CBD reduced seizure frequency in children with epilepsy

Source

Thursday, 10 May 2018

Tel Aviv, Israel: The adjunctive use of CBD extracts is safe and effective in adolescent patients with refractory epilepsy, according to clinical data published online ahead of print in the journal Brain & Development.

Israeli researchers assessed the sustained daily use of extracted CBD oils in a cohort of young patients with treatment-resistant epilepsy.

Thirty-five percent of participants experienced a reduction in mean monthly seizure frequency of 75 percent or greater following CBD treatment. Forty-one percent of patients either partially or completely tapered their use of anti-epileptic drugs during the study period due to improvements in their condition. Patients who were younger than ten years of age at treatment onset experienced higher improvement rates compared to older subjects. The most commonly reported adverse side-effect of CBD treatment was somnolence, which was reported in 14 percent of patients.

Authors concluded, “In concordance with recent encouraging evidence, this open-label study using parental report, showed that CBD- enriched cannabis extract appears to have potential anti-seizure effect as an add- on treatment in pediatric patients with refractory epilepsy, with a favorable safety profile.”

The findings are similar to those of other recent trials reporting that the use of CBD extracts reduces seizure frequency and improves other symptoms of epilepsy. Regulators at the US Food and Drug Administration are anticipated to grant market approval this summer to a proprietary formulation of CBD oil, known as Epidiolex, for the treatment of Dravet syndrome and Lennox-Gastaut syndrome, two types of severe pediatric epilepsy.

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