New data has shown that cannabis extracts can be a life saver for people plagued by epileptic seizures.
Published in the journal Frontiers in Neuroscience on May 18, an attention-worthy study found that 19 patients were able to become seizure free for a 3-month period by ingesting cannabinoids from the plant. Meanwhile, five of them went more than a year without experiencing one of the awful attacks thanks to THC and CBD.
“The results of the study support prioritizing cannabis-based products for medicinal use in cases of drug-resistant epilepsy,” the authors concluded.
Study contributor Evan Lewis says he had been observing the beneficial impact of cannabis oil on those with the condition for more than a decade prior to the recent investigation.
“Over 10+ years and 1,000+ patients, I’ve seen cannabinoid-based treatments change lives when conventional anti-seizure medications failed,” he explained on social media Thursday.
Lewis and co-authors say that although the results are highly intriguing, additional research is necessary. Limited long-term data on the safety and efficacy of cannabinoid extracts for treating the condition is available.
Furthermore, there’s a significant lack of credible information on optimal dosing.
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May yields another remarkable study
The assessment from the Toronto investigators was not the only one to turn heads last month.
In Thailand, researchers found that 101 children suffering from an average of 75 seizures per month were able to experience a 50 per cent or greater reduction in the nasty occurrences from cannabidiol.
“The Thai medical-grade CBD-enriched oil is effective and tolerable for at least 12 months of adjunctive treatment in paediatric drug-resistant epilepsy,” they specified in the journal Pediatric Neurology. It was assessed as a supplemental therapeutic alongside standard drugs used to treat the condition and proved to be valuable.
CBD has been studied much more thoroughly for this indication than THC due to its psychoactive effects.
In 2018, the FDA approved a CBD-based drug for the treatment of epilepsy and other conditions that cause seizures: Epidiolex. It is produced and sold by Jazz Pharmaceuticals PLC (NASDAQ: JAZZ) (FRA: J7Z).
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