Could Marijuana Benefit Patients with Epilepsy?

A liquid form of marijuana could help treat patients (including children) with severe epilepsy who have not responded to other treatments, according to a recent study.

“So far there have been few formal studies on this marijuana extract,” said Orrin Devinsky, MD, the lead author of the study and director at New York University Langone Comprehensive Epilepsy Center. 
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“These results are of great interest, especially for the children and their parents who have been searching for an answer for these debilitating seizures,” he said.

For the study, researchers evaluated 213 patients with severe epilepsy who ranged from toddlers to adults (a median age of 11).

The participants all displayed 10 types of sever epilepsy in addition to Dravet syndrome and Lennox-Gastault syndrome, which can cause lifelong seizures.

Researchers administered the drug cannabidiol to patients—the part of marijuana that does not include psychoactive effects or a “high.” The drug comes in liquid form and is taken orally on a daily basis.

While participants were taking the drug, investigators measured the number of seizure incidences.

After a 12-weeks, researchers found that the number of seizures waned by a mean of 54% for the 137 participants who completed the study. For participants with Dravet syndrome, seizure manifestation decreased by 53% at the end of the study.

Further, researchers observed a 55% decrease in the amount of atonic seizures—which causes sudden loss of muscle tone—in the 11 participants with Lennox-Gastaut syndrome.

Twelve people (6%) stopped drug use due to side effects during the study period.

The most common side effects were diarrhea, fatigue, drowsiness, and decreased appetite.

The complete study will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology’s 67th Annual Meeting in Washington, DC, April 18 to 25, 2015.

-Michelle Canales Butcher

References:

American Academy of Neurology. Medical marijuana liquid extract may bring hope for children with severe epilepsy. April 13, 2015. www.aan.com/PressRoom/Home/PressRelease/1364. Accessed April 15, 2015.