Cannabis oil can help treat autism symptoms - Israeli study

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Scientists from Tel Aviv University demonstrated the positive effect of cannabis oils in animal models in a laboratory.

Recently, medical cannabis oils have been administered to children on the autism spectrum in Israel, and the therapy has sparked growing interest, but no significant clinical study has been conducted to test its positive effects and understand the mechanism behind them, Prof. Daniel Offen said.

The TAU researchers focused on autism caused by the mutation of a specific gene, Shank3, which is behind about 1% of overall cases

We also tried to administer the animal models oils containing no CBD at all but just a small quantity of THC, and to our surprise, we obtained even more positive results,” Offen said.

The team believes the positive effects recorded in the study might be attributed only to THC and not to CBD.
In addition, they were also able to understand how the oil managed to have an impact on the mice, registering what mechanisms in the neurological system were affected and which neurotransmitters were influenced by the oil in the brain, in the spinal cord and elsewhere.

“This is, of course, an initial study,” Poleg said.

“We observed significant improvement in behavioral tests following treatments with cannabis oil containing small amounts of THC and observed no long-term effects in cognitive or emotional tests conducted a month and a half after the treatment began.”