February 5, 2019
By Mitch Mirkin
VA Research Communications
San Diego VA study testing cannabidiol—a compound derived from cannabis—for PTSD
| Office of Research & Development |
Researchers at the VA San Diego Healthcare System aim to see whether cannabidiol, or CBD—a compound derived from cannabis plants—can help ease PTSD. The study will give CBD as an add-on to prolonged exposure therapy, a proven psychotherapy for PTSD.
The $1.3 million VA-funded study will enroll 136 Veterans, from all service eras.
Dr. Mallory Loflin is leading a VA study in which Veterans with PTSD will receive capsules containing CBD—a compound derived from cannabis—or a lookalike placebo, along with evidence-based psychotherapy. (Photo by Kevin Walsh)
Dr. Mallory Loflin, a research scientist with VA and assistant professor of psychiatry at the University of California, San Diego, is leading the study. Loflin, with VA’s Center of Excellence for Stress and Mental Health, specializes in studying new mental health treatments that target the body’s endocannabinoid system. CBD and related compounds from cannabis bind with receptors—proteins on the surface of cells—that are part of this system.
Loflin says past research suggests that CBD can increase extinction learning in PTSD. This has to do with people “unlearning” unhelpful responses and behaviors they’ve developed in the wake of trauma. This, she says, could boost the speed and effectiveness of prolonged exposure therapy, which helps patients gradually work through their traumatic memories. She says CBD could also ease insomnia and over-arousal. Those types of effects are beneficial on their own, but they could also further boost Veterans’ engagement and retention in treatment.
VA Research Currents interviewed Loflin to learn more about the trial, which plans to start recruiting patients by March 2019.