Study: Families of Children With Epilepsy Report Benefits From CBD Extracts

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA — The adjunctive use of non-standardized CBD extract products is associated with subjective benefits in children with treatment-resistant epilepsy, according to data published in the journal Scientific Reports.A team of researchers from the University of Sydney interviewed 41 families who reported using extracts as a treatment for their child’s epilepsy, and performed analytical testing on the products. Most families reported obtaining extracts from underground medicinal cannabis providers.Seventy-five percent of the products evaluated in the study met criteria of perceived effectiveness. Forty-three percent of the products were associated with a reduction in the child’s use of conventional anti-epileptic medications.Article continues after adAdvertisementInvestigators reported that the cannabinoid profiles varied significantly among the products analyzed in the study. They found that almost all of the products contained some levels of THC, and that most products possessed relatively low percentages of CBD despite being marketed as CBD-dominant.“Overall, there were no significant differences in the cannabinoid content of extracts perceived as ‘effective’ compared to those perceived as ‘ineffective, nor in total mg cannabinoid content,” authors concluded.In June, the US Food and Drug Administration for the first time granted market approval for the use of standardized, plant-derived CBD (aka Epidiolex) in the treatment of rare forms of pediatric epilepsy.Full text of the study, “Composition and use of cannabis extracts for childhood epilepsy in the Australian community,” appears in Scientific Reports. Tags: , , , , ,