Epilepsy
Epilepsy is a neurological condition that affects the nervous system, causing seizures or periods of unusual behaviour, which occur when electrical signals in the brain become confused, temporarily affecting how the brain works. Although it can affect anyone at any age, the seizures tend to begin in childhood or in people over 55-years-old and affect 65million people worldwide and around 500,000 people in the UK. It’s usually diagnosed after a person has had at least two seizures (or after one seizure with a high risk for more) that were not caused by another known medical condition.
What Are The Symptoms?
Seizures can affect people in different ways. The NHS describes uncontrollable jerking and shaking, a sensation of stiffness, losing awareness and staring blankly into space, strange sensations, such as a “rising” feeling in the stomach, unusual smells or tastes, and a tingling feeling in your arms or legs, collapsing or passing out and not remembering what happened. There are many types of seizures and symptoms that you can read about here.
What Causes Epilepsy?
When the electrical signals in the brain become scrambled, they can cause sudden bursts of electrical activity, which causes seizures but it’s not clear why that happens. The individual may have inherited a gene from one or both parents, or a genetic change might have happened as cells divided and formed in the body. In newborns, a lack of oxygen at birth, brain malformation, and intracranial hemorrhage are some of the causes. In the elderly, strokes, Alzheimer’s disease, and trauma are risk factors, and in adults, brain injuries, genetics, a stroke, a brain tumour, a severe head injury, drug or alcohol misuse, congenital conditions that exist from birth, brain infection and brain diseases can all incite epilepsy.
How Can Medical Cannabis Help With Epilepsy?
CBD, the non-psychoactive compound, has been shown to have anti-seizure, antipsychotic, antidepressant, and anti-anxiety effects, thanks to its anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties and neuroprotective success. A 2019 review titled Cannabinoids in the Treatment of Epilepsy: Hard Evidence at Last? describes the results of studies when daily CBD is added on to pre-existing anti-epileptic drugs and found that the results were superior to placebo in reducing the frequency of seizures in patients with Dravet syndrome, rare, drug-resistant epilepsy that begins in the first year of life in an otherwise healthy infant, and Lennox-Gastaut syndrome, a severe form of epilepsy that typically becomes apparent during infancy or early childhood.
In November 2018, a landmark government decision meant that specialist doctors in the UK were authorised to prescribe medicinal cannabis to people with a limited number of conditions, including epilepsy. At the moment there is one cannabis-based medicine that has been licensed for treating epilepsy, called Epidyolex, which contains pure CBD and is available on the NHS as a treatment option for individuals with Dravet syndrome and Lennox-Gastaut syndrome.
Further Reading
How and where to safely buy RSO medical cannabis oil online
Introduction to Medical Cannabis
Help and Advice
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Disclaimer: Please note that whilst we consider ourselves subject matter experts regarding Medical Cannabis, we are not medical professionals. We are a Medical Cannabis information resource, educating and helping those in need. Whilst we are very strong believers in the benefits of Medical Cannabis, there is still limited evidence that Medical Cannabis can treat/cure all the illnesses we discuss on our website. We recommend you do as much research as possible, and where practical seek professional medical advice before proceeding with Medical Cannabis oil.