CBD may alleviate seizures, benefit behaviors in people with neurodevelopmental conditions
September 18, 2019
Science Daily/University of North Carolina Health Care
A marijuana plant extract, also known as cannabidiol (CBD), is being commonly used to improve anxiety, sleep problems, pain, and many other neurological conditions. Now UNC School of Medicine researchers show it may alleviate seizures and normalize brain rhythms in Angelman syndrome, a rare neurodevelopmental condition.
Published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation, the research conducted using Angelman syndrome animal models shows that CBD could benefit kids and adults with this serious condition, which is characterized by intellectual disability, lack of speech, brain rhythm dysfunction, and deleterious and often drug-resistant epilepsy.
"There is an unmet need for better treatments for kids with Angelman syndrome to help them live fuller lives and to aid their families and caregivers," said Ben Philpot, PhD, Kenan Distinguished Professor of Cell Biology and Physiology and associate director of the UNC Neuroscience Center. "Our results show CBD could help the medical community safely meet this need."
CBD, which is a major phytocannabinoid constituent of cannabis, has already shown to have anti-epileptic, anti-anxiety, and anti-psychotic effects. And in 2018, the FDA approved CBD for the treatment of seizures associated with two rare forms of epilepsy, but little is known about the potential anti-seizure and behavioral effects of CBD on Angelman symptom.
The Philpot lab is a leader in the creation of genetically modified mouse models of neurodevelopmental disorders, and they use these models to identify new treatments for various diseases, such as Rett, Pitt-Hopkins, and Angelman syndromes.
In experiments led by first author Bin Gu, PhD, a postdoctoral fellow in the Philpot lab, the UNC-Chapel Hill researchers systematically tested the beneficial effects of CBD on seizures, motor deficits, and brain activity abnormalities -- as measured by EEG -- in mice that genetically model Angelman syndrome, with the expectation that this information could guide eventual clinical use.
The researchers found that a single injection of CBD substantially lessened seizure severity in mice when the seizures were experimentally triggered by elevated body temperature or loud sounds. A typical anti-convulsant dose of CBD (100 mg/kg) caused mild sedation in mice but had little effect on motor coordination or balance. CBD also restored the normal brain rhythms which are commonly impaired in Angelman syndrome.
"We're confident our study provides the preclinical framework necessary to better guide the rational development of CBD as a therapy to help lessen seizures associated with Angelman syndrome and other neurodevelopmental disorders," Gu said.
Philpot and Gu added that patients and families should always seek advice from their physician before taking any CBD products, and that a human clinical trial is needed to fully understand its efficacy and safety.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/09/190918105631.htm
Synthetic version of CBD treats seizures in rats
May 28, 2019
Science Daily/University of California - Davis
A synthetic, non-intoxicating analogue of cannabidiol (CBD) is effective in treating seizures in rats, according to research by chemists at the University of California, Davis.
The synthetic CBD alternative is easier to purify than a plant extract, eliminates the need to use agricultural land for hemp cultivation, and could avoid legal complications with cannabis-related products. The work was recently published in the journal Scientific Reports.
"It's a much safer drug than CBD, with no abuse potential and doesn't require the cultivation of hemp," said Mark Mascal, professor in the UC Davis Department of Chemistry. Mascal's laboratory at UC Davis carried out the work in collaboration with researchers at the University of Reading, U.K.
Products containing CBD have recently become popular for their supposed health effects and because the compound does not cause a high. CBD is also being investigated as a pharmaceutical compound for conditions including anxiety, epilepsy, glaucoma and arthritis. But because it comes from extracts of cannabis or hemp plants, CBD poses legal problems in some states and under federal law. It is also possible to chemically convert CBD to tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the intoxicating compound in marijuana.
8,9-Dihydrocannabidiol (H2CBD) is a synthetic molecule with a similar structure to CBD. Mascal's laboratory developed a simple method to inexpensively synthesize H2CBD from commercially available chemicals. "Unlike CBD, there is no way to convert H2CBD to intoxicating THC," he said.
One important medical use of cannabis and CBD is in treatment of epilepsy. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved an extract of herbal CBD for treating some seizure conditions and there is also strong evidence from animal studies.
The researchers tested synthetic H2CBD against herbal CBD in rats with induced seizures. H2CBD and CBD were found to be equally effective for the reduction of both the frequency and severity of seizures.
Mascal is working with colleagues at the UC Davis School of Medicine to carry out more studies in animals with a goal of moving into clinical trials soon. UC Davis has applied for a provisional patent on antiseizure use of H2CBD and its analogues, and Mascal has founded a company, Syncanica, to continue development.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/05/190528140107.htm
Medical marijuana liquid extract may bring hope for children with severe epilepsy
April 13, 2015
Science Daily/American Academy of Neurology (AAN)
A medicinal liquid form of marijuana may show promise as a treatment for children with severe epilepsy that is not responding to other treatments, according to a study released today that will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology's 67th Annual Meeting in Washington, DC, April 18 to 25, 2015.
The study involved 213 people, ranging from toddlers to adults, with a median age of 11 who had severe epilepsy that did not respond to other treatments. Participants had Dravet syndrome and Lennox-Gastaut syndrome, epilepsy types that can lead to intellectual disability and lifelong seizures, as well as 10 other types of severe epilepsy.
The participants were given the drug cannabidiol, a component of marijuana that does not include the psychoactive part of the plant that creates a "high." The drug is a liquid taken daily by mouth. Participants all knew they were receiving the drug in the open-label study, which was designed to determine whether the drug was safe and tolerated well.
Researchers also measured the number of seizures participants had while taking the drug. For the 137 people who completed the 12-week study, the number of seizures decreased by an average of 54 percent from the beginning of the study to the end. Among the 23 people with Dravet syndrome who finished the study, the number of convulsive seizures had gone down by 53 percent by the end of the study. For the 11 people with Lennox-Gastaut syndrome who finished the study, there was a 55 percent reduction in the number of atonic seizures, which cause a sudden loss of muscle tone.
A total of 12 people, or 6 percent, stopped taking the drug due to side effects. Side effects that occurred in more than 10 percent of participants included drowsiness (21 percent), diarrhea (17 percent), tiredness (17 percent) and decreased appetite (16 percent).
Study author Orrin Devinsky, MD, of New York University Langone Comprehensive Epilepsy Center and a Fellow of the American Academy of Neurology, said that these are early findings and larger, placebo-controlled, double-blind trials are needed to measure the effectiveness of the drug.
"So far there have been few formal studies on this marijuana extract," Devinsky said. "These results are of great interest, especially for the children and their parents who have been searching for an answer for these debilitating seizures."
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/04/150413183743.htm
Cannabis-based medicine may reduce seizures for children with difficult-to-treat epilepsy
April 30, 2019
Science Daily/American Academy of Neurology
Taking a pharmaceutical formulation of cannabidiol, a cannabis-based medicine, cut seizures nearly in half for children with a rare and severe type of epilepsy called Dravet syndrome, according to a phase 3 study released today that will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology's 71st Annual Meeting in Philadelphia, May 4 to 10, 2019. Dravet syndrome, which starts in infancy, can lead to intellectual disability and frequent, prolonged seizures. Cannabidiol is derived from marijuana that does not include the psychoactive part of the plant that creates a "high."
"It's exciting to be able to offer another alternative for children with this debilitating form of epilepsy and their families," said study author Ian Miller, MD, of Nicklaus Children's Hospital, formerly Miami Children's Hospital, in Florida. "The children in this study had already tried an average of four epilepsy drugs with no success and at the time were taking an average of three additional drugs, so to have this measure of success with cannabidiol is a major victory."
The study involved 199 children with an average age of 9 who were divided into three groups. One group received 20 milligrams per kilogram (mg/kg) per day of cannabidiol, the second group received 10 mg/kg per day and the third group received a placebo.
Seizures were recorded for four weeks before the treatments were started to establish a baseline. Then the participants received the treatment for 14 weeks. By the end of the study, seizures with convulsions had decreased for those taking the high dose of the drug by 46 percent and by 49 percent for those taking the lower dose of the drug, compared to 27 percent for those taking the placebo.
Total seizures reduced by 47 percent for those in the high dose group, by 56 percent for those in the lower dose group and by 30 percent for those in the placebo group. In the high dose group, 49 percent of the participants had their seizures cut in half or more, compared to 44 percent in the low dose group and 26 percent in the placebo group.
All of the groups reported side effects, with 90 percent of the high dose group, 88 percent of the low dose group and 89 percent of the placebo group. The most common side effects were decreased appetite, diarrhea, sleepiness, fever and fatigue. About 25 percent of those in the high dose group had serious side effects, compared to 20 percent of those in the low dose group and 15 percent of those in the placebo group. Only participants in the high dose group stopped taking the drug due to side effects; that number was 7 percent.
"Based on these results, dose increases above 10 mg/kg per day should be carefully considered based on the effectiveness and safety for each individual," Miller said.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/04/190430164219.htm
Cannabidiol significantly reduces seizures in patients with severe form of epilepsy
Study looked at two doses of cannabis-derived medication's effectiveness in Lennox-Gastaut syndrome
May 16, 2018
Science Daily/NYU Langone Health / NYU School of Medicine
Cannabidiol (CBD), a compound derived from the cannabis plant that does not produce a "high" and has been an increasing focus of medical research, was shown in a new large-scale, randomized, controlled trial to significantly reduce the number of dangerous seizures in patients with a severe form of epilepsy called Lennox-Gastaut syndrome.
In the new study comparing two doses of CBD to a placebo, the researchers reported a 41.9 percent reduction in "drop seizures" -- a type of seizure that results in severe loss of muscle control and balance -- in patients taking a 20 mg/kg/d CBD regimen, a 37.2 percent reduction in those on a 10 mg/kg/d CBD regimen, and a 17.2 percent reduction in a group given a placebo.
The phase III trial was led by principal investigator and study first co-author Orrin Devinsky, MD, a professor of neurology, neurosurgery, and psychiatry at NYU School of Medicine and director of NYU Langone's Comprehensive Epilepsy Center, and was published online May 17 in The New England Journal of Medicine.
"This new study adds rigorous evidence of cannabidiol's effectiveness in reducing seizure burden in a severe form of epilepsy and, importantly, is the first study of its kind to offer more information on proper dosing," says Dr. Devinsky. "These are real medications with real side effects, and as providers we need to know all we can about a potential treatment in order to provide safe and effective care to our patients."
The study included an investigational liquid, oral formulation of CBD called Epidiolex. The product is manufactured by GW Pharmaceuticals, which operates in the U.S. as Greenwich Biosciences; GW Pharmaceuticals funded the clinical trial.
Safety of Two CBD Doses Studied
Lennox-Gastaut syndrome is a rare and severe form of epilepsy characterized by frequent drop seizures and severe cognitive impairment. Six medications are approved to treat seizures in patients with the syndrome, but disabling seizures occur in most patients despite these treatments.
Researchers enrolled 225 patients (age 2 to 55) with Lennox-Gastaut syndrome across 30 international sites in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial to assess the efficacy and safety of two doses of CBD: Seventy-six patients received 20 mg/kg/d CBD, 73 received 10 mg/kg/d CBD, and 76 were given a placebo. All medications were divided into two doses per day for 14 weeks. The number of seizures were monitored beginning four weeks prior to the study for baseline assessment, then tracked throughout the 14-week study period and afterwards for a four-week safety check.
Side effects occurred in 94 per of patients in the 20 mg CBD group, 84 percent in the 10 mg CBD group, and 72 percent of those taking placebo. Side effects were generally reported as mild or moderate in severity and those that occurred in more than 10 percent of patients included: sleepiness, decreased appetite, diarrhea, upper respiratory infection, fever, vomiting, nasopharyngitis, and status epilepticus. Fourteen patients taking CBD experienced dose-related, elevated liver enzymes that were reversible. Seven participants from the CBD group withdrew from the trial due to side effects compared to one participant in the placebo group.
"This landmark study provides data and evidence that Epidiolex can be an effective and safe treatment for seizures seen in patients with Lennox Gastaut Syndrome, a very difficult to control epilepsy syndrome," adds study co-first author, Anup Patel, MD, chief of Neurology at Nationwide Children's Hospital.
A study led by Dr. Devinsky published in last May's New England Journal of Medicine showed a 39 percent drop in seizure frequency in patients with a different rare form of epilepsy, Dravet syndrome. Those findings represented the first large-scale, randomized clinical trial for the compound. Open label CBD studies led by Dr. Devinsky also have shown positive results for treatment-resistant epilepsies.
In April, a U.S. Food and Drug Administration advisory panel unanimously voted to recommend approval of a new drug application for Epidiolex cannabidiol oral solution, following a meeting where researchers, including Dr. Devinsky, presented their findings. The FDA will decide whether to approve the medication in late June.
"While the news gives hope for a new treatment option to the epilepsy community, more research remains imperative to better determine the effects of CBD and other similar cannabis-derived compounds on other forms of the disease and in more dosing regimens," says Dr. Devinsky.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/05/180516172255.htm
Cannabidiol for treating seizures show promise
Cannabidiol for treating seizures show promise
March 3, 2016
Science Daily/University of Alabama at Birmingham
Researchers have presented the first findings of a large study of cannabidiol for treating seizures.
Investigators with the University of Alabama at Birmingham Cannabidiol Program will present the first results drawn from the CBD oil studies underway at UAB and Children's of Alabama. Three abstracts will be presented at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Neurology in Vancouver, Canada.
The abstracts describe results from the first 51 subjects enrolled in the studies. Among other findings, the researchers report that approximately 50 percent of the subjects responded to the CBD oil therapy with overall sustained improvement in seizure control over a six-month period. Seizures declined between 32 and 45 percent in the responders, depending on the CBD dose. Two patients were seizure-free, and nine dropped out due to side effects or lack of efficacy.
UAB launched the studies of CBD oil as a treatment for severe, intractable seizures in April of 2015. The studies, an adult study at UAB and a pediatric study at Children's of Alabama, were authorized by the Alabama Legislature in 2014 by legislation known as Carly's Law.
The studies are designed to test the safety and tolerability of CBD oil in patients with intractable seizures. CBD oil, a derivative of the cannabis plant, is delivered orally as an oily liquid.
"The studies are ongoing, and we have a lot more to learn; but these preliminary findings are encouraging," said Jerzy Szaflarski, M.D., Ph.D., professor in the Department of Neurology, principal investigator of the adult study. "Among our goals was to determine the safety of CBD oil therapy, and it appears that, in many cases, patients tolerate the oil quite well. The evidence of seizure reduction gives us hope that, the more we learn about CBD oil, the better we will be able to tailor this therapy to provide relief for those with severe epilepsy."
The oil used in the studies is produced under stringent requirements of the United States Food and Drug Administration by a licensed pharmaceutical company. It contains only traces of THC, the psychoactive component of marijuana. The process developed by GW Pharmaceuticals guarantees the consistency of the product that is provided to study participants.
"The studies thus far show that the administration of CBD oil is a complex undertaking," said Martina Bebin, M.D., professor of neurology and principal investigator for the pediatric study. "Some patients respond well, but others either have no improvement or experience significant side effects. CBD is not a panacea, and it's not for everyone. But many patients do have a reduction in seizure activity, and we hope our efforts will further define how to best utilize CBD oil for maximum benefit to the appropriate patient population."
Tyler Gaston, M.D., a clinical neurophysiology fellow, led a study of potential interactions between CBD and clobazam, a commonly prescribed anti-epileptic medication. The investigators suspected that CBD treatment might cause an increase in the blood levels of clobazam and its metabolite, N-desmethylclobazam, leading to adverse events including sedation. Seventeen patients in the studies were taking clobazam, and investigators found clear evidence for an interaction, with rising clobazam levels during CBD therapy. This finding highlights the importance of monitoring clobazam and N-desmethylclobazam levels when treating patients with CBD, and the results underscore the importance of the new knowledge gained through the UAB CBD program.
A study headed by Leslie Perry, M.D., also a clinical neurophysiology fellow, looked at the effect of CBD oil therapy on electroencephalography, or EEG. EEG is the standard test to measure electrical activity in the brain. The same cohort of 51 patients received EEG tests prior to beginning CBD therapy and then again after CBD therapy had begun. The investigators report that CBD does not appear to have a negative effect on standard EEG parameters. However, the authors acknowledge that the conclusion is limited by the relatively short duration of both the EEG and the length of time from the tests done prior to beginning CBD therapy and then during therapy.
Another abstract, led by Jane Allendorfer, Ph.D., assistant professor of neurology, will be presented at the annual meeting of the Organization for Human Brain Mapping in Geneva, Switzerland. In her work, she evaluated the effects of CBD treatment on attention circuits in the brain using functional MRI. Eight patients underwent fMRI before treatment with CBD and while taking CBD. Their scanning showed improved activation of brain regions important for attention. The authors conclude that these preliminary results are promising and illustrate the potential of CBD treatment to improve not only seizure control but also cognition in patients with poorly controlled epilepsy.
The ongoing UAB CBD studies currently have 40 children and 39 adults enrolled.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/03/160303204007.htm
Cannabis-based drug reduces seizures in children with treatment-resistant epilepsy
First study to examine the safety, efficacy of cannabidiol for children
January 5, 2016
Science Daily/University of California - San Francisco
Children and young adults with severe forms of epilepsy that does not respond to standard antiepileptic drugs have fewer seizures when treated with purified cannabinoid, according to a multi-center study led by researchers from UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital San Francisco.
"Better treatment for children with uncontrolled seizures is desperately needed," said Maria Roberta Cilio, MD, PhD, senior author and director of research at the UCSF Pediatric Epilepsy Center. "It's important to get seizure control at any age, but in children, uncontrolled seizures may impact brain and neurocognitive development, which can have an extraordinary effect on quality of life and contribute to progressive cognitive impairment."
The researchers evaluated 162 children and young adults across 11 independent epilepsy centers in the U.S. All of the children were treated with Epidiolex, a purified cannabinoid that comes in a liquid form containing no tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the psychotropic component in cannabis, over a 12-week period. The results showed a median 36.5 percent reduction in monthly motor seizures, with a median monthly frequency of motor seizures falling from 30 motor seizures a month to 15.8 over the course of the 12 week trial.
The study was published in the December 23, 2015 issue of The Lancet Neurology.
The patients in the trial were all between the ages of one and 30 with intractable epilepsies shown to be resistant to many if not all of the antiepileptic treatments, including drugs and a ketogenic diet. This includes children with Dravet syndrome, a rare genetic disorder that manifests in early childhood with frequent, disabling seizures often occurring daily and numbering into the hundreds, as well as profound cognitive and social deficits.
"This trial is pioneering a new treatment for children with the most severe epilepsies, for whom nothing else works," said Cilio. "This is just the first step. This open label study found that CBD both reduces the frequency of seizures and has an adequate safety profile in children and young adults. Randomized controlled trials are the next step to characterize the true efficacy and safety profile of this promising compound."
UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital San Francisco was the first site to ever administer Epidiolex in a child with epilepsy. In April 2013, the drug was given to a patient after obtaining a special approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's Investigational New Drug (IND) program, and results from that initial experience provided the framework for the current study, according to the researchers. A second patient was then enrolled at UCSF in July 2013, and in January 2014 UCSF and other centers started to enroll patients under an expanded access IND.
Produced by the biopharmaceutical company GW Pharmaceuticals, Epidiolex is considered a schedule 1 substance, meaning it has a high potential for abuse, and is closely monitored and restricted by the FDA. GW Pharmaceuticals supplied the cannabidiol for the study, but had no role in the study design, data analysis, data interpretation, writing of the study, or publication submission. The study was also funded by the Epilepsy Therapy Project of the Epilepsy Foundation, and Finding A Cure for Epilepsy and Seizures (FACES).
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/01/160105223552.htm
Marijuana derivative reduces seizures in people with treatment-resistant epilepsy
New open-label trial of prescription cannabidiol shows overall safety, efficacy
December 23, 2015
Science Daily/NYU Langone Medical Center / New York University School of Medicine
Cannabidiol (CBD), a medical marijuana derivative, was effective in reducing seizure frequency and well-tolerated and safe for most children and young adults enrolled in a year-long study led by epilepsy specialists at NYU Langone Medical Center.
These latest findings provide the first estimates of safety, tolerability and efficacy of prescription CBD in children and adults with severe, highly treatment-resistant epilepsy. Led by Orrin Devinsky, MD, professor of neurology, neurosurgery, and psychiatry and director of the Comprehensive Epilepsy Center at NYU Langone, the study is published in the December 23 issue of Lancet Neurology. While early findings have been released at medical meetings -- including the 2015 American Academy of Neurology conference -- these are the first findings from the trial to be published in a peer-reviewed journal.
The study took place at 11 epilepsy centers across the country. Patients were given the oral CBD treatment Epidiolex over a 12-week treatment period. Results showed a median 36.5 percent reduction in monthly motor seizures, with the median monthly frequency of motor seizures falling from 30 motor seizures a month at the study's start to 15.8 over the 12 weeks. Equally important, CBD was shown to have a sufficient safety profile and was well-tolerated by many patients, despite some isolated adverse events.
"We are very encouraged by our trial results showing that CBD was safe and well-tolerated for most patients, and that seizures dropped significantly," says Devinsky. "But before we raise hopes for families who regularly deal with the devastation of treatment-resistant epilepsy, more research, including further studies through our ongoing randomized controlled trial, are needed to definitively recommend CBD as a treatment to patients with uncontrolled seizures."
How the Research Was Conducted
The study was an open-labeled trial, meaning that both the researchers and participants' families knew they were receiving CBD, a compound in medical marijuana that does not contain psychoactive properties. Between January 15, 2014, and January 15, 2015, 214 patients between 1 and 30 years of age with intractable, or treatment-resistant, epilepsy were enrolled in the trial. Of that cohort, 162 (76 percent) had at least 12 weeks of follow-up after the first dose of CBD and were included in the safety and tolerability analysis. In addition, 137 of the original study cohort (64 percent) were included in the analysis to determine the drug's efficacy.
Patients were given an oral CBD regimen from 2-5 mg/kg per day, with a dose up-titrated until intolerance occurred or to a maximum dose of 25 mg/kg or 50 mg/kg per day, depending on the trial site. Seizures were recorded by parents or caregivers in diaries and reviewed by the study team at each visit.
Lab screenings also were conducted at baseline, and after 4, 8 and 12 weeks of CBD treatment. The study showed variability in responses of individual seizure types to cannabidiol treatment. For example, the median change in total seizures was 34.6 percent , with the greatest reduction occurring in patients with focal and atonic seizures followed by tonic or tonic-clonic seizures. Two patients were free of all seizure types over the entire 12 weeks.
Adverse events were reported among participants, including drowsiness, decreased appetite, diarrhea, fatigue and convulsion. Most were mild to moderate and transient, but 20 patients had serious adverse events related to CBD use -most commonly status epilepticus, or seizures that last too long or too close together. Five patients had to discontinue treatment due to these adverse events.
Devinsky is currently leading a randomized, controlled trial -- considered the gold standard of scientific research -in which CBD or a placebo is randomly assigned to patients to better tease out the drug's effects and better eliminate research bias.
"I empathize with parents who are looking for answers and will try anything to help their children suffering the devastating effects of intractable epilepsy. But we must let the science, and not anecdotal success stories and high media interest, lead this national discussion," cautions Devinsky. "Taking CBD in a controlled medical setting is vastly different from going to a state where medical marijuana is legal and experimenting with dosing and CBD strains."
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/12/151223221532.htm
Could cannabis active substance curb seizures? Experts weed through evidence
May 22, 2014
Science Daily/Wiley
The therapeutic potential of medical marijuana and pure cannabidiol (CBD), an active substance in the cannabis plant, for neurologic conditions is highly debated. A series of articles published in Epilepsia, a journal of the International League Against Epilepsy (ILAE), examine the potential use of medical marijuana and CBD in treating severe forms of epilepsy such as Dravet syndrome.
In a case study, Dr. Edward Maa, Chief of the Comprehensive Epilepsy Program at Denver Health in Denver, Colo., details one mother's experience of providing medical marijuana to her child with Dravet syndrome. The adjunct therapy, a strain of cannabis high in CBD and tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) known as Charlotte's Web, was given in conjunction with the patient's antiepileptic drug regimen. The child's seizure frequency was reduced from 50 convulsions per day to 2 to 3 nighttime convulsions per month.
"Colorado is "ground zero" of the medical marijuana debate," says Dr. Maa. "As medical professionals it is important that we further the evidence of whether CBD in cannabis is an effective antiepileptic therapy." Currently, 21 states and the District of Columbia (DC) have legalized marijuana for medical purposes according to GOVERNING magazine.
A counter-point article summarizes current scientific evidence of CBD use in epilepsy and other neurological or psychiatric disorders including anxiety, schizophrenia and addiction. Previous studies found that THC, the primary psychoactive substance and CBD the main non-psychoactive ingredient in cannabis, display anticonvulsive properties in animals. However, this research was conducted in acute animal models and data is limited for chronic recurrent seizures. Recent studies claim medical marijuana with high ratios of CBD to THC are more effective in seizure control, but the data was anecdotal and not well controlled.
"While cannabis has been used to treat epilepsy for centuries, data from double-blind randomized, controlled trials of CBD or THC in epilepsy is lacking," explains Dr. Orrin Devinsky, Director of the Comprehensive Epilepsy Center at NYU Langone Medical Center in New York and Saint Barnabas Institute of Neurology and Neurosurgery in New Jersey. "Randomized controlled studies of CBD in targeted epilepsy groups, such as patients with Dravet or Lennox-Gastaut syndromes, are in the planning stages."
Dr. Maria Roberta Cilio, Director of Research in Pediatric Epilepsy of the Comprehensive Epilepsy Center at UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital in San Francisco, agrees, "There is a critical need for new therapies, especially for childhood-onset treatment-resistant epilepsies that impair quality of life and contribute to learning and behavioral disorders. Rigorous investigation of the safety and efficacy of medical marijuana or individual components such as CBD are necessary for patients with epilepsy before any conclusion is made. "
"There is much interest in the therapeutic potential of medical marijuana and CBD in treating epilepsy," say Drs. Gary Mathern and Astrid Nehlig, Editors-in-Chief of Epilepsia. "We would like your perspective on this important issue and ask that patients, clinicians, and medical professionals visit http://surveys.verticalresponse.com/a/show/1539433/ea840f4206/0 to provide feedback on the use of medical marijuana in epilepsy."
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/05/140522074747.htm