- Cannabidiol (CBD) has been approved for use in the treatment of two early-onset, intractable forms of epilepsy, Dravet syndrome and Lennox-Gastaut syndrome, since 2018.
- This decision followed clinical trials showing that CBD could reduce the frequency of seizures in people with these conditions.
- Researchers have now conducted a survey of over 500 carers of people with these forms of epilepsy to determine if CBD has an impact on other aspects of the syndromes.
Many jurisdictions have started to reverse the criminalization of cannabis, often in order to make it easier for people with a medical need for drugs derived from the plant to access treatment.
Cannabidiol, also known as CBD, is a compound found in cannabis and hemp and one of over 100 cannabinoids found in the plant.
Cannabidiol is one of the main cannabinoids that can be extracted from cannabis and is a main component of medical cannabis, alongside THC, which is the compound that causes the psychoactive effects, or ‘high’, associated with cannabis use. CBD does not have a psychoactive effect but can still have some medical applications and is considered an active ingredient.
One of those applications is in the treatment of Dravet syndrome, one of the symptoms of which is early-onset epilepsy that does not respond to treatment, and a significant proportion of children…
