Introduction
Asthma is a chronic inflammatory condition of the lungs that is characterised by inflammation, shortness of breath and contraction of the bronchiole muscles. Worldwide, around 300 million people of all age groups suffer from varying severities of asthma which makes it all the more important to look for new treatments.
This article explores the symptoms of asthma, current research and the potential of CBD oil in the treatment of asthma.
What is Asthma?
Asthma is a chronic condition of the respiratory system which is accompanied by symptoms like shortness of breath, excessive mucus production and wheezing. Because of the chronic inflammation, the muscles of the bronchioles are not relaxed which affects day-to-day life by giving a feeling of tightness in the chest and making it difficult to breathe.
Disease Mechanism of Asthma
When talking about the disease mechanism of asthma, one can’t not talk about inflammation. Inflammation plays the greatest role in causing constriction of bronchiole muscles.
When a trigger, like pollen, enters the lungs, it is detected by immune cells like dendritic cells. These activate T-cells which can activate two kinds of cells which play a key role in inflammation: eosinophils and mast cells.
They produce pro-inflammatory cytokines like IL-4, IL-5 and IL-13 which cause excessive mucus production and synthesis of immunoglobulin E (IgE) antibody titre.
Alleviating asthma or asthma attacks primarily requires relieving inflammation and relaxing the bronchiole smooth muscles. Many
Symptoms of Asthma
Asthma is a lifestyle disease which can degrade the quality of life since it directly affects breathing. Some of the symptoms of asthma include.
- Coughing
- Tightness of chest
- Wheezing
- Shortness of breath
These symptoms can vary depending on the time of day and various other factors like air pollution, season, infections and exercise. Chest tightness is usually greater during the day or at night.
Types of Asthma
Asthma can be categorised into various types depending on the trigger and causative agents.
- Allergic asthma: Environmental allergens like dust mites, pollen, mould spores and pet dander can trigger the immune system to trigger an attack.
- Non-allergic asthma: Asthma can be caused by genetic factors and triggered by environmental factors like cold, pollution and humidity.
- Seasonal asthma: As the name suggests, certain seasons like winter and spring months can trigger asthma due to low temperatures and high levels of pollen in the air =, respectively.
- Occupational asthma: This kind of asthma is induced only due to triggers exposed due to a person’s occupation. Chemical factory workers frequently exposed to irritants, pesticides, etc. may develop occupational asthma.
- Exercise-induced asthma: Asthma can be triggered while doing heavy exercise.
Asthma Medications & Treatments
Conventional asthma treatments include the use of corticosteroids and beta-agonists which are inhaled using different kinds of inhalers. They relax the bronchiolar muscles, hence opening up the bronchioles and making it easier for an asthmatic to breathe. Medications taken orally are also available which act as beta-agonists to provide quick relief.
Although these conventional medicines offer short-term and long-term asthma management options, natural alternatives like medical cannabis and cannabidiol (CBD) have been gaining traction due to their anti-inflammatory and muscle-relaxing properties.
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Current Research on CBD for Asthma
Clinical trials have shown that CBD oil can help relieve asthma due to its various properties:
- Anti-Inflammatory: CBD interacts with cannabinoid 2 receptors and relieves airway inflammation.
- Muscle relaxant: Wang et al. (2016) showed that CBD can also interact with CB1 receptors and decrease resistance in the airway by relaxing the bronchial muscles.
- Immune System Modulation: CBD modulates the immune system to suppress the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines.
Potential Benefits of CBD for Asthma Patients
Thus, CBD oil offers numerous benefits to asthma patients by improving asthma symptoms, thus improving the overall quality of their lives. CBD oil benefits include:
- Decreases inflammation
- Decreases chest tightness
- Opens up the airways
- Decreases production of inflammatory cytokines
Future Directions in CBD and Asthma Research
Future research on CBD oil for asthma management includes refining the dosage to show maximum efficacy with minimal side effects. For this, many more trials with much larger patient cohorts have to be conducted.
Conclusion
Asthma can severely affect one’s quality of life making it crucial to manage it. Although conventional treatments exist, natural alternatives are gaining traction. One of these options includes CBD oil which has many benefits like decreasing inflammation, chest tightness and opening up the airways.
References
- Lambrecht, B. N., Hammad, H., & Fahy, J. V. (2019). The cytokines of asthma. Immunity, 50(4), 975-991.
Nichols, J. M., & Kaplan, B. L. (2020). Immune responses regulated by cannabidiol. Cannabis and cannabinoid research, 5(1), 12-31. - Ribeiro, A., Almeida, V. I., Costola-de-Souza, C., Ferraz-de-Paula, V., Pinheiro, M. L., Vitoretti, L. B., … & Palermo-Neto, J. (2015). Cannabidiol improves lung function and inflammation in mice submitted to LPS-induced acute lung injury. Immunopharmacology and immunotoxicology, 37(1), 35-41.
- Wang, L. L., Zhao, R., Li, J. Y., Li, S. S., Liu, M., Wang, M., … & Guan, D. W. (2016). Pharmacological activation of cannabinoid 2 receptor attenuates inflammation, fibrogenesis, and promotes re-epithelialization during skin wound healing. European journal of pharmacology, 786, 128-136.
- WebMD (2022, May 11). Asthma Treatments. Asthma Treatments. Retrieved June 7, 2024, from https://www.webmd.com/asthma/asthma-treatments
