Brazilian Study Finds Cannabis Extracts Are Effective For Pediatric Autism Patients
When it comes to administering medical cannabis to pediatric patients, safety and caution are paramount. Doing so should always involve the advice, guidance, and approval of a licensed medical doctor who specializes in pediatric care.
While cases of medical cannabis being prescribed to pediatric patients are rare compared to prescriptions for non-pediatric patients, such cases do exist and rightfully so. Cannabis is medicine, as a growing list of peer-reviewed studies and individual patient cases demonstrates.
A team of researchers in Brazil recently conducted a study involving cannabis extracts and pediatric autism patients, finding that the extracts were both safe and effective. Below is more information about the study and its results via a news release from NORML:
São Paulo, Brazil: The use of cannabis extracts containing standardized percentages of CBD and THC safely mitigates autism symptoms in children, according to a systematic review of trial data published in the journal Cureus.
Brazilian researchers reviewed findings from seven studies (three randomized clinical trials and four observational studies) involving 494 younger patients with autism spectrum disorder. Study participants consumed extracts dominant in cannabidiol.
Researchers reported, “CBD-rich formulations may hold promise for managing certain ASD symptoms. Improvements were noted in anxiety, sleep quality, social effects, and behavior, although these findings varied across studies. Importantly, adverse events were generally mild and occurred at similar rates in cannabinoid and placebo groups, supporting the intervention’s safety profile.”
The study’s authors concluded, “More rigorous, well-designed RCTs [randomized controlled trials] are necessary to confirm these results and establish clear treatment guidelines for cannabinoid use in ASD.”
Full text of the study, “Efficacy and safety of cannabinoids for autism spectrum disorder: An updated systematic review,” appears in Cureus. Additional information on cannabinoids and ASD is available from NORML’s publication, Clinical Applications for Cannabis and Cannabinoids.
