CBD for Seizure Explained

Have you heard that CBD can deal with several health conditions, including seizures? Find out more about CBD used for treating seizures in this article.

Seizure is a health condition mainly caused by changes in the electrical activity in a person's brain. There are many types of seizures, but the potential causes include epilepsy, sleep deprivation, drug overdose, brain disorders, traumatic brain injuries, and electrolyte imbalances in the brain.

CBD is an active chemical compound found in hemp or cannabis sativa. Several scientific studies link it to pain reduction, coping with anxiety symptoms, and dealing with seizures. Dissimilar to THC, an active compound in cannabis, CBD doesn't have psychoactive compounds meaning it can never get you high. Let's look at studies conducted to determine the effects of CBD in dealing with seizures.

How Does CBD Work to Deal with Seizures?

There is no clear evidence showing how CBD works to alleviate seizures. However, some experts have explained how CBD reacts in a person's body.

The body features an endocannabinoid system with neurotransmitters and social receptors linked to all body parts. The system is believed to control all the body processes like breathing, digestion, appetite, sleep, immune system, breathing, and pain control. When you consume CBD, it interacts with the receptors linked to these processes, thus allowing it to regulate them. Small-scale animal research shows that CBD's ability to deal with seizures comes about by reducing the excitements in the neurons by acting on the GPR55 and TRPV1 receptors.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved CBD to deal with epilepsy, which frequently causes seizures. The drug is known as Epidiolex, and its efficiency is higher than the original drug used to deal with epilepsy because it doesn't have any side effects. The FDA also approved CBD used to deal with seizures due to a genetic disorder known as Tuberous sclerosis complex.

How Effective Is CBD When Dealing with Seizure?

No clear evidence shows CBD is effective when dealing with seizures since the studies are still in infancy. CBD's research is limited by its restrictions in some states and distribution regulations. That means its study is slow; hence results take longer to show. The most promising studies are done on people with any three conditions that FDA approved CBD for dealing with seizures.

CBD for Lennox-Gastaut syndrome

Lennox-Gastaut syndrome is a seizure condition that affects two to five percent of children dealing with episodes of epilepsy. According to Laux et al. (2019), the effects of Epidiolex on dealing with seizures in people struggling with Lennox-Gastaut syndrome were observed. The following were discovered.

In the First Study

Researchers compared the ability of 20 milligrams per kilogram of CBD (Epidiolex) daily with placebo. They found that:

• Half of the drug participants experienced a forty-two percent reduction in seizures.
• The remaining participants in the placebo tests experienced at least twenty-two percent reduced seizures.

In the Second Study

Researchers compared the effects of ten milligrams per kilogram of CBD daily to deal with seizures in a placebo. In both studies, participants who took Epidiolex had fewer seizures than participants who took a placebo. They discovered that:

• Half of the test subjects who took the first CBD dose experienced a forty-two percent reduced seizure.
• Half of the test subjects who took the second dosage of CBD experienced a thirty-seven percent reduction in seizure cases.
• Half of the placebo group participants experienced 17 percent reduced seizures.

CBD for Dravet Syndrome

Dravet syndrome is a rare but tragic form of epilepsy that causes seizures. It is characterized by a person's poor response to medication, regardless of how health experts try. According to Lattanzi et al. (2021), the effects of 20 milligrams per kilogram of CBD taken daily with placebo were compared. The participants' age ranged from 2 and 8 years. The study discovered that participants who took CBD for seizures experienced about a thirty-six percent drop in seizure frequencies. The placebo group only experienced a reduction of seventeen percent.

CBD for Tuberous Sclerosis Complex

Tuberous Sclerosis Complex is a rare seizure condition that occurs in one per six thousand gathered people. It's more of a genetic disorder that causes the development of non-cancerous tumors in several body parts. When the tumors occur in the brain, it leads to seizures. In one clinical trial, researchers examined the effects of consuming 25 milligrams per kilogram of CBD, and fifty milligrams per kilogram of CBD, compared to a placebo in dealing with seizures. The trial involved 148 participants with this complex symptom of a seizure. After the study, forty-eight percent of the participants experienced better conditions with CBD, while twenty-four were of the placebo group.

CBD and Causes of Seizures

High-quality research is needed to determine if CBD effectively deals with other causes of seizures. Fortunately, some early studies gave us promising results.

According to Geffrey et al. (2015), CBD enhances the effect of clobazam medication, which is frequently used to deal with epilepsy. Morano et al. (2020) suggested that CBD may balance the effects of other antiepileptic drugs.

According to Devinsky et al. (2018), CBD alleviates signs of epilepsy, such as:

• CDKL5 deficiency disorder
• Aicardi syndrome
• Doose syndrome
• Dup15q syndrome

After the studies, participants experienced fifty-four percent reduced seizure attacks every month. After one year, the average percentage dropped to twenty-two pointy five monthly. After four years of study, the percentage decreased significantly.

The Best Way to Use CBD for Seizures

If you plan to use CBD for seizures, you are advised to seek medical advice. Doctors who are familiar with the effects of CBD will help you determine if CBD will affect other medications you take to deal with seizures. Moreover, the doctor can also help you determine the frequency of seizures and if CBD will be effective or not.

The Bottom Line

Seizure is a health condition mainly caused by changes in the electrical activity in a person's brain. There are many types of seizures, but the potential causes include epilepsy, sleep deprivation, drug overdose, brain disorders, traumatic brain injuries, and electrolyte imbalances in the brain.

CBD is an active chemical compound found in hemp or cannabis sativa. It is non-psychoactive and, therefore, cannot make you feel high. It interacts with the endocannabinoid system to regulate several body functions such as sleep, digestion, anxiety, and mood. Several scientific studies link it to pain reduction, coping with anxiety symptoms, and dealing with seizures.

References

Laux, L. C., Bebin, E. M., Checketts, D., Chez, M., Flamini, R., Marsh, E. D., ... & CBD EAP study group. (2019). Long-term safety and efficacy of cannabidiol in children and adults with treatment resistant Lennox-Gastaut syndrome or Dravet syndrome: Expanded access program results. Epilepsy research, 154, 13-20.

Lattanzi, S., Trinka, E., Striano, P., Zaccara, G., Del Giovane, C., Nardone, R., ... & Brigo, F. (2020). Cannabidiol efficacy and clobazam status: a systematic review and meta‐analysis. Epilepsia, 61(6), 1090-1098.

Geffrey, A. L., Pollack, S. F., Bruno, P. L., & Thiele, E. A. (2015). Drug-drug interaction between clobazam and cannabidiol in children with refractory epilepsy. Epilepsia, 56(8), 1246–1251.

 Morano, A., Fanella, M., Albini, M., Cifelli, P., Palma, E., Giallonardo, A. T., & Di Bonaventura, C. (2020). Cannabinoids in the Treatment of Epilepsy: Current Status and Future Prospects. Neuropsychiatric disease and treatment, 16, 381–396. https://doi.org/10.2147/NDT.S203782

Devinsky, O., Verducci, C., Thiele, E. A., Laux, L. C., Patel, A. D., Filloux, F., Szaflarski, J. P., Wilfong, A., Clark, G. D., Park, Y. D., Seltzer, L. E., Bebin, E. M., Flamini, R., Wechsler, R. T., & Friedman, D. (2018). Open-label use of highly purified CBD (Epidiolex®) in patients with CDKL5 deficiency disorder and Aicardi, Dup15q, and Doose syndromes. Epilepsy & behavior : E&B, 86, 131–137. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.yebeh.2018.05.013.