“A new study involving 11 epilepsy centers across the United States shows that a drug made from a medical marijuana derivative can reduce seizures in children and young adults with epilepsy who don’t find relief from other treatments.
Almost a third of patients with epilepsy don’t respond to standard treatments, and marijuana-based medicines have drawn interest as having potential benefits, but scientific data on their effectiveness has been slim until now.
The new research involved 137 patients between the ages of one and 30 years old. It found that a medical marijuana derivative called cannabidiol (CBD) helped reduce seizure frequency in most children and young adults enrolled in the yearlong study.
Cannabidiol was also well-tolerated and safe, lead author Dr. Orrin Devinsky, professor of neurology, neurosurgery, and psychiatry and director of the Comprehensive Epilepsy Center at NYU Langone Medical Center, told CBS News.”
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/marijuana-derived-drug-reduces-seizures-in-hard-to-treat-epilepsy/
“Cannabidiol in patients with treatment-resistant epilepsy: an open-label interventional trial.” http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26724101