Compound in Marijuana Can Help Epileptic Patients

A new study points out that a compound found in marijuana can help patients with severe epilepsy.

A new study reveals that a compound found in marijuana might help patients suffering from severe and untreatable epilepsy. According to the study’s abstract, CBD or cannabidiol oil, a compound in cannabis, can decrease the severity and frequency of epileptic seizures.

The new study was presented at the 70^th Annual Meeting of the American Epilepsy Society. Doctor Jerzy P. Szaflarski, the director of UAB Epilepsy Center, a professor of neurology, and the study’s senior researcher, declared that the study’s findings can benefit patient suffering from intractable epilepsy.

In addition, the study’s senior researcher declared that the highly-refined CBD extract used in the clinical trials do no produce euphoria like marijuana, but it induces a good mood. Should the findings be confirmed, Szaflarski added, new CBD-based therapies can be developed.

In order to study the interaction between cannabidiol oil and epileptic seizures, the professor of neurology and his research team asked the assistance of 81 patients, all of them suffering from a severe form of epilepsy.

The study group consisted of 39 adults and 42 children. According to the preliminary interviews, each experience five or more seizures per month. During the trial, all patients were injected with an oily liquid, synthesized from CBD.

The study’s results are more than encouraging for epilepsy patients – approximately 68 percent of patients experienced 25 percent fewer seizures, and more than 58 percent experienced a 50 percent decrease in frequency.

Furthermore, according to the results, approximately 10 percent of patients did not experience any more epilepsy seizures after a six-month treatment. Unfortunately, the study has produced some unexpected results.

According to the team, a few of the patients participating in the clinical study experienced more frequent and severe epileptic seizures after receiving treatment.

Before the treatment can be approved for more patients suffering from epilepsy, the team must determine why certain patients experience positive effects after treatment, while others do not.

While this approach seems to have produced some negative side-effects, it would seem that it the positive effects are greater. If implemented, CBD could help many patients struggling with this condition.

Furthermore, the marijuana-based extract could replace other types of medication currently employed to manage this condition. At the moment, the team is preparing for the next stage of this project in which they’ll study why the extract discriminates between patients diagnosed with the same condition.

Image source: Wikipedia

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Ryan Harris

Ryan has started his career as a web developer and designer before joining us. He enjoys the creativity work and loves experimenting with various techniques in both print and web. He covers the social media, technology and gadgets updates.