Commercial hemp cannabidiol continued to demonstrate benefits to Dravet syndrome and Lennox-Gastaut syndrome patients. Many patients consumed CBD for epilepsy for the last two years on average. CBD not only improves their emotional functioning, executive function, communication, and cognition but also reduced their seizure frequency.
The findings are from the so-called BECOME poll of about 500 caregivers of individuals with the two epileptic conditions mentioned above. Survey presenter Anne Berg stated that it showed anecdotal evidence from caregivers and parents that cannabidiol may have a perceptible effect on the cognition and behavior of several patients.
The FDA has approved cannabidiol as a treatment option for the seizures that are associated with the aforementioned conditions in patients aged 1 year or above. Cannabidiol is also indicated for the seizures that come with tuberous sclerosis.
Survey responders originated from a database of Dravet syndrome patients or Lennox-Gastaut syndrome patients who got 100 milligrams of oral CBD for at least three months. The survey made caregivers compare the last period of the poll with the time before starting cannabidiol.
The questionnaire was formed based on questions from not just validated measures but also caregiver reports. There were no adverse events assessed in this survey on CBD and epilepsy.
Most survey respondents are parents. The age of patients was 16 years on average, and 52% of them are male. Patients consumed a median dosage of 14 milligrams per kilogram daily for two years on average and four concomitant medications for seizures on average.
Most caregivers reported that patient seizure frequency improved since the start of cannabidiol as a treatment option. The improvements were noticed in drop seizures, night-time seizures, convulsive seizures, and non-drop/non-convulsive seizures. Around one out of five survey respondents reported relapse of at least a form of seizure.
Several respondents stated that their epileptic seizures had become less severe, whereas 67% of them reported more days without seizures per week. Up to 16% of the respondents stated that patients were seizure-free over the month before the survey.
Most caregivers planned on continuing cannabidiol treatment for seizures. While most stated that they would persist with the treatment option since patients had reduced seizure burden, 77% cited betterments in outcomes unrelated to seizures.
The limitations of the piece of research include possible selection and recall bias because of the study design concerned.