It isn’t likely that you will get mad cow disease if you live in America. But if you travel to other countries that don’t have the same restrictions on meat that the United States does, it becomes more of a possibility. While this disease is terrifying and fatal, studies have shown that CBD oil may be able to help prevent or stop this progressive brain disease.

What Is Mad Cow?

Mad cow disease is a progressive neurological disease that causes brain damage to the point of death. It might not be a surprise, but this disease is found in cows. When people eat the tainted meat, they can develop the human version which is called Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, also known as vCJD.

In 1989, the federal government made sure that certain live animals can’t be imported into America as well as making sure that the meat doesn’t contain any nervous system tissue which is why mad cow disease is so rare in America.

Getting mad cow disease isn’t obvious at first. In the early stages, people can show symptoms related to the nervous system like depression or a loss of coordination. Only in the advanced stages can brain imaging even be done to detect any damage. Once you get this disease, statistically you have the first 13 months from the onset of symptoms to live. There is no treatment for this disease, that is, not yet.

CBD For Mad Cow Disease

While we don’t really know how exactly mad cow disease works, they have found large clumps of abnormal prion proteins in brain cells. An infectious agent that is still unknown activates a process that causes brain cells to die and these proteins to build up.

While scientists are far from claiming CBD oil to be a cure for mad cow disease, they do believe it has the potential. In studies, they have found that cannabidiol can help prevent the accumulation of prions and protect against their toxicity.

While we are still far from knowing whether or not CBD hemp oil could save someone’s life, it is still exciting to see that there is a possible future treatment for mad cow disease.