A groundbreaking study conducted at the University of Alabama Birmingham has found that cannabidiol (CBD) is an effective treatment for seizure disorders not treatable with traditional methods. The research began in 2015 after the Alabama legislature passed Carly’s Law, which allowed the UAB Epilepsy Center and Children’s of Alabama to study CBD’s efficacy in treating intractable seizure disorders.
The results, published in the Journal of Epilepsy and Behavior, showed that CBD reduces adverse events and seizure severity. It also appears to be accompanied by a reduction in overall seizure frequency.
“This is a highly significant reduction in the number of seizures that the majority of patients experienced, nearly a two-thirds reduction across the entire study population. Some patients experienced an even greater reduction of seizure frequency.” — Martina Begin, MD, professor in the Department of Neurology at the School of Medicine and principal investigator of the study’s pediatric arm
These extraordinary results come on the heels of the Federal Drug Administration having approved — for the first time, ever — a drug derived from cannabis. Epidiolex, a CBD oral solution, is already improving children’s lives.
CBS 4 Miami recently reported on Maya Adache, an 11-year-old with an intractable seizure disorder, who saw an immediate reduction in her seizures after taking Epidiolex.
“We stopped noticing the seizures almost immediately,” Adam Adache, Maya’s father, told CBS 4 Miami. “From the standpoint that her mood has really changed, she’s a much happier person.”
Dr. Ian Miller, Maya’s physician, added to the family’s jubilance, saying that, “She has responded incredibly well, as close to a miracle response as you can have to an epilepsy medication.”