Developmental Disabilities, Brain Injury, and CBD

              Developmental disabilities are lifelong conditions beginning before adulthood that can manifest as a kaleidoscopic variety of physical and mental impairments. Language, mobility, and learning are sometimes so significantly affected that developmentally disabled individuals are unable to live independently or act as their own legal guardians. The Center for Disease Control states, "Most developmental disabilities begin before a baby is born, but some can happen after birth because of injury, infection, or other factors", including Traumatic Brain Injury. 

                Autism Spectrum Disorder is a very common developmental disability in the US, affecting 1 in 59 people, or 1.7% of the population. It affects slightly more boys than girls, and presents as difficulty communicating and interacting with others, restricted interests and repetitive behaviors, and other symptoms that negatively impact individuals' day-to-day life. There is a wide spectrum of symptoms and behaviors that are diagnosable as ASD, however, resulting in its classification as a "spectrum" disorder.

Nathan Anderson: Man and Boy Smiling

                MAMMA is a group of mothers advocating for the freedom to use CBD and/or medical marijuana to treat their children's Autism. Many of their kids used to be on long lists of prescriptions with an equally long list of unpleasant side effects. In Sophia's case, she went from using only three phrases to fully verbal within two days of starting a CBD dosing regimen. While the speed of Sophia's response to CBD may not be typical, cases like hers give hope to parents who feel they have tried everything conventional medicine has to offer and gotten nowhere. There are apparently enough people experiencing excellent results to form advocacy groups like MAMMA. Working in our North Colorado Springs Discover CBD location, I have personally spoken with two caregivers who reported that their loved ones had broken years of silence to speak, only after using our CBD products.

                The National Institute of Health reports that epilepsy disorders affect close to 3 million Americans of all ages and ethnic groups, with 3% of Americans experiencing epilepsy by age 80. Epilepsy disorders are commonly co-occurring with developmental disabilities, but there are a wide variety of potential causes and this is by no means always the case. Lennox-Gaustaut Syndrome, Dravet Syndrome, and CDKL5 are examples of epilepsy disorders with known causes not related to general developmental disability.  A broad range of anti-epileptic drugs and therapies are used by medical professionals to control seizures, but no cure is known, and there are still many individuals who do not respond the conventional therapies or are deterred by nasty side effects produced by these drugs.

                However, a recent meta-survey on the use of CBD to treat epilepsy specifically in treatment-resistant epilepsy sufferers found that 6 out of 11 studies reported over 80% of their patients reporting improvement. Overall, 2/3 of patients showed significant improvement. Furthermore, patients treated with broad-spectrum high-CBD products had better results in this area than patients treated with isolated CBD. Individuals using broad-spectrum extracts also used much lower doses to achieve similar or better results when compared to CBD isolate products.

                This difference in success between isolate and CBD-rich hemp extract is likely due to something known as "The Entourage Effect", the way that the over 400 trace compounds in hemp interact with one another and the human endocannabinoid system to produce an effect that is more than the sum of their parts. Hemp contains terpenoids, flavonoids, potentially over 160 cannabinoids in trace amounts, chlorophyll, and other compounds that are not yet well-understood. What is known is that generally, people respond more readily to full-spectrum and broad-spectrum formulations than pure CBD, and also experience fewer adverse side effects than with pure CBD. 

Hemp plants, source for full-spectrum CBD oil

                Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) and stroke can cause symptoms that appear similar and result in similar disruption of individuals' daily life as developmental disability. In America alone, 4-6 million people receive federal aid for a disability caused by TBI or stroke. CBD is being investigated as a neurogenerative and neuroprotective aid following TBI and stroke, with promising results. In fact, U.S. patent 6630507, "Cannabinoids as Antioxidants and Neuroprotectants ", filed in 2001, outlines the promising use of these compounds, which includes CBD, in the treatment of TBI and stroke.

Neuron, TBI research

                Even relatively rare conditions like Prader-Willi's Syndrome are a target for researchers testing the limits of CBD's efficacy in treating developmental disability. PWS is a genetic disorder with hormonal effects that often lead those afflicted to overeat continuously to the point of self-harm. CBD is being investigated to curb this overeating specifically in a currently ongoing study. 

                In general, those with developmental disabilities or traumatic brain injury and their guardians look to CBD for relief after running the gauntlet of conventional therapies and becoming discouraged by distressing adverse effects. Many of these individuals do find relief with CBD products, and find that their relief comes without unwanted side effects. For some, CBD is not only a "cleaner" or "more natural" solution, but the only thing that has ever produced noticeable improvements in their chronic conditions.

Discover CBD Extra-strength Water-soluble Tincture

                At Discover CBD we offer a wide range of products, including a full-spectrum CBD oil which contains less than 0.3% THC, broad-spectrum tinctures which contain everything in the hemp plant except THC, and pure CBD isolate to meet all of our customers' potential needs. 

                Thank you for taking the time to read our blog! While we are not medical professionals, we are happy to share with you what has worked for our customers over the years. So don't hesitate to reach out online, over the phone, or in-store today!

We currently have 4 locations, 3 in Colorado Springs and 1 in Denver:

 

Active cbd oilAntioxidantAutismAutism spectrum disorderCannabidiolCbdCbd and epilepsyCdcCdkl5Cerebral ischemiaCteDevelopmental disabilitiesDravet syndromeEmerging researchEntourage effectEpilepsyFull-spectrumHead injuryHemp extractIntellectual disabilitiesIsolateLennox-gaustautNeuroprotectantNihNimhOvereatingPatentPrader-willi's syndromeStrokeTbiTraumatic brain injury

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