Epilepsy is described as a neurologic condition that causes seizures that often increase over time. And although the specific cause of epilepsy is still unknown, we know that the seizures are caused by neuro–electrical “misfires” between brain cells causing convulsions, severely altered sensual awareness, and even loss of consciousness. The effect on the patient’s quality of life becomes increasingly challenged physically, and typically causes extreme anxiety and eventual depression as the constant expectation of seizure becomes inevitable.
Or, does loads of worldwide research and anecdotal evidence from physicians and their patient’s using CBD therapy show a new direction?
Is this serious and traumatic condition inevitably progressive?
Traditional drug therapies are often proven ineffective and rife with undesirable and dangerous side effects.
So, this article is intended to help provide some answers to these questions surrounding epilepsy. Is CBD and Epilepsy the best alternative treatment to Big Pharma’s drug solutions like their new CBD drug called Epidiolex? Yes, Big Pharma is into CBD in a big way as they typically prefer to position themselves. Time will tell much more about the gorilla in the room.
In the meantime, I’ll be covering the following topics:
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CBD and Epilepsy – The Beginning
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FDA Panel Recommends CBD
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Does Conventional Medicine work for Epilepsy?
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Side Effects of Conventional Treatments
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What is Epidiolex? Does It Work?
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What Does The Evidence Show About CBD?
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CBD Dosage For Epilepsy
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Why Is Nano CBD More Effective?
The New Beginning for CBD and Cannabis
How 5 yr. old, Charlotte Figi, changed the world’s future view about CBD...
Described as “the girl who is changing medical marijuana laws across America”, Charlotte Figi was born on October 18, 2006. At 5 years of age she experienced a reduction in her Dravet Syndrome epileptic seizures after what is described as her first dose of a home-made Cannabis oil extract delivered by her parents. Charlotte’s well-documented experience showed her change in physical health by age 6 walking again and even riding her bike. And experiencing only 2 to 3 milder seizures a month.
Although the original extract administered to Charlotte contained THC, which is the main psychoactive cannabinoid in Cannabis, the Cannabis strain from which the oil was extracted was higher in CBD content than most typical varieties. THC in low proportion is often included in modern CBD therapies for the synergistic and more effective results offered in nature – what you hear referred to as “full spectrum”.
Nevertheless, these essential oils from cannabis quickly evolved into “hemp qualified” products containing less than the regulatory limit of .03% THC (tetrahydrocannabinol). And we were off to the races.
Subsequently, the Internet and streaming videos brought Charlotte right into our homes, shared virally, and clearly lead the way for much of the multi-billion dollar industry it has become in a very short period of time. It was in fact one of the first, widely accepted, CBD products aptly called “Charlotte’s Web” that became an early sales leader in the CBD product industry.
*Note: It was, and largely still is, Dr. Ralph Mecheloum that we owe the credit for the discovery of not only CBD, but the entire endocannabinoid system in all mammals discovered by himself and his associates at the Hebrew National University in Jerusalem. Read more (here)
CBD Recommended by FDA Panel
On April, 19, 2018, all 13 members of the FDA’s Advisory Committee on Peripheral and Central Nervous System Drugs found that patient seizures related to both Dravet Syndrome and Lennox-Gastaut Syndrome are effectively treated with CBD.
Patient results with DS were given 20 mg/kg/day of CBD (over 1,200 mg/day for small sized adult) for a period of 14 days. Result: 39% decrease in convulsive seizure frequency. The same dosage was given to the LGS patients who showed a 42% decrease in seizure frequency.
Fellow panel member Dr. Mark Green agreed, “It is clearly an honor to be making a decision based on science and public interest, rather than political discussion.”
See below for Big Pharma’s quick response to the FDA’s support “What is Epidiolex…”
This was a critical study that resulted in the leverage needed for GW Pharmaceuticals to introduce its new cannabidiol (CBD) drug.
Listen to Dr. Dani Gordon share more about CBD and Epilepsy
Does Conventional Medicine Work For Epilepsy?
Simply put… Not very well. And in most cases not worth the side effects from prescription drugs. Ask any parent of a patient suffering from childhood epilepsy. It’s commonly recognized by physicians that epilepsy drugs are ineffective for about 35% of patients prescribed. The rest of the patients deal with all of the side effects of prescription drugs.
The Epilepsy Foundation claims that “Most authors report that antiepileptic drugs provide complete control for more than half of all patients with epilepsy, and reduce the number of seizures in another 20–30 percent. The remaining 20 percent do not respond to current medications and their condition is termed “intractable” or “refractory to treatment.”
However, many patient surveys show a higher percentage continue to have seizures and describe their treatment as being “more under control” than without the medication. This leaves the answer to the interpretations of effectiveness between the patient and the analyst.
Side Effects of Conventional Treatments For Epilepsy
Typically, patients are prescribed anticonvulsants like ethosuximide, phenytoin, phenobarbital, primidone, and valpproic acid.
Since approximately 30% of epilepsy patients are resistant to conventional medications like these, a completely non-toxic treatment with natural CBD products is becoming increasingly more relevant to Big Pharma and therefore their lobbyists on The Hill.
Nausea
Depression
Diarrhea
Headaches
Double Vision
Rash
Fatigue
Liver Failure
Impotence
Hair Loss
Insomnia
Decreased Appetite
Infections
Weight Gain
What is Epidolex? Better Than Naturally-Extracted CBD?
As a result of clinical studies like the aforementioned, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has recently approved a CBD ‘drug’. This new Big Pharma drug called Epidiolex is manufactured by a leviathan in the industry called GW Pharmaceuticals. It has been approved to treat the aforementioned, and more rare, forms of epilepsy (DS and LGS) where severe and uncontrollable seizures result in learning disabilities in multiple forms such as speech and physical impairments.
The efficacy of Epidolex was also evaluated in 3 more, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical studies that included 516 DS and LGS patients.
Along with the other medications patients were prescribed, Epidiolex was similarly shown to reduce the frequency of epileptic seizures.
According to former FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, “This approval serves as a reminder that advancing sound development that properly evaluate active ingredients in marijuana (ed. such as cannabidiol) can lead to important medical therapies.”
How Much Does Epidiolex Cost?
According to the company, Epidiolex will cost about $2,700/month per patient. However, they state that the estimate does not consider weight or age.
This cost can be compared to another Epilepsy drug called Fycompa which will cost between $1000- $1,500/month.
Regardless of your choice, the majority of the cost will of course be born in form of our collective medical insurance premiums – if you are insured that is. Anyone can see what the effect of more prescription drugs does to the trajectory of our insurance premiums. It is past the point of ridiculous, yet no end in sight.
What The Evidence Shows
Remember Charlotte Figi? The reason I wanted you to know about her, and her family’s experience, is to show you how there is a big gap between the recent clinical studies by the FDA compared to thousands of “anecdotal” facts from patient experiences. Comparatively inferior results are now evident from the new, pharmaceutically manufactured, and insurance-channel-market form of CBD.
Compared to all the thousands of years of documented Cannabis evidence provided by epilepsy patients from all over the world, clearly, Big Pharma is far behind the learning curve.
And therefore, these companies are expected to soon be introducing many more forms of their patented Cannabis extracts. But, how long it will take them to effectively re-create Mother Nature? And what is their point? It's a natural plant that costs virtually nothing grown at home!
CBD Dosage For Epilepsy
According to the Epilepsy Foundation’s community forum, adults treating themselves with non-psychoactive CBD should start with a minimum of 22 mg dose per day.
My experience with patients would expand that to 25 – 33 mg dose every 6- 8 hours for better results. The reason is that CBD remains in the system for 6 – 8 hours before it is completely utilized by the body (even pets). By increasing the frequency of dosing, you keep the CBD working on all your body's major systems. Remember, CB1 and CB2 receptor cells are located throughout the body.
Why Is Nano CBD More Effective?
After interviewing a number of biochemists over the last 4 years, I’ve come to understand why my own experience with nano CBD products (LINK) has been so much more effective for my pain and anxiety symptoms.
Although I’m not suffering from epileptic seizures, I’ve witnessed first-hand the results our members have shared with me at Cannabis Animus. Their results far exceed those from the FDA studies on pharmaceutical CBD mentioned above.
It’s the combination of nanotechnology and nanoscience that has been providing a “delivery pathway” toward more effective CBD therapies.
By reducing the molecular size of CBD to one-millionth the size of its original size, the CBD becomes so small that it can actually break through the “Blood-Brain Barrier” of individual cells. It also becomes virtually 100% bioavailable to our endocannabinoid system.
This bioavailability results in 'bioactivity' which is the real-time effect that we feel in the form of relief. These are important terms to understand.
The increase in bioavailability and resultant bioactivity means that the nano-sized CBD ingested (or inhaled) is effectively 5 – 10 times more effective when it comes to results per equivalent dose.
Nano CBD oil and related products translate to better economics for the patient as well. You don’t have to take 5 to 10 times the dosage of traditional CBD products – nor that much volume/cost$$. Simple math.
SUMMARY
There is no question anymore about how the FDA and Big Pharma feel about cannabidiol (CBD) as an alternative treatment for more forms of epilepsy. It’s more effective in many cases. And, as sure as you are sitting there, they too are aware of the hundreds of other medical conditions where CBD can not only substitute for traditional drug treatments. They are often far superior.
“In conclusion, our data in separate in vitro models of epileptiform activity and, in particular, the beneficial reductions in seizure severity caused by CBD in an in vivo animal model of generalized seizures suggests that earlier, small-scale clinical trials for CBD in untreated epilepsy warrant urgent renewed investigation.”
– National Institute of Health Science
