CBD Shows Promise for Drug-Resistant Epilepsy in Kids

Source: European journal of neurology

Summary

This study looked at how effective and safe cannabidiol (CBD) is for children with drug-resistant epilepsy. Researchers included 103 patients, mostly around 11 years old, who started using CBD between 2019 and 2021. Some of these patients had conditions that CBD is officially approved to treat, like Lennox-Gastaut syndrome and Dravet syndrome, while others used it for different types of epilepsy.

The results showed that many caregivers noticed a decrease in seizure frequency and duration after one month of using CBD. Specifically, 54% reported fewer seizures, and 62% felt positively about the treatment overall. As time went on, about half of the patients continued to show improvements in seizures and also made gains in communication, alertness, and motor skills. The study found that most patients continued using CBD for a long time, with 55% still on it after 18 months.

These findings are important because they suggest that CBD can be effective and well-tolerated for children with hard-to-treat epilepsy, even when used for conditions not officially approved. However, the study has limitations, such as being based on caregiver reports and not having a control group for comparison. More research is needed to understand how CBD works for different types of epilepsy beyond those it is currently approved to treat.

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