Patients treated with the new drug saw more than a 40 per cent drop in the frequency of their seizures Cannabis oil (CBD) has been used to treat a serious form of epilepsy
Lennox-Gastaut syndrome is a rare type of epilepsy that causes severe seizures The clinical trial involved a new experimental drug, called Epidiolex
Cannabis oil could be used to treat the rarest and most severe forms of epilepsy.
Known as CBD, the chemical has been incorporated within a new drug, called Epidiolex.
In early trials, the experimental drug was given to sufferers of Lennox-Gastaut syndrome, a form of epilepsy which triggers severe seizures.
Patients treated with the cannabis-derived compound experienced a 41.9 per cent reduction in 'drop seizures'—a type of fit that results in severe loss of muscle control and balance.
Cannabis oil has previously been reported to help people with epilepsy, rheumatism, migraines, psoriasis, acne, multiple sclerosis and depression. Crucially, cannabidiol oil does not contain any THC, the psychoactive component of cannabis. In other words, CBD does not get you high.
In the latest study researchers looked at patients who suffer from Lennox- Gastaut, a severe form of epilepsy which causes extreme seizures and significant mental disability.
There are currently six medications approved to treat this condition but patients are often still struck down with extreme bouts of fitting. This study, led by Orrin Devinsky, professor of neurology, neurosurgery, and psychiatry at NYU School of Medicine, took 225 patients with the condition.