MMA Fighters Participate in Research: Cannabis for Brain Injuries
Impact sports like MMA can cause devastating damage to the brain, and CBD has been known to offer neuroprotective properties. Australian researchers test this cannabinoid on MMA fighters to see if cannabis for brain injuries can be an effective treatment.
Weed and Concussion – Can cannabis protects the brain after Traumatic Injury Stroke?
To date, clinical trials have shown promising results, even though they have only used synthetic cannabinoids. Researchers conducted a double-blind randomized trial on 67 patients with severe brain injuries to test synthetic cannabinoid dronabinol. Treatment was completed within six hours for each of the 16 to 65-year-old patients.
In the end, the researchers found that patients who received the drug experienced 21% better neurologic outcomes than those who received placebo at a three-month follow-up. In addition, they found that those treated with dronabinol had better intracranial pressure and cerebral perfusion control, as well as recovering better and faster than those not treated.
Despite these promising results, additional clinical trials are needed before conclusions can be drawn about the use of cannabinoids to reduce injury from traumatic brain injury and accelerate recovery.
Cannabis for Brain Injuries are Common in High-Impact Sports
Due to lockdowns caused by COVID-19, WWE and UFC are the only two major sports happening right now. There are talks that the NHL could resume soon, but that’s still unclear at this point. High impact sports of all kinds have a long history of causing traumatic brain injuries (TBI). There’s lots of talk about chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) in NFL players, but injuries in mixed martial arts tend to be less common. This doesn’t mean they never happen. For this reason, they deserve to be studied, and those studies include whether cannabis for brain injuries can help fighters. In particular, one company in Australia is focusing on CBD as a treatment for this.
Healthcare Firm Researches Cannabis for Brain Injuries
The Australian firm Impression Healthcare leads this study, which the Market Herald reported was scheduled to start in Q2 2020. There is no clear-cut information as to whether the study actually has started, but at least there are plans for one. The study focuses on Australian fighters who have received blows to the head or experience concussions. The researchers point out that TBI conditions like CTE aren’t caused by one specific instance of a blow to the head. Instead, they say that these TBI’s come about because of repeated trauma to the head.
The researchers say they will study fighters at various intervals after confirming they experienced a concussion. Fighters will have neurocognitive tests conducted on their brains to see how they perform cognitive functions. They will be given CBD as well as a placebo. These include attention, memory, language, reaction time, and perception.
The Implications of the Study
This study is important – not just for athletes, but for everyone. There are many injuries to the brain that CBD could potentially treat and help improve. The unfortunate reality is that too few studies on cannabis happen in general – especially in the U.S. It’s a broken record by now, but hopefully, studies like this continue to open things up worldwide for more like it.
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