CBD helps lower seizures in some adults with Dravet, study shows
Findings support 'growing body of evidence' of treatment's efficacy
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Treatment with cannabidiol (CBD) can help reduce the frequency of seizures for some adults with Dravet syndrome and other forms of childhood-onset epilepsy, a study showed.
The study reported data from 37 adults with epilepsy who underwent CBD treatment at three medical centers in Spain. After one year of follow-up, slightly fewer than half of these patients experienced a reduction in seizure frequency of at least 50% compared with pre-CBD rates.
“In our study, CBD treatment was associated with a reduction in seizure frequency in a substantial proportion of patients,” the researchers wrote, noting that the benefits seen were consistent with those of other studies done in children with these disorders.
“The findings support a growing body of evidence highlighting the efficacy of CBD across age groups and epilepsy etiologies in real-world clinical practice,” the team wrote.
The study, “Effectiveness and safety of cannabidiol in adult patients with epilepsy: A multicenter, retrospective study,” was published in Epilepsia Open. The work was funded by Jazz Pharmaceuticals, which markets a pharmaceutical-grade formulation of CBD called Epidiolex that is approved to treat seizures in Dravet patients aged 1 and older.
Treatments aim for fewer seizures
Dravet syndrome symptoms include seizures that usually begin in childhood. Reducing seizure frequency is a central goal of Dravet treatment.
CBD is a compound found in the cannabis plant. It is not psychoactive, meaning it doesn’t trigger a high, but it’s been found to have a range of anti-inflammatory and mood-modulating effects. CBD has also been shown to be able to reduce seizure frequency in people with Dravet syndrome and other forms of childhood-onset epilepsy. In the U.S., Epidiolex is approved for Dravet syndrome, Lennox-Gastaut syndrome, and tuberous sclerosis complex.
Studies of CBD in people with Dravet and other forms of childhood-onset epilepsy have mainly focused on its effects on children. There’s less data available on the efficacy of CBD treatment in adults with these conditions.
The 37 adults in the study had Dravet, Lennox-Gastaut, or tuberous sclerosis complex. Results showed that after six months of CBD treatment, nearly two-thirds (64.9%) of patients experienced a reduction in seizure frequency of at least 25%, and almost half (48.6%) experienced a reduction of at least 50%. These rates were similar after a year of follow-up.
A handful of patients also saw reductions in seizure duration after starting CBD. In 11 of the patients, caregivers reported that CBD treatment led to improvements in behavior or daily functioning. The researchers noted that there was no clear relationship between CBD’s effects on seizure frequency and its impact on behavior.
“In this retrospective, real-world study, we observed a significant reduction in seizure frequency and cognitive-behavioral improvements during CBD treatment in adult patients,” they wrote.
However, they added, “interpretation of cognitive and behavioral findings requires caution, as these observations were not assessed using standardized neuropsychological instruments and may be influenced by expectation bias.”
Use of CBD also allowed many patients to stop taking other anti-seizure medications (ASMs). Prior to CBD, the median number of ASMs per patient was four, but after initiating CBD, this dipped down to three.
“Reductions in concomitant ASM usage during CBD treatment would be expected to reduce [side effects] and improve treatment retention,” the scientists noted.
CBD was generally tolerated well. The most common side effects included drowsiness and irritability, which in a few cases led to treatment discontinuation.
“Overall, we observed no additional safety concerns with CBD treatment beyond its established profile,” the researchers wrote.
The scientists stressed that theirs was a small study limited to a few dozen patients at a single institution. Nonetheless, they said, the data are broadly in line with other research on the use of CBD in childhood-onset epilepsy.
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