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[dropcap class=”kp-dropcap”]A[/dropcap] $4.7 million grant provided by The Ray and Tye Noorda Foundation, in partnership with the Wholistic Research and Education Foundation, will allow researchers at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) Center for Medicinal Cannabis Research to conduct a multidisciplinary study of the effects of cannabidiol (CBD) on autism.

Researchers believe that CBD may affect the central nervous system in a way that could be relevant to autism, including correcting imbalances in certain neurotransmitters, enhancing activity of endocannabinoids (neurotransmitters that modulate mood, memory and a variety of cognitive processes), modifying neural network signaling and protecting against neuro-inflammation. The three goals of the study are to determine if CBD is safe and tolerable and whether it helps with the symptoms of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), whether and how CBD alters neurotransmitters and/or improves brain connectivity, and whether biomarkers of neuro-inflammation, also associated with ASD, are altered by CBD.

The clinical trial, slated to begin in late 2018, will be led by Doris Trauner, MD, a professor in the departments of Pediatrics and Neurosciences at the UCSD School of Medicine. Basic and translational research will be headed by Gabriel A. Silva, PhD, professor of bioengineering in the UCSD Jacobs School of Engineering and professor of neuroscience, and Alysson Muotri, PhD, professor in the UC San Diego School of Medicine departments of Pediatrics and Cellular & Molecular Medicine.

The multidisciplinary study will include 30 children, ranging in age from eight to 12 years old, who have all already received a confirmed diagnosis of moderate to severe ASD. All participants must be in good general health and free of any other neurological conditions, such as epilepsy. During the first phase of the study, half of the children will receive an oral dose of CBD, and the other half will receive a placebo. In the second phase of the study, the two groups will be switched. The half who initially received a placebo will receive the oral dose of CBD, while the group who first were given CBD will receive a placebo. Researchers will be “blinded” as to which participants are receiving which treatment until all testing is completed.

“The multidisciplinary study will include 30 children, ranging in age from eight to 12 years old, who have all already received a confirmed diagnosis of moderate to severe Autism Spectrum Disorder.”

 

The generous grant that will fund the study is one of the largest private grants ever awarded in the United States for medical cannabis research. The announcement has caused a great amount of excitement and hope, in both the cannabis community and the autism community. Both communities are adamant and vocal about anecdotal evidence that CBD improves function in those on the autism spectrum.

Amy Munera, President of Autism Society San Diego and mother of three boys with autism, told CULTURE that she and the group are very pleased to see this research happening, especially here locally. “The more options that are available, the more people can be helped, and that is always a good thing. Since so many people [with autism] are already on psychiatric medications, many of which can have significant side effects, this research may help to provide options that are safer and work for those for whom other treatments have not.” She further explained, “There are many people in the autism community using a variety of treatments, and quality research to determine their efficacy is so important.”

Autism Society San Diego is the oldest affiliate of the Autism Society of America, having been in existence for more than 50 years. The organization has an all-volunteer board of directors dedicated to improving the lives of those affected by autism, especially here in San Diego County. Stay tuned to CULTURE for updates on this groundbreaking research.

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