Cannabis as a Treatment for Epilepsy

Cannabis & Health

Cannabis as a Treatment for Epilepsy

Cannabis has been used as a new-age treatment for many illnesses. For some of these illnesses scientists have not found a cure, so the new addition of medical cannabis was a game changer for many of those suffering. Epilepsy is one illness that has been hugely affected by medical cannabis treatments.

Epilepsy is a neurological disorder. According to the Epilepsy Foundation, it is the fourth most common brain disorder in the world and affects over 50 million people. “Epilepsy causes recurring and unprovoked seizures. Seizures are sudden surges of abnormal and excessive electrical activity in your brain and can affect how you appear or act. Where and how the seizure presents itself can have profound effects. A doctor may diagnose someone with epilepsy if they have two unprovoked seizures or one unprovoked seizure with a high risk of more. Not all seizures are the result of epilepsy. Seizures may relate to a brain injury or a family trait, but often the cause is completely unknown. Additionally, the word "epilepsy" simply means the same thing as "seizure disorders." It does not state anything about the cause of the person's seizures or their severity.” As seizures have no definite causes the most common are genetics, brain trauma, autoimmune disorders, metabolic issues, or infectious diseases. Depending on the patient's age, the common causes for epilepsy changes. For example, in newborns the causes would possibly be “brain malformation, lack of oxygen during birth, low levels of blood sugar, blood calcium, blood magnesium or other problems with electrolytes, problems with a metabolism that a baby is born with, bleeding in the brain, maternal drug use.” For seniors, the possibilities are, “stroke, Alzheimer's disease, head trauma.”

Typically, when diagnosed with epilepsy, patients are given many different pills to combat the disorder and they come with a plethora of side effects. Some side effects can make living with an already difficult disorder harder to deal with. This may be one of the reasons that professionals began looking into cannabis as a treatment for epilepsy. Some of the first trials for medical cannabis being used on epilepsy patients began in 1978 and lasted until 2017. The National Library of Medicine reports the beginning of the multiyear study “conducted a double-blinded clinical trial. A total of nine patients with treatment-resistant epilepsy were included. Out of those nine patients, four were randomly assigned in the CBD group and five in the placebo group. Patients in the CBD group were given 200 mg of CBD daily for three months. Two of the epilepsy patients had no seizure during the whole three months of treatment, and the third one had partial improvement while no improvement was observed in the fourth one.” As time progressed, they tried different types of experiments and came to the conclusion that using cannabis is likely to have positive effects on the patient.

In fact, the United States currently has a plant-based CBD formulation called Epidiolex that has been approved by the FDA for the treatment of epilepsy. “Data from US studies have helped provide evidence that led to the FDA approval of this product on June 25, 2018. Epidiolex is a purified (nearly 98% oil-based) CBD extract from the cannabis plant. It is produced by Greenwich Biosciences (the U.S.-based company of GW Pharmaceuticals) to give known and consistent amounts in each dose. Researchers studied this medicine in controlled clinical trials. These studies used a control group with some people taking a placebo while others were given CBD at different doses. Researchers did not know who was getting the placebo and who was getting CBD.” An FDA-approved medication is pretty incredible when you think about the fact that cannabis is still a Schedule 1 drug.

But, why is it that cannabis has such a good effect on epilepsy? According to PennMedicine, “The marijuana plant consists of more than 400 chemicals. But the ones that concern people seeking relief from seizures are THC and CBD. Each of these components has a very specific role. THC is the psychoactive component in marijuana that gives a euphoric high feeling. CBD does not cause psychoactive effects, but has shown positive effects on certain body systems and may help prevent seizures. Extracted as an oil from the cannabis plant, highly concentrated CBD — as in 98% CBD to 2% THC -- has been proven to manage certain seizures well in small clinical trials, says a December 2014 report from the American Epilepsy Society.” Both THC and CBD have been shown to make huge improvements in patients with epilepsy.

In loving memory of Charlotte Figi (October 18, 2006 - April, 8, 2020)

PHOTO COURTESY CHARLOTTE'S WEB

A real-life story of medical cannabis helping a patient with epilepsy is that of a young girl named Charlotte Figi. Charlotte suffers from Dravet Syndrome (also known as myoclonic epilepsy of infancy or SMEI), a genetic disorder that often causes severe epilepsy. With the help of medical cannabis, high in CBD and low in THC, her seizures have decreased dramatically. Unfortunately, SMEI is known to be rare and severe form of intractable epilepsy. This means the seizures are not controlled by medication. CNN reported that Charlotte's first seizure was hardly 3 months old and it lasted for 30 minutes. Although this was her first seizure, she would not be diagnosed with SEMI until she was almost 3 years old. Luckily for Charlotte, she lived in Colorado which gave her parents easy access to medical marijuana. At 5 years old, Charlotte was having nearly 300 grand mal seizures a week. It was at this point that her parents decided to try medical cannabis. The results were incredible. Charlotte's mother recalled, “When she didn’t have those three, four seizures that first hour, that was the first sign. And I thought well, ‘Let’s go another hour, this has got to be a fluke.’“ But it wasn't until Charlotte's seizures stopped for another hour. And for the following seven days.

In loving memory of Charlotte Figi (October 18, 2006 - April, 8, 2020)

PHOTO COURTESY CHARLOTTE'S WEB

The ending of Charlotte's story is a beautiful one. By the time she was 6 years old, she was living her best life. She only experiences seizures two to three times a month and not only is she able to walk, but she can also ride her bike. Her mother, during Charlotte's toughest moments, contacted The Stanley Bother’s (owners of one of the biggest grows in Colorado) who had grown too much of their high CBD strain and were unable to sell it. Her mother explained their situation and they agreed to sell. As of now, “the marijuana strain Charlotte and 41 other patients use to ease painful symptoms of diseases such as epilepsy and cancer has been named after the little girl who is getting her life back one day at a time. It’s called Charlotte’s Web.” Without the help of cannabis, Charlotte would have likely never had the life she lives now, I cannot imagine how happy her parents are.

In loving memory of Charlotte Figi (October 18, 2006 - April, 8, 2020)

PHOTO COURTESY CHARLOTTE'S WEB

Overall, the way that medical cannabis can be used is very versatile and can help many people. As epilepsy is only one of many, there are stories just as incredible for people with chronic pain, Parkinson’s, cancer, fibromyalgia, and more. If you or a loved one is suffering, if they’re willing, speak with them about looking into treatment with cannabis. Some people don’t even know what they’re missing.