While up to 70% of people with epilepsy are able to control seizures with antiepileptic drugs, around 30% of seizures continue to occur despite the availability of many antiepileptic medications. Some people experience very few epileptic seizures, while others suffer from many severe and harmful seizures daily.
Regardless of the number of seizures, epilepsy can significantly affect quality of life. However, the treatment gap has led people to seek alternatives, including CBD.
Epilepsy combined with CBD Research suggests that compounds derived from the cannabis plant may reduce the severity and frequency of seizures in some people, especially in children with catastrophic epileptic disorders.
There is evidence that the use of CBD in combination with other treatments may benefit some patients with specific conditions.
Evidence
The evidence supporting the use of CBD is stronger in the treatment of certain epileptic seizures in children. When antiepileptic drugs do not fully control the disease, CBD products as a complementary treatment can improve the quality of life for children and young adults under 25 years old.
What is epilepsy?
Epilepsy is a tendency to have recurrent seizures. There are many different types of seizures, but they are always the result of abnormal electrical activity in some part of the brain.
A seizure occurs when the nerve cells in the brain malfunction and generate a sudden and uncontrolled burst of electrical activity in the brain.
The orderly communication between nerve cells is interrupted, and thoughts, feelings, or movements become temporarily confused or uncontrolled.
Many people experience a seizure at some point in their lives, but it is not necessarily epilepsy because the risk of recurrence is low. Many children with epilepsy will outgrow it by the time they reach adulthood. For some people, the tendency for recurrent seizures may be a lifelong predisposition.
What is CBD?
Cannabidiol, or CBD, is found in the stems and flowers of cannabis and does not have mind-altering properties. It has shown some positive effects on certain bodily systems and may help control epileptic seizures.
Unlike recreational cannabis, CBD does not contain the properties that cause the "high" or "stoned" effect. It is a completely legal product in the Netherlands because it only contains very low amounts of THC. However, cannabidiol that contains THC at higher levels (more than 0.3%) is illegal.
The term "cannabidiol" also refers to cannabinoids, which are chemical substances found in the plant. These substances act on the body's cells (receptors). There are more than 100 cannabinoids in the cannabis plant. Two main components, which are currently the subject of research, are tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD). THC is the main psychoactive component of cannabis. Effect of CBD on epilepsy It has already been demonstrated that CBD, one of the main cannabinoid components of cannabis, has antiepileptic, anxiolytic, and antipsychotic effects.
CBD interacts directly or indirectly with many different receptors in the brain. It indirectly affects the brain's main cannabinoid receptor by reducing its stimulation. It also interacts with a variety of other receptors.
