Study: Medicinal cannabis can ease seizures in childhood epilepsy

The outcome of a retrospective study suggests a combination of CBD and THC-based products are effective in reducing seizure frequency in a range of epileptic conditions.

The study Ending the pain of children with severe epilepsy? An audit of the impact of medical cannabis on 10 patients shows that cannabis-based medicinal products (CBMPs) can offer patients significant relief from intractable epilepsy. According to the researchers, all ten patients used combined CBD and THC-based products (Bedrolite and Bedica), and the result was ‘statistically significant’. Of the ten patients enrolled in the study, 97% experienced a reduction in monthly seizure frequency after treatment with CBMPs.

The paper came out just before the British newspapers headlined about the struggle of English epileptic patients to get cannabis oil from the Netherlands after Brexit.

Despite the positive outcome of this study, authors Rayyan Zafar, Anne Katrin Schlag and professor David Nutt do not ignore the high costs and difficulties of accessing the treatments in the UK. “We highlight the inefficacy of the healthcare system in supporting these patients who bare great personal and financial burdens. We encourage specialist physicians and relevant bodies to permit easier access to these medications by those patients to whom efficacy has been shown.”