Whole plant medicinal cannabis may be more effective than CBD in treating epilepsy

By Nicolas Jose Rodriguez

The incidence of epileptic seizures decreased by an average of 86% in 10 children treated with medicinal cannabis made from whole plants, according to a case series published in the open access journal BMJ Pediatrics Open.

None of the children had responded to other treatments, including the only cannabidiol (CBD) product approved for their condition, reports medicalexpress.com

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At the suggestion of parents whose children had responded well to medicinal cannabis extracts from whole plants but not to conventional anti-epileptic drugs or purified cannabidiol (CBD oil), medicinal (whole-plant) cannabis was designated as a prescription drug for the treatment of severe childhood epilepsy in 2018. Whole-plant cannabis contains THC, the plant’s primary active ingredient associated with recreational use, CBD, and other neuroactive molecules such as terpenes.

Researchers evaluated the use of whole plant medicinal cannabis in ten children whose severe epilepsy had not responded to conventional treatment, and two of them had not responded to the only purified pharmaceutical-grade CBD oil approved for the condition in children is, Epidiolex, manufactured by GW Pharma. They wanted to evaluate and report the change in monthly seizure frequency and the effects of medical cannabis on changes in the use of conventional epilepsy drugs.

All participants were recruited by two charities that represent children who use medicinal cannabis to treat their severe epilepsy. The mean age of the children was 6 years, but they ranged from 1 to 13 years.

The children had tried an average of 7 conventional epilepsy drugs. After they started using medicinal cannabis, it decreased to an average of 1 each, with 7 of the children completely discontinuing it. The monthly frequency of seizures decreased in all 10 children by an average of 86%.

Full chemical analysis of the whole plant of medicinal cannabis products used is ongoing, but researchers have been able to assess the THC and CBD levels.

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Parents and caregivers reported significant improvements in their children’s health and well-being, including sleep, eating, behavior, and cognition, after starting whole plant medicinal cannabis products. Few minor side effects, such as fatigue, have been reported.

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Although it was an observational study with a small number of participants, the researchers emphasized that the new data suggests that medicinal cannabis products made from whole plants are more effective than CBD products.

This article originally appeared on Benzinga and was republished with permission.