German Trial Finds That CBD Reduces Alcohol Cravings
International researchers estimate that as many as 400 million people worldwide, roughly 7% of the world’s adult population, suffer from alcohol use disorder. Alcohol use disorder is a chronic health condition characterized by uncontrolled drinking and preoccupation with alcohol.
Globally, researchers estimate that around 2.6 million deaths were caused by alcohol consumption in 2019, and of those, 1.6 million were from noncommunicable diseases, 700,000 were from injuries, and 300,000 were the result of communicable diseases.
A team of researchers in Germany, and one from Sweden, recently conducted a clinical trial in which they explored the use of cannabidiol (CBD) by patients who suffer from alcohol use disorder. The clinical trial findings were recently published in the journal Nature: Molecular Psychiatry.
“Here we report data from the double-blind randomized controlled ICONIC trial that compared the effects of a single dose of 800 mg cannabidiol against placebo (PLC) in N = 28 individuals with AUD.” the researchers stated about their trial.
“Cue-induced nucleus accumbens (NAc) activation, alcohol craving during a combined stress- and alcohol cue exposure session, as well as craving during an fMRI alcohol cue-reactivity task and CBD plasma levels served as outcomes.” the researchers stated about the trial’s methodology.
“Individuals receiving CBD showed lower bilateral cue-induced NAc activation (tleft_NAc(23) = 4.906, p < 0.001, d = 1.15; tright_NAc (23) = 4.873, p < 0.001, d = 1.13) and reported significantly lower alcohol craving after a combined stress- and alcohol cue exposure session (Fgroup(1,26) = 4.516, p = 0.043, eta2 = 0.15) and during the fMRI cue-reactivity task (Fgroup(1,24) = 6.665, p = 0.015, eta2 = 0.23). CBD levels were significantly higher in the CBD group (t(25) = 3.808, p < 0.001, d = 1.47) and showed a significant negative association with alcohol craving during the cue exposure experiment (r = -0.394, pFDR = 0.030) and during fMRI (r = -0.389, pFDR = 0.030), and with left and right NAc activation (rleft_NAc = -0.459, pFDR = 0.030; rright_NAc = -0.405, pFDR = 0.030).” the researchers also stated.
“CBD’s capacity to reduce stress- and cue-induced alcohol craving and to normalize NAc activation – a region critical to the pathophysiology of AUD – contribute to understanding the neurobiological basis of its clinical effects and support its potential as a treatment option for AUD. Clinical Trials Registry: DRKS00029993.” the researchers concluded.
Separate studies have also suggested that CBD dosing can reduce cravings for tobacco, methamphetamine, and heroin, among other substances, according to a news release recently published by the cannabis advocacy organization NORML.
