CBD confirmed to reduce seizures in patients with a severe form of epilepsy

Seizures are not only frightening for those who experience them and those who witness them; they can also be extremely dangerous when sufferers lose consciousness or control and fall down. Unfortunately, doctors have yet to find a way to stop them entirely. However, a new study is giving a lot of people hope after finding that taking CBD caused a significant drop in the number of seizures experienced by people who have a severe form of epilepsy. Researchers from the NYU School of Medicine reached this conclusion after carrying out a randomized, double-blind, large-scale study that involved people with Lennox Gastaut syndrome, a severe form of epilepsy that is notoriously difficult to control. People who suffer from the syndrome experience serious cognitive impairment and several types of seizures, including frequent drop seizures. Also known as atonic seizures, these are characterized by a sudden lack of tone and strength in the muscles that can cause an individual to fall to the ground. They remain conscious, but their eyelids can droop, their head might drop, and they tend to drop objects that they are holding. It’s not unusual for sufferers to injure themselves while in the midst of such seizures, which is why preventing them is so essential. There are currently six medications approved for treating these seizures in sufferers, but they don’t stop the seizures from occurring. In hopes of finding a better treatment, the researchers looked at 225 patients between the ages of 2 and 55 with the condition. They were divided into groups that received either 20 mg/kg/d of CBD, 10 mg/kg/d of CBD, or a placebo for a period of 14 weeks. The researchers kept track of the number of seizures participants experienced starting four weeks ahead of the study to get a baseline number, as well as throughout the study, and for a four-week period afterward. (Read more)

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