment can be mold, irritants, alcohol, smoking, etc.  

Decades of effort have been devoted to study the genetics of many autoimmune diseases, with the main goal of identifying the autoimmune gene or genes. Results have shown that there isn’t a single autoimmune gene.

Patients with autoimmune diseases have multiple defects in regulatory mechanisms that normally prevent autoreactive lymphocytes to develop or control them if they do appear in the periphery. This means that defects exist in their immune system fighter cells and those cannot be controlled, which, as said above, causes these fighter cells to go overboard and attack both good and bad cells.

Some common ones are MS, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Ulcerative Colitis, Lupus, Type 1 Diabetes, and Hashimoto Thyroiditis

Why hemp?

Regulates autoimmune responses and inflammatory cytokines: Considering all the studies conducted on immune responses and inflammation, the data overwhelmingly demonstrates that hemp is immune suppressive in overactive immune systems and a strong anti-inflammatory. Critical targets of suppression include cytokines and chemokines (which are secreted by certain cells of the immune system) as well as direct suppression of target cells. The involvement of regulatory cell induction by hemp is also a major part of the mechanism by which hemp controls immune responses and encourages white blood cell production and decreasing the viral load; basically, acting as an immune system modulator for compromised systems.

Manages flareups by reducing stress and symptoms: As with most chronic conditions, it is important to minimize stress as this can increase the frequency and duration of ‘flares’. CBD binds to and increases, mediates, and transports anandamide levels which produces anxiolysis (an anti-anxiety effect) and fear extinction. CBD has also been found to increase the expression of genes that deal with oxidative stress, which may reduce cell damage from autoimmune attacks.

In autoimmune diseases that present themselves in the brain like MS or autoimmune encephalitis, CBD reduced the infiltration of immune cells to the brain parenchyma and decreased microglial activation. CBD treatment has a long-lasting effect, in the same study, researchers did an 80 day follow up of the treatment group which revealed restoration of both horizontal and vertical motor activities to that of the healthy mice and a correlating reduction in the expression of cytokines.