Dr. Orrin Devinsky of New York University's Langone Medical Center has conducted a study in a group of children and young adults with the most intractable forms of epilepsy, using a liquid form of marijuana called cannabidiol (CBD), which reportedly reduced seizures by more than 50% without causing the drug's usual "high."
Devinsky, the senior author of the preliminary study, said it was one of the first formal studies of CBD, and a hopeful development for children and young adults with severe and debilitating seizures, who have few effective options from the medical community. Devinsky will present his findings next week at the American Academy of Neurology's annual meeting and plans on conducting further studies in double-blind, placebo-controlled studies with a larger population of participants.
CBD is one of at least 85 cannabinoids that have been identified in the marijuana plant and is being investigated as a treatment for a wide range of disorders of the brain, including Alzheimer's disease and schizophrenia. The Food and Drug Administration has granted Epidiolex, made by the British firm GWPharma, orphan drug status as a treatment for Dravet syndrome, indicating that it could be available to patients on a fast-track basis.
The subjects in this preliminary study range in age from toddlers to adults, but the median age was 11. All had severe epilepsy that did not respond to other treatments.
Researchers continue to find new and useful ways to treat a number of medical issues with CBD and hopefully more and more research will continue into the future. This study is a hopeful sign for parents with children afflicted by seizures who really have no options to try and stop them.
And a big shout out goes to Dr. Orrin Devinsky and his team for conducting this research.
Here is the article from the Los Angeles Times - pass it in to those you know who may benefit from it.
http://www.latimes.com/...