Cannabinoids in the Treatment of Epilepsy: Hard Evidence at Last?

[orthene]

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5767492/

Note: As this is a scholarly article, I am only posting the abstract. The remainder of the article has very good info -much of it over my head. But, follow the above link anyway; there is lots to take away from it.

Abstract
The interest in cannabis-based products for the treatment of refractory epilepsy has skyrocketed in recent years. Marijuana and other cannabis products with high content in Δ(9) - tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), utilized primarily for recreational purposes, are generally unsuitable for this indication, primarily because THC is associated with many undesired effects. Compared with THC, cannabidiol (CBD) shows a better defined anticonvulsant profile in animal models and is largely devoid of adverse psychoactive effects and abuse liability. Over the years, this has led to an increasing use of CBD-enriched extracts in seizure disorders, particularly in children. Although improvement in seizure control and other benefits on sleep and behavior have been often reported, interpretation of the data is made difficult by the uncontrolled nature of these observations. Evidence concerning the potential anti-seizure efficacy of cannabinoids reached a turning point in the last 12 months, with the completion of three high-quality placebo-controlled adjunctive-therapy trials of a purified CBD product in patients with Dravet syndrome and Lennox-Gastaut syndrome. In these studies, CBD was found to be superior to placebo in reducing the frequency of convulsive (tonic-clonic, tonic, clonic, and atonic) seizures in patients with Dravet syndrome, and the frequency of drop seizures in patients with Lennox-Gastaut syndrome. For the first time, there is now class 1 evidence that adjunctive use of CBD improves seizure control in patients with specific epilepsy syndromes. Based on currently available information, however, it is unclear whether the improved seizure control described in these trials was related to a direct action of CBD, or was mediated by drug interactions with concomitant medications, particularly a marked increased in plasma levels of N-desmethylclobazam, the active metabolite of clobazam. Clarification of the relative contribution of CBD to improved seizure outcome requires re-assessment of trial data for the subgroup of patients not comedicated with clobazam, or the conduction of further studies controlling for the confounding effect of this interaction.

We all know the side effects of cannabis, and some of them we quite welcome. Whether to go full spectrum, or just focus on CBD is a personal call. My wife suffers from a seizure disorder which has been identified as "Not Epilepsy", and I believe that her mild to moderate use of cannabis is the reason she has been able to stay off anticonvulsants Tegretol and Dilantin. There is always more than one way to skin a cat (sorry for the term, it was the only euphemism I could think of). You have choices -choose wisely.

Hindsight: a visual would be good here. This is illustrative:

[BurnMan]

I know as a fact from my own personal experience that a steady dose of  50 MG's of CBD will prevent Seizures and Epileptic fits.

One 25mg capsule two times a day.  No need to monitor your kidneys and liver as compared to the every single Pharmaceutical

treatment for both disorders. This is not advice to replace any prescribed meds. It is a combination of my own experiences

along with nationwide reviews from actual patients.

[jbmac]

Amen brother

[tibeirious]

I am going to be ok. 

Thank you so much for being here big brother.
Life is a trip.

I am having trouble with memory and what makes me , me .

[avoca]

We are just process.   Science can't find where in our brains we observe, only data streams , no CPU.... 

Meat antennas more or less.  Reacting.

Our antennas taste eternity though when we abide in /give Love.   The more you give, those muscles grow until pain has to struggle through. 

One simple exercise , while driving or waiting in line etc_-------- Force a focus on peace equanimity to whatever you gaze on, thoughts of peace to their hearts, of wholeness to what's broken.  Breathe in darkness, breathe out light.  A little tank of Love, shoot that love gun random crazy and you'll find yourself in your skin again. 

[jones]

I am going to be ok. 

Thank you so much for being here big brother.
Life is a trip.

I am having trouble with memory and what makes me , me .

My last head injury I road my Moto Guzzi off a cliff after falling asleep on my way to work
I woke up in the hospital 30 days later and my mind had regressed to a time when I was about 13 y/o
In time I returned to my correct self, after a couple of months.

Go easy on yourself, don't force anything--give it time