Cannabis medicine tested in childhood epilepsy

Doctors in the UK have been given the go-ahead to test the medicine, which does not contain the ingredient that produces the high associated with recreational cannabis use.

The treatment - called Epidiolex - is based on one of the non-psychoactive components of the cannabis plant, called CBD.

UK first

Early studies in the US have shown that treatment with CBD may reduce the frequency and severity of seizures in children with severe forms of epilepsy. The new trial marks the first time the treatment has been tested in the UK.

Clinical trial

Patients are being enrolled for a randomised controlled trial of the treatment at The University of Edinburgh’s Muir Maxwell Epilepsy Centre, based at the Royal Hospital for Sick Children in Edinburgh, and Great Ormond Street Hospital.

The Royal Hospital for Sick Children in Glasgow and Alder Hey Children’s Hospital in Liverpool are also driving the study. There are further centres in the US, France and Poland.

Many children with serious forms of epilepsy do not respond to the medications that we currently have available. We need new means of treating these conditions so that we can give back some quality of life to these children and their families.

Severe epilepsy

The initial focus will be on children with Dravet Syndrome, a rare but serious type of epilepsy that is difficult to treat. Some children will receive the treatment while others will receive a placebo.

In a further phase, researchers will also study the effect on children with Lennox-Gastaut Syndrome.

Only children whose seizures cannot be controlled with existing medications will be invited to take part in the trial.

Dravet Syndrome

Dravet Syndrome usually takes hold in the first year of life. It causes seizures that are often prolonged, lasting longer than five minutes. Patients then develop other seizure types. This has a significant impact on the child’s development and can be fatal in some cases.

Epidiolex

Epidiolex has been developed by the British biotechnology company GW Pharmaceuticals, which is sponsoring and funding the trial.

I welcome the launch of these trials as it marks an important milestone in our long journey towards understanding the condition and improving the treatment of those suffering this severe form of epilepsy. As the mother of a teenager with this life altering condition, I strongly support the exploration of ground breaking medications that could seek out new ways to improve patients’ life quality.