Children with rare epilepsies continue to respond to CBD

This study reviewed the effectiveness of the UK Early Access Program designed for children with Lennox-Gastaut syndrome (LGS) or Dravet syndrome (DS). These are rare, but severe forms of treatment-resistant epilepsy.

This program allowed children to be treated with purified cannabidiol, in the form of a single medically-approved brand of CBD isolate (100 mg/mL oral solution), since standard treatments are usually ineffective for these types of epilepsy. It was published in March 2025 in Epilepsy and Behavior Reports.

There were 26 children (73% male) included at baseline, ages 3 to 17. All were patients who had been diagnosed with LGS or DS and were in specialty care between November 2018 and January 2020. Seizure frequency and type were recorded within the 1-month baseline period and over 3-month intervals up to 12 months.

Dosages:

They started at a dose of 2 mg/kg/day and it was increased by 2 mg/kg/day each week until a target maintenance dosage of 10 mg/kg/day was reached. Physicians could continue or discontinue increasing dosage until improvements were recorded. For reference, 10 mg/kg/day is a dose of about 360 mg per day for an 80 lb. child.

The median actual dosage at 6 months was 6.0 mg/kg/day, and at 12 months was 7.3 mg/kg/day. 7.3 mg/kg/day is a dose of 265 mg per day for an 80 lb. patient. The maximum recorded dosage was 11.5 mg/kg/day which is about 418 mg for an 80 lb. child.

Results (median):

  • 56.7% reduction in motor seizures at 6 months
  • 60.0% reduction in motor seizures at 12 months
  • over half of patients achieved ≥ 50% reduction in seizure frequency per month after 12 months of CBD treatment
  • one-third of patients achieved ≥ 75% reduction in seizure frequency per month after 12 months of CBD treatment

The most common adverse event reported was gastrointestinal (diarrhea, constipation, vomiting). 38% of patients reported at least one gastrointestinal event after 3 months, but this number was reduced to 13% after 12 months.

 

Authors' conclusion:

Results demonstrate a reduction in motor seizures and a safety profile consistent with previous studies.

 

While these results are certainly impressive, other studies have shown that using full-spectrum CBD oil (not CBD isolate) was even more effective, even for patients who did not respond to CBD isolate. Our summary of one of these studies is here. There is considerable published research on cannabinoids and epilepsy. We have summarized some of the more recent research here.

The full text article for this study is here at PubMed Central.

 

Source:

Eltze C, Alshehhi S, Ghfeli AA, Vyas K, Saravanai-Prabu S, Gusto G, Khachatryan A, Martinez M, Desurkar A. The use of cannabidiol in patients with Lennox-Gastaut syndrome and Dravet syndrome in the UK Early Access Program: A retrospective chart review study. Epilepsy Behav Rep. 2024 Nov 23;29:100731. doi: 10.1016/j.ebr.2024.100731. PMID: 39898301; PMCID: PMC11786083.

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