doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2021.643442. eCollection 2021.
- PMID: 34093265
- PMCID: PMC8175856
- DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2021.643442
Abstract
Neurodevelopmental and neuropsychiatric disorders (such as autism spectrum disorder) have broad health implications for children, with no definitive cure for the vast majority of them. However, recently medicinal cannabis has been successfully trialled as a treatment to manage many of the patients’ symptoms and improve quality of life. The cannabinoid cannabidiol, in particular, has been reported to be safe and well-tolerated with a plethora of anticonvulsant, anxiolytic and anti-inflammatory properties. Lately, the current consensus is that the endocannabinoid system is a crucial factor in neural development and health; research has found evidence that there are a multitude of signalling pathways involving neurotransmitters and the endocannabinoid system by which cannabinoids could potentially exert their therapeutic effects. A better understanding of the cannabinoids’ mechanisms of action should lead to improved treatments for neurodevelopmental disorders.
Keywords: anxiety, autism, cannabidiol, cannabinoid, endocannabinoid system, neuroinflammation, neuropsychiatry, paediatrics
Copyright © 2021 Kwan Cheung, Mitchell and Heussler.
Conflict of interest statement
The Centre for Clinical Trials in Rare Neurodevelopmental Disorders of which HH is a Co-Director has conducted sponsored trials for Zynerba Pharmaceuticals, GW Pharmaceuticals, Axial Biotherapeutics, Ovid Therapeutics and Anavex Pharmaceuticals. The remaining authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.
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