Lyme Disease Imposes Large Cost On the Northeast United States
Kyle Besler via Shutterstock
As people across the northeastern U.S. begin venturing back into the outdoors with the arrival of spring, they will make 1 billion fewer trips than they otherwise would have if Lyme disease didn’t exist, a new Yale study concludes.
In an analysis published in the journal Environmental and Resource Economics, researchers found that perceived risks of contracting Lyme disease on average cause a person in the Northeast to forego eight 73-minute outdoor trips per year, costing them about nine hours of outdoor time per year. Although the cost of individual lost trips is small — about $2.75 to $5 — the total cost roughly $2.8 billion to $5 billion annually due to the large number of people in the region.
“Lyme disease has been around for a few decades but it still has a big cost to society,” said Eli Fenichel, an assistant professor at the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies (F&ES) and senior author of the paper. “But the cost is not what people spend on doctors, or medicine, or even bug spray. These are costs that everybody incurs because we’re all choosing second-choice activities to avoid getting Lyme disease.”
“It’s a lot of people making very small changes, but in such a densely populated region that has major impacts.”
Lyme disease is caused by the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi and is transmitted to humans through the bite of an infected blacklegged tick, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Prevalent across the northeastern U.S. and the Great Lakes region, the disease causes fever, headaches, fatigue, and skin rash. It can be prevented by use of repellents and removing ticks, as well as costly steps to remove tick habitat.
Or, as the researchers illustrate, individuals can simply find alternative activities to avoid tick habitat altogether.
To evaluate how the risk of Lyme disease impacts human behavior, the researchers analyzed data from the American Time Use Survey — a U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics-based project that provides nationally representative estimates on how, when, and with whom people spend their time — and CDC data from 2003 to 2012.
After comparing those datasets, they found that the average individual in the average county spent 1.54 fewer minutes outside per day in response to an average of 72.17 Lyme disease cases reported to the CDC. This amounts to about 9.41 hours annually.
The research team say that though it is difficult to put a monetary cost on these lost opportunities, they calculate welfare loss based on the amount individuals are willing to spend to travel to recreate outdoors relative to spending leisure time at home — the location of most indoor leisure.
“People are giving up trips, and it’s not just hiking and camping in the woods,” said Kevin Berry, a former postdoctoral scholar at F&ES and the lead author of the study. “It’s trips to the park, soccer games, or walks and bike rides in places where there are stands of trees and tall grasses… a wide variety of activities pretty much anywhere in this part of the Northeast that’s outdoors.”
The findings illustrate the importance of careful evaluation when evaluating the ecosystem services and, in some cases, ecosystem “disservices” of nature. Indeed, though the historical notion that forests are places for humans to fear has largely been replaced by recognition that these spaces provide important services — including recreational opportunities — there remain some risks that can undermine these potential benefits, including the threat of tick-borne Lyme disease.
Lyme disease is representative of many environmental problems, Fenichel said; environmental risks and harms can have seemingly minor impacts on individuals, but can impose profound costs on society.
“It’s an issue that affects all of us, but it’s one of those environmental challenges that are so difficult to handle as a society,” Fenichel said. “It’s a big issue in aggregate — up to $5 billion in this case — but to anyone of us it’s not a big issue. Everybody cares a little bit, but perhaps not enough to take action. Though, in aggregate we’d be much better off if we cooperate to deal with Lyme disease.”
The study was a collaboration between Fenichel and three former postdoctoral scholars at F&ES: Berry, who is now at the University of Alaska, Anchorage; Jude Bayham, who is now at California State University at Chico; and Spencer Meyer, a senior conservationist at the Highstead Foundation.
While this is interesting data, I wish research would be done on truly important matters like transmission, testing, treatments, and cost to the sick people having to pay out of pocket for this plague.
A North Carolina State University researcher has discovered that bacteria transmitted by fleas–and potentially ticks–can be passed to human babies by the mother, causing chronic infections and raising the possibility of bacterially induced birth defects.
Dr. Ed Breitschwerdt, professor of internal medicine in the Department of Clinical Sciences, is among the world’s leading experts on Bartonella, a bacteria that is maintained in nature by fleas, ticks and other biting insects, but which can be transmitted by infected cats and dogs as well. The most commonly known Bartonella-related illness is cat scratch disease, caused by B. henselae, a strain of Bartonella that can be carried in a cat’s blood for months to years. Cat scratch disease was thought to be a self-limiting, or “one-time” infection; however, Breitschwerdt’s previous work discovered cases of children and adults with chronic, blood-borne Bartonella infections–from strains of the bacteria that are most often transmitted to cats (B. henselae) and dogs (B. vinsonii subsp. berkhoffii) by fleas and other insects.
In his most recent case study, Breitschwerdt’s research group tested blood and tissue samples taken over a period of years from a mother, father and son who had suffered chronic illnesses for over a decade.Autopsy samples from their daughter–the son’s twin who died shortly after birth–contained DNA evidence of B. henselae and B. vinsonii subsp. berkhoffi infection, which was also found in the other members of the family.
Both parents had suffered recurring neurological symptoms including headaches and memory loss, as well as shortness of breath, muscle weakness and fatigue before the children were born. In addition, their 10-year-old son was chronically ill from birth and their daughter died due to a heart defect at nine days of age.
Results of the parents’ medical histories and the microbiological tests indicated that the parents had been exposed to Bartonella prior to the birth of the twins, and finding the same bacteria in both children, one shortly after birth and the other 10 years later, indicates that they may have become infected while in utero.
Breitschwerdt’s research appears online in the April 14 Journal of Clinical Microbiology.
“This is yet more evidence that Bartonella bacteria cause chronic intravascular infections in people with otherwise normal immune systems, infections that can span a decade or more,” Breitschwerdt says. “Also this new evidence supports the potential of trans-placental infection and raises the possibility that maternal infection with these bacteria might also cause birth defects.”
The Department of Clinical Sciences is part of NC State’s College of Veterinary Medicine. Dr. Breitschwerdt is also an adjunct professor of medicine at Duke University Medical Center.
Note to editors: An abstract of the paper follows.
“Molecular evidence of perinatal transmission of Bartonella vinsonii subsp. berkhoffii and B.henselae to a child” Authors: Edward B. Breitschwerdt, Ricardo G. Maggi and Patricia E. Mascarelli, NC State University; Peter Farmer, Department of Pathology, North Shore University Hospital Published: April 14, 2010 in Journal of Clinical Microbiology
Abstract: Bartonella vinsonii subsp. berkhoffii, Bartonella henselae or DNA of both organisms was
amplified and sequenced from blood, enrichment blood cultures or autopsy tissues from four family members. Historical and microbiological results support perinatal transmission of Bartonella species in this family.
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**Comment**
If it weren’t for the work of this singular man, we’d be clueless about the implications of Bartonella. Heavily vested in finding answers due to his father’s death to Bartonella, Dr. Breitschwerdt is the only one currently looking at congenital transmission: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3044516/#!po=1.02041
What’s is going to take? How many more have to become infected before transmission studies on ALL implicated pathogens in Lyme/MSIDS are done?
We’ve known about Lyme for over 40 years and we still don’t have good studies looking at this very real issue of sexual and congenital transmission. Only one study on sexual transmission done in 2014 showed the Lyme organism in semen and vaginal secretions, but the medical world sniffed and rolled over in bed. Nothing’s been done since.
http://www.endowmentmed.org/pdf/endowmentupdatelymes2.pdf In 1995 Dr. Mattman obtained positive cultures for Bb from 43 of 47 chronically ill people. She also recovered Bb spirochetes from 8 out of 8 Parkinson patients, 41 cases of multiple scierosis (MS), 21 cases of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), and ALL tested cases of Alzheimer’s.
Syracuse, N.Y. — Bryon Backenson has taken ticks head-on since 1992, walking the woods and fields of New York and Connecticut to find, gather and test disease-carrying ticks.
“We go to 150 sites in spring and fall to collect ticks,” said Backenson, New York’s deputy director of communicable disease control. “In the years we’ve been doing this with staff and students, we’ve never had anybody who has gotten a tick-borne disease.”
Ticks, particularly the black-legged or deer tick, carry a variety of diseases. The most common and well-known is Lyme disease, caused by a bacteria carried in the tick’s gut.
Backenson said he and his fellow researchers are living proof that prevention works.
“We practice what we preach,” he said.
Upstate NY tick expert: How to protect yourself from Lyme disease
Ticks have been increasing as the climate warms, SUNY ESF researcher says.
He recommends that if you’re going to be in an area likely to have ticks, you do what researchers do:
— Wear light-colored clothes so you can see the dark ticks climbing on you.
— Tuck the bottoms of your pant legs into your socks to make it harder for ticks to reach your skin.
–Check your entire body at least every 24 hours, and remove any ticks you find on your skin.
— Consider using bug repellents that contain DEET for skin and permethrin for clothes. (Researchers in the field have one disadvantage here: They can’t wear bug repellent because they’re trying to catch ticks, not scare them away.)
“As long as people take the proper precautions and end up removing ticks, there’s a really good likelihood you’re not going to get some tick-borne disease,” Backenson said. “If you happen to get the rash from Lyme, or flu-like symptoms that make you suspect Lyme, early doses of antibiotics can cure relatively quickly the majority of cases we see.”
Backenson also said that most tick bites likely don’t lead to disease because the ticks are pulled off before they can ingest blood and inject the bacteria. He said New York has about 8,000 new cases of Lyme disease every year, but he estimates that New Yorkers get 40,000 to 50,000 tick bites every year.
“I firmly believe there are lots and lots of tick bites out there that don’t necessarily lead to disease,” Backenson said.
The health department has several videos on its website about how to keep ticks away, and how to pull them off when they bite.
The peak season for Lyme disease, late spring and summer, is approaching. That’s when the tick nymphs are feeding, and they account for the vast majority of Lyme disease cases. While nymphal ticks are less likely to carry the bacteria than adult ticks, nymphs are much smaller, so people don’t see them to remove in time. Nymphs also tend to be most active in summer, when more people are out in woods and fields.
In much of Upstate, about 25 percent of nymphs carry the Lyme bacteria. That jumps to about 50 percent in adults, which have fed more often than nymphs and have had more chances to get the bacteria from the blood of deer, rodents and other animals.
“For blacklegged ticks, climate change is an apocryphal issue.” – John Scott
Again, researchers are about statistical significance – not individual significance. If you are the ONE sorry sucker who gets infected, all the statistics in the world become irrelevant. Why they state such things is beyond me. Treat each and EVERY tick bite seriously. https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2016/12/07/igenex-presentation/ In this link we learn about a little girl that within 4-6 hours has facial palsy, and couldn’t walk or talk. Some cases escalate quickly.
As far as the bull’s eye rash goes, anywhere from 27-80% get it – hardly a sure thing.IF you have the rash, you HAVE LYME DISEASE. Period. If you don’t get the rash, it means nothing. The rash criteria has kept people from diagnosis and treatment for decades. Don’t let this happen to you. The “wait and see” if you develop symptoms approach has not and will not ever work. If you are bit by a tick, go in immediately and demand treatment. This could very well save your life and prevent you from chronic life-long symptoms.
Rickettsiales in Ticks Removed from Outdoor Workers, Southwest Georgia and Northwest Florida, USA
Elizabeth R. Gleim1 , L. Mike Conner, Galina E. Zemtsova, Michael L. Levin, Pamela Wong, Madeleine A. Pfaff, and Michael J. Yabsley DOI: 10.3201/eid2505.180438
The southeastern United States has multiple tick species that can transmit pathogens to humans. The most common tick species, Amblyomma americanum, is the vector for the causative agents of human ehrlichioses and southern tick-associated rash illness, among others (1). Dermacentor variabilis ticks can transmit the causative agent of Rocky Mountain spotted fever, and Ixodes scapularis ticks can transmit the causative agents of Lyme disease, babesiosis, and human granulocytic anaplasmosis (1). Although less common in the region, A. maculatum ticks are dominant in specific habitats and can transmit the causative agent of Rickettsia parkeri rickettsiosis (1).
Persons who have occupations that require them to be outside on a regular basis might have a greater risk for acquiring a tickborne disease (2). Although numerous studies have been conducted regarding risks for tickborne diseases among forestry workers in Europe, few studies have been performed in the United States (2,3). The studies that have been conducted in the United States have focused on forestry workers in the northeastern region (2). However, because of variable phenology and densities of ticks, it is useful to evaluate tick activity and pathogen prevalence in various regions and ecosystems.
Burn-tolerant and burn-dependent ecosystems, such as pine (Pinus spp.) and mixed pine forests commonly found in the southeastern United States, have unique tick dynamics compared with those of other habitats (4). The objective of this study was to determine the tick bite risk and tickborne pathogen prevalence in ticks removed from forestry workers working in pine and mixed pine forests in southwest Georgia and northwest Florida, USA.
During June 2009–December 2011, forestry workers in southwestern Georgia (7 counties) and northwestern Florida (1 county) submitted ticks crawling on or attached to them. We identified ticks and tested them for selected pathogens (Appendix). Immature forms of the same species from the same day and person were pooled (<5 nymphs and <20 larvae) for testing.
A total of 53 persons submitted 362 ticks (Table). Excluding larvae, the most common tick species submitted was A. maculatum, followed by A. americanum, I. scapularis, and D. variabilis. On 4 occasions, 1 person submitted A. tuberculatumticks (3 batches of larvae and 1 batch of nymphs) from a longleaf pine site in Baker County, Georgia. Average submissions per persons were 2.6 ticks (median 1 tick), but 1 person submitted 100 ticks. A total of 24 persons submitted ticks more than once, and they submitted an average of 0.08–6.5 ticks/month (overall average submission rate of 1.1 ticks/month). Three ticks were engorged (1 D. variabilis adult, 1 A. americanum nymph, and 1 Amblyomma sp. nymph); only the Amblyomma sp. nymph was positive for a pathogen (R. amblyommatis).
Rickettsia spp. prevalence was 36.4% in adult, 27.9% in nymphal, and 20% in larval A. americanum ticks; R. amblyommatis was the only species identified (Table).
Rickettsia spp. were detected in 23% of A. maculatum adults;R. amblyommatis was most common (6.0%), followed by R. parkeri (4.8%).
A previously detected novel Rickettsia sp. was identified in 10 of 11 A. tuberculatum larval pools and was reported by Zemtsova et al. (6). An additional pool of A. tuberculatum nymphs was tested in this study and also was positive for the novel Rickettsia sp.
E. chaffeensis was detected in 1 A. maculatum adult (prevalence 1.2%), and Panola mountain Ehrlichia sp. was detected in 2 A. maculatum adults (prevalence 2.4%) and 1 D. variabilis adult (prevalence 10%).
No ticks were positive for Borrelia spp., E. ewingii, or Anaplasma phagocytophilum.
Thus, forestry workers were found to encounter ticks on a regular basis, and peak encounter rates reflected previously reported tick seasonality in this region (4). Only 3 (0.8%) of the ticks submitted were engorged, indicating prompt removal of most ticks and thus low risk for pathogen transmission. A. maculatum, a fairly uncommon tick in the southeastern United States, was the most commonly submitted tick. However, A. maculatum ticks dominate in regularly burned pine ecosystems (4), which is where most of these workers spent their time.
We observed several unique findings related to pathogens during this study. Larvae and nymphs of A. tuberculatum ticks were submitted on multiple occasions, a tick rarely reported on humans (7). These findings in conjunction with the identification of a novel Rickettsia sp. (6), suggest that additional research is warranted. This study also identified E. chaffeensis and Panola Mountain Ehrlichia in A. maculatum ticks. Although A. americanum ticks are considered the primary vector of Ehrlichia spp., these pathogens have been occasionally reported in questing A. maculatum ticks, suggesting that this tick might be involved in their transmission cycles (5,8). We also detected Panola Mountain Ehrlichia in 1 D. variabilis tick. Thus, further research regarding these alternative tick species as potential vectors of these pathogens is warranted, particularly in the case of A. maculatum ticks, which were a common species on forestry workers and are widespread in this region (4).
At the time of this study, Dr. Gleim was a research scientist at the University of Georgia, Athens, GA. She is currently a disease ecologist at Hollins University, Roanoke, VA. Her research interests include wildlife and zoonotic diseases with a particular emphasis on tickborne diseases.
Acknowledgments
We thank the persons whom submitted ticks for this study and members of the Yabsley and Levin laboratories for providing laboratory assistance.
This study was supported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention/University of Georgia (UGA) collaborative grant (#8212, Ecosystem Health and Human Health: Understanding the Ecological Effects of Prescribed Fire Regimes on the Distribution and Population Dynamics of Tick-Borne Zoonoses); the Oxford Research Scholars Program at Oxford College of Emory University; the Joseph W. Jones Ecological Research Center, the Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources (UGA); the Southeastern Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study (UGA) through the Federal Aid to Wildlife Restoration Act (50 Statute 917); and Southeastern Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study sponsorship from fish and wildlife agencies of member states.
References
Stromdahl EY, Hickling GJ. Beyond Lyme: aetiology of tick-borne human diseases with emphasis on the south-eastern United States.Zoonoses Public Health. 2012;59(Suppl 2):48–64. DOIPubMed
Covert DJ, Langley RL. Infectious disease occurrence in forestry workers: a systematic review.J Agromed. 2002;8:95–111. DOIPubMed
Lee S, Kakumanu ML, Ponnusamy L, Vaughn M, Funkhouser S, Thornton H, et al.Prevalence of Rickettsiales in ticks removed from the skin of outdoor workers in North Carolina.Parasit Vectors. 2014;7:607. DOIPubMed
Gleim ER, Conner LM, Berghaus RD, Levin ML, Zemtsova GE, Yabsley MJ. The phenology of ticks and the effects of long-term prescribed burning on tick population dynamics in southwestern Georgia and northwestern Florida.PLoS One. 2014;9:e112174. DOIPubMed
Loftis AD, Kelly PJ, Paddock CD, Blount K, Johnson JW, Gleim ER, et al.Panola Mountain Ehrlichia in Amblyomma maculatum From the United States and Amblyomma variegatum (Acari: Ixodidae) From the Caribbean and Africa.J Med Entomol. 2016;53:696–8. DOIPubMed
Zemtsova GE, Gleim E, Yabsley MJ, Conner LM, Mann T, Brown MD, et al.Detection of a novel spotted fever group Rickettsia in the gophertortoise tick.J Med Entomol. 2012;49:783–6. DOIPubMed
Goddard J. A ten-year study of tick biting in Mississippi: implications for human disease transmission.J Agromed. 2002;8:25–32. DOIPubMed
Again, folks down South should be taken seriously when they present with symptoms. BTW: Southern advocates tell me that STARI looks, smells, and feels just like Lyme disease.
The take home: Clark found live Bbsl (bissettii-like strain) in people from the Southeast who had undefined disorders not typical of LD, and were treated for LD even though they were seronegative, proving that B. bissetti is responsible for worldwide human infection.
He also showed DNA of Bbsl in Lone Star ticks which might be a bridge vector of transmission to humans.
Dr. Clark was the first to report finding LD spirochetes in animals and ticks in South Carolina, as well as in wild lizards in South Carolina and Florida. He has documented the presence of LD Borrelia species, Babesia microti,Anaplasma phagocytophilum, Rickettsia species, and other tick-borne pathogens in wild animals, ticks, dogs, and humans in Florida and other southern states.
Clark is infected. Surprised? This is why he’s finding answers – it’s much more than a job to him.
Your body has a barrier to keep foreign chemicals from accessing your brain and spinal cord. Researchers have discovered by coating nanocapsules with CBD oil, they could carry particles into the brain of mice
CBD is the nonpsychoactive component of cannabis, which has strong anti-anxiety effects. Its ability to cross the blood-brain barrier suggests your brain has cannabinoid receptors used to maintain health
Although it’s normal to be concerned, too much stress and anxiety steals your time, energy and health; according to the World Health Organization, by 2030 global costs of anxiety treatment are expected to reach $147 billion annually
Low levels of endocannabinoids impact your risk of migraines, fibroids, irritable bowel syndrome and neurological conditions, but using CBD alone is not the answer to support your endocannabinoid system (ECS)
Natural ways to boost your ECS include avoiding pesticides, optimizing omega-3 intake, fasting, exercise and reducing stress
The cannabis plant has over 400 chemicals and at least 60 different cannabinoids1 — chemical compounds the human body is uniquely equipped to respond to. Of the two primary chemicals, cannabidiol (CBD) and tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), only THC has psychoactive properties.
THC is the compound in cannabis triggering a “high,” whereas CBD has no psychoactive effects. Both compounds, and other phytochemicals found in medical marijuana plants, have a long list of beneficial effects on health.
Medical marijuana is a term used for the use of the whole, unprocessed plant or its chemicals to treat a medical condition.2,3 With the exception of four cannabis-containing or cannabis-related products for specific conditions with a prescription, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has not approved any “marketing application for cannabis for the treatment of any disease or condition.”4 On the other hand, some states have gone ahead and approved it themselves for certain medical conditions.5
The number of states that have decriminalized, legalized or allowed medical marijuana sales continues to grow. In some states, cannabis is fully legal or illegal, but in others the laws are mixed, allowing medicinal use but not recreational.6
According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse,7 notable scientific study results led to the creation of two FDA-approved medications containing cannabinoid chemicals in pill form, but not the use of the whole plant. Recently scientists proved CBD can carry other chemicals across the blood brain barrier, opening up its medicinal potential even further.
The Blood-Brain Barrier Is Designed to Protect Your Brain
More than 100 years ago, scientists discovered not everything injected into the bloodstream would reach the brain or spinal cord.8 Through research, scientists discovered the blood-brain barrier is semi permeable; in other words, it allows some materials to cross into your neurological system, but prevents others.
The importance of the blood-brain barrier to the health of your neurological system cannot be overstated. One portion of the system is formed by endothelial cells lining the microvasculature, which feeds your brain. This protects it from circulating agents and substances capable of disturbing your neurological functioning.9
The endothelial tissue in other capillaries in your body have small spaces allowing substances to move between the inside and outside of the vessel. In the brain, these cells fit together so tightly that many substances cannot leave the bloodstream and enter the brain.10
Additionally, glial cells — astrocytes — form another layer around the blood vessels and are involved in a two-way communication affecting physiology and pathology.11 This barrier mechanism is vital for normal functioning and providing a stable internal environment. One compound known to normally pass the blood-brain barrier is CBD.
Pharmaceutical Industry Finds Way to Use CBD as a Trojan Horse
In Greek mythology, the Trojan War was fought between the Greeks and the city of Troy.12 To gain access, the Greeks used a massive wooden horse constructed to hide a select force of men. It was presented as a gift, thereby allowing the Greek warriors to enter and destroy the city. Researchers believe CBD can act as a Trojan horse, helping move restricted chemicals across the blood-brain barrier.13
Researchers were interested in using CBD as a means to an end. They attached CBD, resembling endocannabinoids made by both mice and humans, to the outside of nanocapsules loaded with fluorescent molecules.
The fluorescence enabled the researchers to track the particles with the hope the experiment would mimic what occurs in the blood-brain barrier of humans. They demonstrated the CBD nanocarriers could transport fluorescent molecules across the blood-brain barrier in mice.14
When added in vitro to human cells mimicking the blood-brain barrier, the nanocarriers with CBD were more successful in passing through the cells than those without the CBD. Researchers also found when CBD nanocapsules were injected into healthy mice, 2.5 times more of them entered the animals’ brains than nanocarriers of equal size lacking the CBD coating.
Cannabidiol — Nonpsychoactive Component Has Anti-Anxiety Effects
The ability of CBD to naturally move across the blood-brain barrier indicates there are endocannabinoid receptors in the brain, which your neurological system uses to maintain optimal health. One of the benefits of CBD on your neurological system is reducing anxiety.
A meta-analysis15 evaluated the potential for CBD as a treatment for anxiety-related disorders. They found preclinical evidence strongly supported it for the treatment for panic disorder, social anxiety disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
A second large retrospective study16 looked at cases in psychiatric clinics involving the application of CBD for anxiety and sleep complaints. It too found the data supported the use of CBD for anxiety-related disorders.
In a small study17 involving 24 patients with generalized social anxiety disorder who, while diagnosed, had never been treated, half received CBD while the other half received a placebo. Another 12 healthy control subjects performed the test without receiving either medication or a placebo.
Each volunteer participated in a double-blind procedure. The researchers compared the effects of a simulation of public speaking on the 36 individuals, finding CBD pretreatment significantly affected cognitive impairment, anxiety and discomfort in speech performance.
The participants in the placebo group experienced higher anxiety, cognitive impairment and alert levels than the control group. No significant differences were observed between those taking CBD and the healthy control subjects who took nothing.18
These results piqued the interest of Dr. Esther Blessing, psychiatrist and researcher at New York University. She obtained funding from the National Institutes of Health, and along with collaborators are beginning a clinical trial to test if CBD helps those with PTSD and moderate or severe alcohol use disorder.19
The researchers plan to use pharmaceutical grade CBD or a placebo daily on 50 participants with the goal of evaluating alcohol intake in those who take CBD.
A second study20 now in Phase II is exploring whether CBD may help prevent relapse in opioid addicts. As explained by Blessing, CBD is different from cannabis. Although it’s extracted from cannabis, it does not lead to altered perception or cognition.21 She commented:22
“Drugs can be non-psychoactive and still have an effect on the brain. CBD does have an effect on the brain, but it seems to affect the brain in possibly medicinal ways.”
Anxiety Steals Time, Energy and Lives
Although it’s normal to be concerned about aspects of your life, too much stress and worry may devastate your health. A rise in stress levels and anxiety may trigger physical, mental or emotion changes, an indicator of anxiety disorders.23 Anxiety disorders are among the most common mental illnesses in the U.S., affecting an estimated 40 million adults.
Those suffering are three to five times more likely to see their physician and six times more likely to be hospitalized. It’s not uncommon for someone with anxiety to also suffer depression.24 Anxiety disorders carry a significant financial burden to individuals, families and communities.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), by 2030, the global annual cost of anxiety will reach $147 billion.25 Researchers in one study concluded:26
“The cost burden of depression, anxiety, and emotional disorders is among the greatest of any disease conditions in the workforce. It is worth considering methods for quantifying direct and indirect costs that use administrative data sources given their utility.”
The cost of anxiety is measured in more than finances, as it takes an enormous emotional and physical toll. Long-term negative health effects may include digestive issues, insomnia, substance abuse disorders and depression,27 each of which come with a laundry list of physical symptoms, emotional disruption and financial burden.
Differences Between Recreational and Medicinal Use
The healing properties of medical cannabis come primarily from high levels of CBD and critical levels of other medicinal terpenes and flavonoids. However, THC, responsible for the psychoactive effects of cannabis, also has medicinal benefits.28,29 Growers are able to use selective breeding techniques to increase CBD and lower levels of THC for medicinal use.
While CBD has gained the most attention, CBD alone cannot fully support your body’s endocannabinoid system (ECS). Cannabinoid receptors in the human body were discovered in the 1990s,30 which in turn led to the realization our body makes endogenous cannabinoids that influence these receptors.
It was also discovered the ECS orchestrates communication between other bodily systems, such as your respiratory, digestive, immune and cardiovascular systems. The ECS does this via receptors found in every organ, including your skin. The use of medicinal CBD is aimed at the health benefits derived from providing your ECS with sufficient support.
However, if you choose to use exogenous CBD, it’s important to choose the right product as some do not meet the claims made on the label.31 Since CBD oil became a focus of popular holistic medicine almost overnight, the rapid innovations in the market have been impressive. However, while products quickly enter the market, effective control has not caught up yet.
Despite CBD being sold as a food supplement, it is often used for significant health problems. The WHO analyzed available scientific data and concluded CBD does not require drug scheduling. Nevertheless, CBD manufacturing may benefit from a preparation analysis to reduce contaminants and ensure the product in the bottle is what’s on the label.32
Researchers believe the methodology to achieve this goal already exists and the approach would hold the producer accountable for quality and safety. Until a system is in place, if you live in a state that has legalized CBD, it is important you purchase any products from a trusted source.
Single Magic Bullet Is Not the Answer to Support Your Endocannabinoid System
In this video clip from an interview with Carl Germano, board-certified nutritionist and phytocannabiniods expert, he discusses the need to move away from the single magic bullet idea of separating one nutritional compound from a plant and expecting miraculous results.
It’s important in many cases to consume the whole plant. The cannabis plant contains at least 60 other cannabinoids and 400 other chemicals, and many of these other phytocannabinoids and terpenes are needed to fully support your ECS.
However, the vilification of cannabis continues to negatively impact the ability to use the compounds medicinally.33CBD oil has demonstrated use in the treatment of pain,34 which represents a significant threat to the sale of opioids responsible for a large piece of the financial growth of Big Pharma in the past decade.35
Purdue Pharma went even further, trying to position the company as an “end-to-end provider” of opioids and the treatment for addiction.36 The cannabis plant also poses economic threats37 to the lumber, energy, food and other industries as the fiber may be used to make paper, biofuel, building materials, food products and oil, clothing, shoes and even jewelry.
Cannabinoids Necessary for Optimal Health
Low levels of endocannabinoids in your system result in ill health. As you age, your body becomes less efficient in creating endocannabinoids needed for optimal health. According to Germano, cannabinoids may be used as biological markers for specific conditions and illnesses.
Endocannabinoid deficiency has been identified in those with migraines, fibromyalgia, irritable bowel syndrome and neurological conditions, for example. Research has also discovered an intimate relationship between ECS and your omega-3 status, as omega-3 fat improves your cannabinoid receptors.
Other conditions associated with low levels include stress, anxiety, insomnia and eye health. For a long list of health benefits you’ll receive from supporting your ECS system, see my previous article, “The Many Medicinal Benefits of Cannabis and Cannabidiol (CBD).”
Avoid pesticides and phthalates — Start by avoiding chemicals blocking the receptivity of your endogenous system by reducing your exposure to neonicotinoid pesticides and phthalates. Find more information about phthalates in my previous article, “Phthalate Exposure Threatens Human Survival.”
Optimize your omega-3 intake — There’s an intimate relationship between your ECS and your omega-3 status. Omega-3 fats make your cannabinoid receptors more active, and are used as backbone structures to produce cannabinoids in your body.
Expose yourself to cold temperatures — In past articles I’ve written about some of the surprising benefits of extreme temperatures. One of those benefits is the regulation of endocannabinoid in white and brown adipose tissue.
Fasting —Intermittent fasting may improve your health using yet another mechanism in your body — by increasing your endocannabinoid levels, and regulating your ECS.
Caffeine — Regular caffeine consumption regulates and enhances the activation of cannabinoid receptors. Remember the added caffeine may also disrupt quality sleep, so it’s important to forgo any caffeinated substances after 2 p.m.
Exercise — Although exercise is an excellent stress reducer, research also finds the much talked about “runner’s high” may be a function of the release of endocannabinoids in your brain and not just endorphins. If you are new to exercise, you’ll find suggestions and links in my previous article, “Exercise to Improve Your Body and Your Brain.”
