Studies prove the tremendous marijuana effectiveness on epilepsy
A large study has demonstrated the effect of marijuana on epilepsy. Whenever medical marijuana is discussed the most promising outcome of its usage is reduction in the convulsive seizures by half or more percentage in case of epilepsy.
To figure this out more comprehensively, a course of therapy was undertaken for 261 patients who received the treatment for around 3 months. Large proportion of them had treatment-resistant epilepsy (TRE) with Dravet Syndrome (DS) and Lennox-Gastaut Syndrome (LGS). On an average, the seizures frequency reduction was 45.1% overall and 63% in DS patients. Although the treatment had astonishing results, there were certain adverse sign with somnolence, diarrhea, fatigue and decreased appetite being the most prominent.
How did this treatment work?
Everything medical about marijuana boils down to either THC or Cannabinoids. In this case the ingredient that works is CBD, the most abundant cannabiniod. This is non psychoactive and has an anticonvulsant efficacy in humans and many other species. It is noted that some of the children and adults who were admitted for this program based on observational study showed complete elimination of seizures as well.
The methods of treatment are also specified in the study. The patients are kept over a 4 week baseline. There is a gradual increase of dose from the basic level to a higher level which is declared safe. Initially the amount given is 2-5 mg/kg/day but towards the final stages it is achieved to as high as 25 mg/kg/day. Moreover, these patients’ reports were scrutinized regularly at 2-4 week intervals during initial 12 weeks of therapy. They were tested for kidney function, liver function and AED levels as compared to what they fix at the baseline.
The following are most astounding records as a result of therapy:
45% overall reduction of seizures
71% median reduction for patients with LGS
9% of patients got seizure freedom post 3 months
13% DS patients had seizure freedom
47% patients had seizures reduction of more than half the initial amount
63% frequency reduction in DS patients
It is observed that CBD as a part of entire plant regimen is much more effective than CBD alone. A normal CBD was observed to bring seizures in a patient from 300 per month to around 50 and to as low as 8 with full plant extracts. These figures are based on a study finding the relation between marijuana and epilepsy. Just like this one, there are countless stories about the goodness of marijuana, its miraculous effect on epilepsy.
