A trial conducted in Europe and the USA has shown that cannabidiol – a drug derived from cannabis but with the psycho-active elements removed – reduces seizures in children with a form of drug resistant epilepsy, known as Dravet syndrome.
The study was led by NIHR GOSH BRC cross cutting theme lead Professor Helen Cross, in collaboration with New York University.
In the trial one hundred and twenty children with Dravet syndrome across Europe and the USA were given two daily doses of cannabidiol orally for fourteen weeks. At the end of the study the average number of severe seizures reduced by nearly 40%. For 5% of patients, seizures stopped completely.
The research, Trial of Cannabidiol for Drug-Resistant seizures in the Dravet Syndrome, was published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
Read the press release.