What are the Benefits of CBD for Epilepsy?

Medical benefits of CBD (Cannabidiol) stretch far and wide. With the recent legalization in several countries, many more people are turning to it for relief. CBD is a chemical component of the hemp plant.

More and more people are using CBD products to alleviate epilepsy symptoms. Epilepsy is a disorder that affects the central nervous system disrupting normal brain function. An epileptic attack leads to seizures, loss of focus, and even immobility.

CBD has proven effective in benefiting children and adults with different forms of epilepsy. Recently, the FDA approved the first CBD medication for epilepsy called Epidiolex, for treating rare forms of epilepsy in young children. It’s the only such drug with CBD that you can get a doctor’s prescription to purchase legally.

Benefits of CBD for Epilepsy

When a person with epilepsy gets a seizure attack, they behave abnormally due to unusual activity in the brain. Also, they can become unconscious for some time. The epilepsy medications work to control this erratic behavior and control the rate at which seizures occur.

However, not all forms of epilepsy are fully controllable using medication. CBD works well with two types, namely Dravet and LGS syndrome. CBD controls seizures when you have one of the two forms of epilepsy.

Both the syndromes start when you are a child and can result in having numerous seizures at a time. When you have Dravet syndrome, it affects your general development, and overall, it can be traumatizing. LGS seizures are some of the most intrusive and challenging to control of the two.

Since the two syndromes cause severe seizures, it’s been a challenge getting proper medication for them. Even the current anti-seizure drugs don’t work on reducing the frequency. However, a combination of the drugs and CBD shows a drop in the rate of seizures in patients.

A study conducted in 2017 called ‘The Use of Cannabidiol for Seizure Management in Patient with Brain-Tumor Related Epilepsy’ proved that combining epilepsy medication and CBD looks promising. The two work to reduce the rate of seizures which the anti-seizure medicine can’t do on their own.

Epidiolex: One of a Kind

Epidiolex is the first CBD epilepsy medication to get approval from the FDA. More research is underway for many other CBD products like CBD tablets and CBD Sprays. The approval was formalized on 28th June 2018, making history across the country.

The drug is a type of CBD oil or CBD tincture that is taken orally by epileptic patients. Epidiolex has proven effective in treating Dravet and Lennox Gastaut Syndrome syndromes. The youngest a patient can use it if from 2 years old and above.

These two epileptic syndromes are severe, with multiple seizures, and can be brutal, especially in children. The CBD drug has shown tremendous results and benefits patients currently living with the two syndromes.

Epidiolex is not an over the counter drug and can only be purchased with a prescription. It costs around $32500 every year to use this new drug for effective seizure-control. Most medical insurance covers the cost for patients since it’s now regarded as a legal drug.

Conclusion

Epilepsy can be detrimental to one’s life due to frequent seizures and even loss of awareness. For severe forms of epilepsy, the seizures attack at a faster rate. Using a combination of CBD and anti-seizure medications is proving useful.