According to the findings, a drug derived from cannabis offers hope for thousands of children living with untreatable epilepsy.
Cannabidiol, a medicine made out of cannabis but with the psycho-active elements removed, halved the seizures suffered by children with a severe form of the condition.
The study is published in the prestigious ‘New England Journal of Medicine’. Cannabidiol is one of at least 113 active cannabinoids identified in cannabis.
It is a major phytocannabinoid, accounting for up to 40 per cent of the plant’s extract. Cannabidiol was recently reclassified by the Victorian government to a schedule four substance, making it a legal prescription drug.
Study leader, Professor Helen Cross, consultant in paediatric neurology at Great Ormond Street Hospital, said: “The results of this study are significant and provide us with firm evidence of the effectiveness of cannabidiol.
“This drug could make a considerable difference to children, who are living with Dravet syndrome and currently endure debilitating seizures.”
Cross said it could also be effective for children and adults with other forms of untreatable epilepsy, although this would have to be tested.
She said it could not be considered a ‘cure’ – because patients have to keep taking it every day for the benefits to last. According to her, one child she has treated has taken it for four years with no side effects.
And she stressed the drug is a pharmaceuticallydeveloped treatment – and parents should not be tempted to use cannabis oils available illegally online, or even cannabis itself, neither of which have the same effect.
The drug’s manufacturer, Cambridge-based GW Pharmaceuticals, which funded the trial, is to apply for a licence for the drug from the European Medicines Agency by the end of the year.
Study co-leader, Professor Orrin Devinsky, from New York University, added: “Cannabidiol should not be viewed as a panacea for epilepsy but for patients with especially severe forms who have not responded to numerous medications, these results provide hope that we may soon have another treatment option.”
