The use of cannabinoids in the treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder - a review of the latest literature

Skubel Tomasz, Czarnota Jakub, Dobrzyński Michał, Kopystecka Agnieszka, Kozioł Ilona, Drozd Małgorzata, Rybak Natalia, Patryn Rafał. The use of cannabinoids in the treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder - a review of the latest literature. Journal of Education, Health and Sport. 2022;12(8):1092-1099. eISSN 2391-8306. DOI http://dx.doi.org/10.12775/JEHS.2022.12.08.093 https://apcz.umk.pl/JEHS/article/view/JEHS.2022.12.08.093 https://zenodo.org/record/7021177 The journal has had 40 points in Ministry of Education and Science of Poland parametric evaluation. Annex to the announcement of the Minister of Education and Science of December 21, 2021. No. 32343. Has a Journal's Unique Identifier: 201159. Scientific disciplines assigned: Physical Culture Sciences (Field of Medical sciences and health sciences); Health Sciences (Field of Medical Sciences and Health Sciences). Punkty Ministerialne z 2019 - aktualny rok 40 punktów. Załącznik do komunikatu Ministra Edukacji i Nauki z dnia 21 grudnia 2021 r. Lp. 32343. Posiada Unikatowy Identyfikator Czasopisma: 201159. Przypisane dyscypliny naukowe: Nauki o kulturze fizycznej (Dziedzina nauk medycznych i nauk o zdrowiu); Nauki o zdrowiu (Dziedzina nauk medycznych i nauk o zdrowiu). © The Authors 2022; This article is published with open access at Licensee Open Journal Systems of Nicolaus Copernicus University in Torun, Poland Open Access. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial License which permits any noncommercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author (s) and source are credited. This is an open access article licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non commercial license Share alike. (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/) which permits unrestricted, non commercial use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the work is properly cited. The authors declare that there is no conflict of interests regarding the publication of this paper. Received: 02.08.2022. Revised: 07.08.2022. Accepted: 25.08.2022. The use of cannabinoids in the treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder - a review of the latest literature Zastosowanie kannabinoidów w leczeniu zespołu nadpobudliwości psychoruchowej- przegląd najnowszego piśmiennictwa Tomasz Skubel https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7572-401X tomasz.wojciech.skubel@gmail.com 1 Military Clinical Hospital with a Polyclinic in Lublin, Al. Racławickie 23, 20-904 Lublin Jakub Czarnota https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2783-0349 lek.jakub.czarnota@interia.pl Specialist Hospital In Radom of the name Tytus Chałubiński, Adolfa Tochtermana 1, 26-610 Radom Michał Dobrzyński https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1416-6568 mdobrzyski4@gmail.com 1 Military Clinical Hospital with a Polyclinic in Lublin, Al. Racławickie 23, 20-904 Lublin Agnieszka Kopystecka https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0740-8394 aga.kopystecka@gmail.com Students’ Scientific Group on Medical Law at the Department of Humanities and Social Medicine, Medical University of Lublin Ilona Kozioł https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3154-5356 ilona.koziol9@gmail.com Students’ Scientific Group on Medical Law at the Department of Humanities and Social Medicine, Medical University of Lublin Małgorzata Drozd https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0710-2451 drozd.malg@gmail.com Independent Public Clinical Hospital No. 4 in Lublin, Jaczewskiego 8, 20-954 Lublin Natalia Rybak https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1437-7661 natalia.rybcia@gmail.com Independent Public Clinical Hospital No. 4 in Lublin, Jaczewskiego 8, 20-954 Lublin Medicine, Medical University of Lublin dr hab. n. o zdr. Rafał Patryn https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0022-5413 rafal.patryn@umlub.pl Department of Humanities and Social Medicine, Medical University of Lublin Abstract Introduction: Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a common problem in adolescents and adults around the world. ADHD is particularly characterized by inattention, impulsiveness and hyperactivity, and in order to deal with these problems, patients often resort to other methods of treatment in addition to classic pharmacotherapy. Increasing numbers of ADHD patients are self-medicating with cannabis, despite the lack of specific evidence on its efficacy and safety. Aim of the study: The purpose of this study was to review the most recent available literature on the use of cannabidiol in the treatment of ADHD. For this purpose, PubMed and scopus databases were reviewed. The phrase "cannabidiol and ADHD" was used in the database search. After reviewing the titles and abstracts, 15 articles and articles cited in them were obtained and analyzed in detail. Results: Cannabinoids are reported to have pharmacological anxiolytic, neuroprotective, antidepressant, antipsychotic and hypnotic effects. Single-case studies of patients treated with them show that cannabinoids reduced hyperactivity, improved focus and control of impulsive behavior. Patients also reported side effects of cannabis use, the most common being mild short-term memory problems, dry mouth, sleepiness, and occasional experiences of constant thirst and greater forgetfulness. Most of the acute side effects were related to neuropsychiatric symptoms and were associated with cardiac sympathomimetic effects Conclusion: There is evidence for the effects of cannabinoids on ADHD symptoms as well as the influence of the cannabinoid system on involvement in neurological and psychiatric disorders. However, more controlled clinical trials are needed to determine the effect of cannabis use on ADHD symptoms and the norms of its use in this indication. Keywords cannabidiol, ADHD, literature revie