Marijuana could prove helpful for post-traumatic stress disorder patients

Washington, Nov 5 : A new Israeli study has found that the use of cannabinoids (marijuana) could help in the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder patients.

Post-traumatic stress disorder is a condition in which the patient continues to suffer from stress symptoms months after going through a traumatic event like a car accident or a terror attack. These symptoms include reawakened trauma, evasion of anything that could remind the patient of the trauma, and mental and physiological disturbances.

In the study conducted by Eti Ganon-Elazar, a research student at the Department of Psychology, University of Haifa, Israel, under the supervision of Dr. Irit Akirav, a synthetic form of marijuana was used on rats to find out the effectiveness of a cannabinoid treatment for post-traumatic stress.

The researchers also discovered that synthetic marijuana dampened the release of the stress hormone that is produced in the body as a reaction to stress.

Dr. Akirav said: "The results of our research should encourage psychiatric investigation into the use of cannabinoids in post-traumatic stress patients."

The study has appeared in the Journal of Neuroscience.

--ANI