A medical trial found CBD reduced seizures in patients with a rare and severe form of epilepsy.
Adjunctive cannabidiol, or Epidiolex, was used to treat patients with tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC), during a phase III pivotal trial, reports MedPage Today.
Seizure frequency dropped from baseline by 49% with daily doses of CBD at 25mg per day and by 48% with CBD at 50mg per day. The placebo rate was 27%.
Elizabeth Thiele, MD, PhD, of the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, said: “Our findings suggest this formulation of purified CBD offers patients with TSC a new treatment option for their very difficult-to-manage seizures.”
Epidiolex takes the form of a highly purified oral solution of CBD. It is the only CBD product approved by the FDA.
In 2018 drug firm GW Pharmaceuticals won Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for Epidiolex to treat two other rare epilepsies, Dravet syndrome and Lennox-Gastaut syndrome.
“I think this study highlights that purified oral CBD may help a wide range of epilepsy syndromes and seizure types,” Daniel Friedman, MD, of NYU Langone Comprehensive Epilepsy Center in New York City, said.
In September it was reported CBD could be used to treat Angelman syndrome, a rare neurodevelopmental condition.
Research by scientists at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine show it may alleviate seizures and normalise brain rhythms
The research, published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation, used animal models to show that CBD could benefit children and adults with the condition.
Angelman syndrome causes intellectual disability, speech problems, brain rhythm dysfunction, and epilepsy.
