Cannabis Use In Childhood Refractory Epilepsy

Do you suffer or know someone who suffers from epilepsy? Epilepsy is a disease of worldwide distribution and is more common than we think. It affects people of all ages, genders or social status. Approximately 50 million people in the world live with seizures characterized by convulsive events, making epilepsy one of the most common neurological diseases globally. But there is a more complex situation; 25 to 30 % of epileptics, i.e. about 20 million people worldwide, are drug refractory. This means that a patient's epileptic seizures are very frequent or the anticonvulsant treatment does not control the seizures. That is why, in the absence of satisfactory clinical results in the treatment of epilepsy, patients, parents and health professionals have joined forces over the years to seek more effective therapies with mechanisms of action with clearer answers than conventional mechanisms of action. In 2013, a television channel released a documentary about a girl named Charlotte Figi, who suffered from a rare form of epilepsy; Dravet Syndrome! This is one of the multiple types of syndromes associated with refractory epilepsy. Do you know what it is like to live with Dravet Syndrome? It means that Charlotte suffered dozens of daily, uncontrollable seizures that reduced her life and that of her family members to dealing with this disease. Charlotte's childhood was not like that of any other child. Hope for a change began when the Stanley brothers of Colorado produced a potent cannabis-based medication. In fact, Charlotte used to experience around 300 seizures a month, but after she was given low-THC cannabis oil, her number of seizures dropped to just 4 a month. In honor of her story, her progress and the social movement she sparked among parents and epilepsy patients, the strain of cannabis used in the oil was named "Charlotte's Web." Currently, most of the studies on the influence of cannabis in the improvement of epilepsy symptoms consider the use of cannabinoids as an adjuvant and synergistic treatment with the basic treatment. This allows, in most cases, to gradually suppress a drug or reduce its dose, with the consequent benefit. However, clinically, the use of cannabis has never been considered as the only drug, nor as the first therapeutic option. Despite this, 90% of the patients who received CBD showed some degree of reduction in seizure frequency. Approximately 60% improved other aspects such as behavior, alertness, language, motor skills, communication, and sleep. Adverse events were reported by 46% of patients, and only 14% had to discontinue treatment. Given these figures, many patients and parents who use cannabis as a treatment for epilepsy recognize that medicine should be focused on conducting more research leading to the borderless legal use of cannabis oil for the treatment of epilepsy symptoms.

Scientific interest in cannabinoid research is currently experiencing a significant increase because of changing attitudes toward Cannabis and the evolving awareness of its pharmaceutical benefits. Coincidently, numerous jurisdictions are moving toward legalizing Cannabis and Cannabis-derived products, which reflects a larger global movement to understand Cannabis and its bioactive chemicals for their potential biomedical uses, harms, and economic value. Research activities are surging to fill important knowledge gaps in the field of cannabinoids as they continue to be identified. The purpose of this book is to summarize some leading areas of research in the cannabinoid field where knowledge gaps are actively being addressed. The research described herein spans basic biological and clinical research.

Significant changes have taken place in the policy landscape surrounding cannabis legalization, production, and use. During the past 20 years, 25 states and the District of Columbia have legalized cannabis and/or cannabidiol (a component of cannabis) for medical conditions or retail sales at the state level and 4 states have legalized both the medical and recreational use of cannabis. These landmark changes in policy have impacted cannabis use patterns and perceived levels of risk. However, despite this changing landscape, evidence regarding the short- and long-term health effects of cannabis use remains elusive. While a myriad of studies have examined cannabis use in all its various forms, often these research conclusions are not appropriately synthesized, translated for, or communicated to policy makers, health care providers, state health officials, or other stakeholders who have been charged with influencing and enacting policies, procedures, and laws related to cannabis use. Unlike other controlled substances such as alcohol or tobacco, no accepted standards for safe use or appropriate dose are available to help guide individuals as they make choices regarding the issues of if, when, where, and how to use cannabis safely and, in regard to therapeutic uses, effectively. Shifting public sentiment, conflicting and impeded scientific research, and legislative battles have fueled the debate about what, if any, harms or benefits can be attributed to the use of cannabis or its derivatives, and this lack of aggregated knowledge has broad public health implications. The Health Effects of Cannabis and Cannabinoids provides a comprehensive review of scientific evidence related to the health effects and potential therapeutic benefits of cannabis. This report provides a research agendaâ€"outlining gaps in current knowledge and opportunities for providing additional insight into these issuesâ€"that summarizes and prioritizes pressing research needs.

This volume highlights the recent advances in the understanding of the endocannabinoid system and the likely benefit from the therapeutic effects of cannabinoid treatment in a variety of health issues. Archeological evidence has shown that Cannabis has a long history of use for multiple purposes, including the treatment of medical conditions. The primary active constituent of the hemp plant Cannabis sativa, delta 9-tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ9-THC), causes euphoria, enhancement of sensory perception, tachycardia, antinociception, difficulties in concentration and impairment of memory, among other effects. Despite these undesirable effects, signaling is mostly inhibitory and suggests a putative role for cannabinoids as therapeutic agents by managing several diseases where inhibition of neurotransmitter release would be beneficial. The themes of this book have been edited and written by world-leaders in the field, The contents of the volume aims at readers from a range of academic and professional disciplines, such as biomedicine, several areas of biology, neurology, clinical medicine and pharmacy.

Marijuana is the most commonly used psychotropic drug in the United States, after alcohol. With the legalization and decriminalization of cannabis, momentum continues to build and propelled by the reduction of stigma associated to its consumption, there is growing concern regarding the long-term impact on brain function and behavior. Cannabis and the Developing Brain aims to provide comprehensive research on the effects of cannabis during neurodevelopment stages (i.e., perinatal and adolescent ages). This book introduces readers to vivo neural circuits, molecular and cellular mechanisms affected by cannabis exposure during three different temporal windows of brain vulnerability. Second, it offers a unique insight to shared neurobiological features of cannabinoid exposure during different developmental periods. Lastly, Cannabis and the Developing Brain determines the adverse impact of developmental cannabinoid exposure on specific cognition, emotion and behaviors. Reviews exposure effects on different areas and circuits of the brain Identifies effects of exposure at prenatal, perinatal, infant, and adolescent ages Includes cannabis interaction with known genetic and environmental risk factors Contains neurodevelopment and neuropsychiatric disorders associated with cannabis exposure

At the last Annual Representative Meeting of the British Medical Association a motion was passed that `certain additional cannabinoids should be legalized for wider medicinal use.'' This report supports this landmark statement by reviewing the scientific evidence for the therapeutic use of cannabinoids and sets the agenda for change. It will be welcomed by those who believe that cannabinoids can be used in medical treatment. The report discusses in a clear and readable form the use and adverse effects of the drug for nausea, multiple sclerosis, pain, epilepsy, glaucoma, and asthma.

An inside look at how patients living with terminal illness created one of the country’s first medical marijuana collectives Marijuana as medicine has been a politically charged topic in this country for more than three decades. Despite overwhelming public support and growing scientific evidence of its therapeutic effects (relief of the nausea caused by chemotherapy for cancer and AIDS, control over seizures or spasticity caused by epilepsy or MS, and relief from chronic and acute pain, to name a few), the drug remains illegal under federal law. In Dying to Get High, noted sociologist Wendy Chapkis and Richard J. Webb investigate one community of seriously-ill patients fighting the federal government for the right to use physician-recommended marijuana. Based in Santa Cruz, California, the Wo/Men’s Alliance for Medical Marijuana (WAMM) is a unique patient-caregiver cooperative providing marijuana free of charge to mostly terminally ill members. For a brief period in 2004, it even operated the only legal non-governmental medical marijuana garden in the country, protected by the federal courts against the DEA. Using as their stage this fascinating profile of one remarkable organization, Chapkis and Webb tackle the broader, complex history of medical marijuana in America. Through compelling interviews with patients, public officials, law enforcement officers and physicians, Chapkis and Webb ask what distinguishes a legitimate patient from an illegitimate pothead, good drugs from bad, medicinal effects from just getting high. Dying to Get High combines abstract argument and the messier terrain of how people actually live, suffer and die, and offers a moving account of what is at stake in ongoing debates over the legalization of medical marijuana.

Epilepsy care traditionally focuses on seizures, yet for most epilepsy sufferers, other interictal factors such as mood, cognitive abilities, and treatment adverse effects most influence how they feel and function day to day. Epilepsy and the Interictal State is a practical and comprehensive text that covers quality of life issues, cognition and therapy, adverse effects of epilepsy treatments, mood state and psychiatric co-morbidity and general health aspects of epilepsy. Each chapter employs a standard structure providing background, epidemiology, pathophysiology, etiology, diagnosis, treatment, prognosis and further practical advice. From an international team of expert editors and contributors, Epilepsy and the Interictal State is a valuable resource for specialist epileptologists and neurologists, as well as for neurosurgeons, neurology nurses, psychiatrists, family physicians and general practitioners.