All You Need To Know About Medical Marijuana and Epilepsy

People have an extended and sophisticated historical past with marijuana. Now we have used marijuana for medical functions, making merchandise similar to hemp baggage and clothes, and in fact, for leisure use.

A research printed in The Journal of the Worldwide League Towards Epilepsy reveals that medical marijuana use dates again to 2700 B.C. in China, the place it was used to deal with numerous medical circumstances like gout, malaria, and menstrual problems.

Pew Analysis Heart printed a survey in 2019 that discovered that 91 p.c of People consider within the legalization of marijuana for medical and leisure functions. Many extol the medical advantages of marijuana, together with its use as a remedy for epilepsy.

Epilepsy Signs

Epilepsy is a neurological dysfunction that presents as an epileptic match whereby the topic experiences repeated seizures and typically lack of consciousness. The epileptic match happens as a consequence of irregular electrical exercise within the mind, the fourth most typical dysfunction of the central nervous system. Anybody might expertise an epileptic match no matter age, intercourse, race, or well being.

An epileptic match can embrace quite a lot of totally different and typically contradictory signs. For instance, some folks expertise wild erratic eye motion and can’t focus throughout seizures, whereas others stare blankly. Different signs might embrace:

• Convulsions and shaking
• Non permanent confusion
• Lack of consciousness
• Concern, deja vu, nervousness, and panic

A analysis of epilepsy will likely be made if a affected person experiences two or extra unprovoked seizures. Therapy for this neurological situation contains anti-epileptic medicine (AEDs), surgical procedure, and even a particular ketogenic eating regimen.

There are two varieties of surgical procedure to deal with epilepsy. The primary is the place a surgeon removes a small a part of the mind that’s believed to trigger epileptic seizures. The second kind is the place a small electrical machine is implanted contained in the affected person’s physique that helps management epileptic seizures.

Epilepsy: Causes   

About 50% of individuals with epilepsy don’t have any identifiable trigger. Nevertheless, for the opposite half who expertise epilepsy, the causes will be recognized by means of these components:

 Genetics 

There are lots of varieties of epilepsy. Some run in households; relations can inherit genetic defects or mutations that make them extra delicate to epilepsy triggers.

 Head trauma

The brains of sufferers who’ve suffered from head trauma might swell, which can end in epileptic seizures.

Mind Issues

A stroke, mind tumor, or mind an infection may trigger epileptic seizures. Strokes that contain mind bleeds usually tend to trigger epilepsy, notably in adults over 35 years of age. One research confirmed that 5% of people that had a stroke would expertise one epileptic seizure, and 7% would develop epilepsy inside 30 months after experiencing a stroke.

Different Causes 

Epilepsy can be brought on by different components. These embrace prenatal accidents, alcohol and drug abuse, lack of oxygen throughout delivery, developmental problems, and extra.

 Is Marijuana Helpful in Treating Epilepsy?    

In accordance with altitudeorganic.com, Cannabidiol (or CBD) and Tetrahydrocannabinol are the principle cannabinoids in medical marijuana. Quite a few analysis research have proven that CBD is an efficient anticonvulsant and will be helpful in lowering epileptic seizures.

Moreover, CBD doesn’t produce any antagonistic psychoactive unintended effects and is much less more likely to be abused. Research additionally present that marijuana may help epileptic sufferers who don’t reply to conventional drugs.

Among the few research supporting hashish use as a remedy for epilepsy embrace:

1. A research entitled “Effects of Cannabidiol On Drop Seizures In the Lennox-Gastaut Syndrome” revealed that combining CBD with different seizure drugs result in a major discount in atonic seizures in youngsters and adults.

The research concerned 225 members divided into three teams. Two teams obtained common epilepsy medicines mixed with various quantities of CBD. The third group obtained customary epilepsy treatment and a placebo.

The primary group, which had the best dosages of CBD mixed with different epilepsy drugs, noticed a 41.9% lower within the frequency of seizures. The second group with a lesser dosage of CBD mixed with different epilepsy treatment noticed a 37.2% lower within the frequency of seizures. The third group, composed of sufferers who obtained a placebo and regular epilepsy treatment, noticed a 17.2% lower within the frequency of seizures.

2. A second research printed in The New England Journal of Medication, confirmed comparable outcomes concerning epilepsy remedy with marijuana. The research discovered that 43% of sufferers who got CBD together with seizure treatment skilled a 50% lower in convulsive seizures.

Nevertheless, solely 27% of sufferers handled with CBD alone noticed a 50% lower in convulsive seizure frequency. In different phrases, utilizing CBD alone can cut back the frequency of epileptic seizures and utilizing it with different anti-seizure drugs will increase its effectiveness.

3. Epidiolex, an FDA-approved oral remedy, was discovered to scale back seizures in 54% of sufferers. Seizure treatment didn’t work for sufferers aged 2 to 26.
4. A 2017 research printed in The Journal of Epilepsy Analysis confirmed that seizures had been considerably decreased in two epilepsy circumstances (Lennox-Gastaut Syndrome and Dravet Syndrome) when sufferers obtained a particular dose of CBD merchandise. In some circumstances, seizures even stopped altogether.

 Key Takeaway  

Epilepsy could be a sophisticated dysfunction that impacts the standard of life for each these with it and their family members. There may be substantial scientific proof to counsel that CBD, an lively ingredient of medical marijuana, will be efficiently used to scale back the incidence of epileptic seizures.