In June 2018, The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved a medication called Epidiolex. It is used to treat seizures from two specific epileptic diseases. What makes this medication different from other seizure drugs is that it is the first FDA-approved drug to contain cannabidiol (CBD).
CBD is one of the chemical compounds found in the Cannabis sativa plant. This includes both marijuana and hemp plants. CBD differs from tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) because it doesn't cause the "high" associated with marijuana.
According to an article in US News & World Report, doctors are unsure exactly why CBD helps control seizures. They do know that CBD blocks a receptor that other medications don't. Every nerve cell has receptors that receive messages from neurotransmitter chemicals produced within the body.
Seizures can occur when a specific receptor, called the GPR55 receptor, is stimulated and lose its inhibition. CBD blocks the GPT55 receptor. Patients with Lennox-Gastaut syndrome and Dravet syndrome, two rare forms of epilepsy that trigger these receptors, may benefit from using CBD medication.
In this article, we will go over two forms of epilepsy that CBD can help treat. First, we will cover Lennox-Gastaut syndrome. Secondly, we will cover Dravet syndrome.
1
Lennox-Gastaut Syndrome
This is a rare, severe form of epilepsy. It is detected in children between three and five years of age. Scientists have found that brain malformations or inherited genetic conditions may be underlying reasons for Lennox-Gastaut syndrome.
Cognitive problems, delays in development, such as taking longer to learn to sit, crawl, or walk, and intellectual disabilities can occur. Children with Lennox-Gastaut can have several types of seizures. These include tonic seizures with sudden muscle stiffness, atonic seizures or "drop attacks," a sudden loss of muscle tone, and clonic seizures with sustained jerking of the body or body parts. Atypical absence seizures that involve staring spells in which people can only partially respond to others and to some movements, such as blinking, chewing, and lip-smacking, may also occur.
A recent study published in the New England Journal of Medicine divided children and adults with Lennox-Gastaut syndrome and atonic or drop seizures into three groups. One group received high dose CBD, another received low dose CBD, and a third group received a placebo or no CBD at all. Participants did not know which group they were in during the study.
The study lasted 14 weeks. The results showed that the average reduction in drop seizure frequency was nearly 42% in the higher-dose CBD group, about 37% in the lower-dose CBD group, and 17% in the placebo group. For patients experiencing these types of seizures, CBD can offer measurable relief.
2
Dravet Syndrome
Another rare, severe form of epilepsy, Dravet syndrome, has been diagnosed in otherwise healthy children under one year of age. It usually starts with a lengthy seizure and fever and, once present, is a life-long disease. Scientists have determined that a mutation in the SCN1A gene causes Dravet syndrome.
Children with Dravet syndrome have frequent and sometimes multiple types of seizures. These include focal seizures, which start in one area of the brain, and generalized convulsions. Their seizures do not usually respond well to medication control.
Another study in the New England Journal of Medicine reported that 120 participants with Dravet syndrome whose seizures were resistant to medications were assigned to either a group that received daily doses of CBD or a group that did not. This was another blind study. As such, the participants were unaware of their placement in either group.
Here again, the study lasted 14 weeks. The group receiving CBD overall saw a decrease in seizures from thirteen to six per month. The placebo group had a statistically insignificant drop from 15 to 14 seizures per month. Five percent of the CBD group also reported being completely seizure-free during the study.
In this article, we went over two forms of epilepsy that CBD can help treat. First, we covered Lennox-Gastaut syndrome. Secondly, we covered Dravet syndrome.
Medication containing CBD has been approved for these two seizure disorders. However, more study is needed to determine its effectiveness with other seizure disorder types. Doctors caution parents against using commercially-available, over-the-counter CBD products, which may or may not contain the appropriate amount of CBD or be useful with other seizure types.
