The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) has caused a global pandemic, and many people are still suffering from its long-term effects. This is known as “long COVID” and can include symptoms such as muscle pain, joint pain, headaches, insomnia, loss of appetite, difficulty concentrating, mood swings, stress, restlessness, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, fatigue, lack of energy and depression. While there is no cure for long-term COVID, there is some evidence that cannabidiol (CBD) may be an effective treatment for people diagnosed with it.CBD interacts with cannabinoid receptors (CB) found throughout the body. In laboratory studies and in the analysis of medical records, CBD appeared to have a protective effect against SARS-CoV-2.In addition, there is some evidence that CBD may be effective in reducing inflammation associated with COVID infection.
Mice that received therapeutic doses of CBD before being exposed to the virus were much less likely to develop COVID-19 than mice in the control group.To study the effect of CBD on COVID-19 infection, researchers first treated human lung cells with a non-toxic dose of CBD for two hours. They then exposed the cells to SARS-CoV-2 and monitored them for the virus and the viral spike protein, which binds to human cells. Although CBD did not affect the ability of SARS-CoV-2 to enter cells, the researchers observed that when a certain concentration threshold was exceeded, CBD inhibited the virus's ability to replicate early in the infection cycle.Further research found that CBD had the same effect on two other cell types and on three variants of SARS-CoV-2, in addition to the original strain. This has been a long-standing problem with CBD, which the FDA regulates in the same way as it does with other prescription drugs.
That means anything containing CBD must go through the agency's rigorous approval process if companies want to suggest that it can treat or cure anything.The researchers also emphasize that the CBD used in their studies is different from non-medical products that consumers might be familiar with. There is no evidence that taking over-the-counter CBD products can prevent or treat COVID-19 infection. Without long-term treatment for COVID, especially if nothing else has worked for you, it may be worth exploring a CBD test. This is especially true if you have several symptoms due to prolonged COVID.The U.
S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has not approved any drugs or supplements specifically for treating or preventing COVID-19.The FDA identified only seven trials in which CBD was tested as a treatment for Covid-19, most of which are early-stage studies that would not yield the kind of results needed to conclude if CBD can help combat the pandemic.In any case, researchers warn that CBD is no substitute for vaccination, masking and social distancing. When the virus was introduced into human lung cells treated with CBD, it could not replicate or take hold as it normally does. Both in laboratory studies and in the analysis of medical records, CBD appeared to have a protective effect against SARS-CoV-2.The idea of testing CBD as a potential treatment for COVID-19 was fortuitous according to a press release on the University of Chicago study.
The clinical trial that Rosner envisions would test a pharmaceutical grade CBD, something like the FDA-approved Epidiolex, a treatment for epilepsy.In conclusion, while there is no cure for long term COVID yet, there is some evidence that suggests that taking therapeutic doses of cannabidiol (CBD) may be an effective treatment for people diagnosed with it. However, it should be noted that this evidence is still preliminary and more research needs to be done before any definitive conclusions can be made.
