A study published in the journal Epilepsy & Behavior presents the results of the use of cannabinoids in epilepsy patients. Researchers have found that people using CBD to reduce epilepsy symptoms reported a higher quality of life and improved sleep quality, as well as better tolerance to drugs used to treat epilepsy. Patients also experienced reduced psychological symptoms, i.e. anxiety, during the use of CBD.
“Pharmaceutical CBD is currently a prescription restricted drug, and coverage is often limited to only those patients with specific approved indications. As a result, a large number of epilepsy patients are choosing to use [artisanal] CBD alternative products commonly sold as dietary supplements by commercial vendors, 'the study reads.
The study was funded by the non-profit Cannabinoid Therapies foundation Realm of Caring, and was conducted by a research group at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.
The researchers analyzed the results of surveys of 280 epilepsy patients who found that they used so-called "artisanal" CBD products and 138 patients who did not use cannabis products. Participants were selected using Realm of Caring's patient registries and social media posts, and follow-up surveys were collected from a subset of 190 participants.
“Improved quality of life, lower psychiatric symptom scores and better sleep have been observed among those using the artisanal CBD product. Users of artisanal CBD have reported significantly better drug tolerance for epilepsy, less likelihood of using prescription drugs and traditional use of anticonvulsants, and less use of healthcare compared to controls. " - we read in the study.
Unfortunately, the study has some limitations due to the fact that it was based on self-reported data by patients. "These limitations mean that we are unable to directly verify the characteristics of epilepsy, and we have no control over factors such as CBD dose or frequency of administration."
Entire study available on Epilepsy & Behavior
"Cross-sectional and longitudinal evaluation of cannabidiol (CBD) product use and health among people with epilepsy" https://www.epilepsybehavior.com/article/S1525-5050(21)00466-2/fulltext
