One of the many symptoms of Parkinson’s Disease is Rapid Eye Movement sleep behavior disorder or RBD.  RBD occurs during normal rapid eye movement (REM) sleep patterns, but prevents the patient from experiencing the usual muscle paralysis occurring during REM sleep.  Throughout REM sleep, people experience vivid dreams and the muscle paralysis serves to keep the person still and resting.  During RBD, patients can physically act out their dreams, to some extent, leading to possible injury to themselves and/or their partners.  Yelling, swearing, pushing, punching and kicking during sleep are all common behaviors for the Rbd Sleep Disorder.  Cannabidiol (CBD) is one of the major components of the hemp plant; it has proven to have a diverse pharmacological profile, while absent of psychoactive effects, which has led to extensive research as a treatment therapy option for various diseases and disorders.

Researchers at the University of São Paulo in the Department of Neuroscience and Behavior, in Brazil, tested the effects of cannabidiol on Parkinson’s patients suffering from RBD sleep disorder.  Patients received either 75mg or 300mg of CBD per day for a 6-week period. During the case study, all patients showed a “prompt and substantial reduction in the frequency of RBD-related events without side effects.”  Their study confirmed that CBD was successfully able to control RBD symptoms in Parkinson’s patients and was published in the Journal of Clinical Pharmacy and Therapeutics.

As the research surrounding this remarkable compound continues to progress, we look forward to reviewing the research. To read the full text of the study cited in this article, please see here.