Welcome to the 21st WCP Virtual Congress Program Scheduling

The purpose of this symposium is to present the role of endocannabinoids and some of the phytocannabinoids in psychiatric disorders. It is becoming highly relevant to study the role of endogenous cannabinoids in psychiatric diseases before to design treatments of synthetic or phytocannabinoids to alleviate symptoms in these patients. One of the talks of the symposium will focus on the role of endocannabinoids as potential biomarkers in psychiatric disorders, especially in anxiety-related disorders. Alterations in endogenous cannabinoid ligands must be identified to design appropriate treatments with specific cannabinoids to alleviate different symptoms in these patients. Cannabidiol (CBD) has gained great interest in the last years due to the lack of drug abuse potential and a high degree of tolerability and safety. The second talk of the symposium will review animal and clinical studies with CBD and will point out the advantages and drawbacks regarding the use of this compound for the treatment of anxiety-related disorders. The bioavailability of CBD in oral administration together and the high degree of inhibition of certain cytochromes suggest that potential interaction with several central nervous system drugs should be carefully evaluated. The third talk will examine the role of CBD and sertraline in a new animal model of PTSD of long duration associated with alcohol self-administration. The results of these animal studies suggest the convenience to assay the association od CBD and sertraline in controlled clinical trials in patients with PTSD with or without problems related to alcohol consumption.