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Review
. 2021 May 21:12:643442.
doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2021.643442. eCollection 2021.

Cannabidiol and Neurodevelopmental Disorders in Children

Keith A Kwan Cheung  1 , Murray D Mitchell  1 , Helen S Heussler  2   3
Affiliations
Review

Cannabidiol and Neurodevelopmental Disorders in Children

Keith A Kwan Cheung et al. Front Psychiatry. .

Abstract

Neurodevelopmental and neuropsychiatric disorders (such as autism spectrum disorder) have broad health implications for children, with no definitive cure for the vast majority of them. However, recently medicinal cannabis has been successfully trialled as a treatment to manage many of the patients' symptoms and improve quality of life. The cannabinoid cannabidiol, in particular, has been reported to be safe and well-tolerated with a plethora of anticonvulsant, anxiolytic and anti-inflammatory properties. Lately, the current consensus is that the endocannabinoid system is a crucial factor in neural development and health; research has found evidence that there are a multitude of signalling pathways involving neurotransmitters and the endocannabinoid system by which cannabinoids could potentially exert their therapeutic effects. A better understanding of the cannabinoids' mechanisms of action should lead to improved treatments for neurodevelopmental disorders.

Keywords: anxiety; autism; cannabidiol; cannabinoid; endocannabinoid system; neuroinflammation; neuropsychiatry; paediatrics.

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Conflict of interest statement

The Centre for Clinical Trials in Rare Neurodevelopmental Disorders of which HH is a Co-Director has conducted sponsored trials for Zynerba Pharmaceuticals, GW Pharmaceuticals, Axial Biotherapeutics, Ovid Therapeutics and Anavex Pharmaceuticals. The remaining authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Concise illustration of CBD's interactions with multiple signalling pathways that could explain its beneficial effects in neuropsychiatric disorders. This diagram highlights the fact that CBD can modulate the ECS in multiple ways, as well as interact directly with many neural receptors (only some of which are shown in this diagram).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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