Tehran, Iran: The daily use of plant-derived CBD oral extracts mitigates symptoms in patients diagnosed with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), according to randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial data published in the journal Annals of Indian Psychiatry.
Iranian investigators assessed the efficacy of a commercially available CBD extract (Inovo LipoMed CBD) versus a placebo in 30 patients diagnosed with OCD. Study participants consumed either 25 drops of CBD or the placebo daily in addition to their prescribed medications for eight weeks.
“In the current study, the use of CBD in patients with OCD led to a decrease in the mean OCD score during the study period. This effect was found to be statistically significant between the intervention and control groups over time,” the study’s authors concluded. “Its effectiveness needs to be further evaluated in clinical trials with larger populations.”
Although few clinical trials have previously assessed the use of cannabinoids in OCD patients, a limited number of case reports and the results of a 2020 observational study suggest that botanical cannabis and/or oral THC may be effective at reducing obsessive-compulsive symptoms.
Full text of the study, “Evaluation of cannabidiol effects as an adjunctive therapy on symptoms of patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder,” appears in the Annals of Indian Psychiatry.