Cannabidiol as a Potential Treatment for Anxiety Disorders.
Cannabidiol (CBD), a Cannabis sativa constituent, is a pharmacologically broad-spectrum drug that in recent years has drawn increasing interest as a treatment for a range of neuropsychiatric disorders. The purpose of the current review is to determine CBD's potential as a treatment for anxiety-related disorders, by assessing evidence from preclinical, human experimental, clinical, and epidemiological studies. We found that existing preclinical evidence strongly supports CBD as a treatment for generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, social anxiety disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and post-traumatic stress disorder when administered acutely; however, few studies have investigated chronic CBD dosing. Likewise, evidence from human studies supports an anxiolytic role of CBD, but is currently limited to acute dosing, also with few studies in clinical populations. Overall, current evidence indicates CBD has considerable potential as a treatment for multiple anxiety disorders, with need for further study of chronic and therapeutic effects in relevant clinical populations.
New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA. esther.blessing@nyumc.org.
Esther M
EM
Blessing
New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA.
Maria M
MM
Steenkamp
New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA.|Instituto de Neurociencias de Alicante, Universidad Miguel Hernández and Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Alicante, Spain.
Jorge
J
Manzanares
New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA.
Charles R
CR
Marmar
D000818:Animals; D014151:Anti-Anxiety Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001008:Anxiety Disorders / Q000188:drug therapy*; D002185:Cannabidiol / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006801:Humans
D014151:Anti-Anxiety Agents; D002185:Cannabidiol
Anxiety; Cannabidiol; Endocannabinoids; Generalized anxiety disorder; Post-traumatic stress disorder