It ’ s not a cure but there are signs that CBD could help a lot of people with their Parkinson ’ s symptoms .
Parkinson ’ s disease affects around 145,000 people in the UK . More than half of those will experience psychosis at some point in their lives . The symptom can lead to hallucinations and delusions , which can be distressing to those affected and their loved ones .
Parkinson ’ s Psychosis is difficult to treat as available medications either don ’ t work very well or cause significant side effects . So now , researchers at King ’ s College London ( KCL ) are investigating whether CBD could meet this unmet clinical need . The research is funded by charity , Parkinson ’ s UK .
Charles Ogilvie-Forbes is 76 and was diagnosed with Parkinson ’ s in 2009 . Charles began to experience hallucinations in 2015 .
He explained :
“ I began to see people and pet dogs . I saw my
wife Michele — she died in 2009 around the time when I started to notice mild Parkinson ’ s symptoms . I also saw and continue to see my old dogs , Slipper and Suet . After a few minutes I realise that these visions aren ’ t real .
Another time I saw dozens of people milling around my flat , completely oblivious of me . It seemed to go on for about ten minutes . My daughter walked in and found me on the floor saying , ‘ Have I gone mad ?’’”
Charles is one of the first people to have been enrolled onto the trial . He heard about it while taking part in a trial for a different drug to treat Parkinson ’ s hallucinations through the university .
The research will be split into two phases :
In Phase I , each group will receive a different dose to determine whether that dose is safe and tolerated . The 24 participants will take doses between 200-1000mg per day over six weeks , which will be increased as tolerance is established .
Phase II will investigate whether CBD improves psychosis symptoms in 120 people over a 12- week period .
Charles said :
“ My hope for the CBD trial is that it can help
people with Parkinson ’ s cope better with their symptoms and improve their quality of life .
“ It ’ s not a cure but there are signs that CBD could help a lot of people with their Parkinson ’ s symptoms and the side effects of the drugs they are prescribed .”
In 2019 , the charity surveyed people with Parkinson ’ s about their attitudes to medical cannabis .
More than half ( 59 %) had not used a cannabisbased medicine before but would consider doing so . The vast majority would start using , or would continue to use , medical cannabis if robust evidence of its safety and efficacy came to light .
NHS patients will be unable to access CBDbased medicine for Parkinson ’ s until it is approved for the condition by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence ( NICE ).
Until then , they have to rely on high-street CBD products and privately prescribed medical cannabis .
Medical cannabis for Parkinson ’ s is much more widespread in the US , where it is legal in 36 states .
In an anonymous survey published in the journal Parkinson ’ s Disease earlier this year , 45 percent of respondents who used cannabis most often did so to treat non-motor symptoms of anxiety . Meanwhile , 44 percent used it for pain and 44 percent for sleep . However , threequarters did not use cannabis at all , with 59 percent citing the lack of evidence supporting its efficacy .
51