Long-term CBD-enriched cannabis reduced seizures by 71% in children with drug-resistant epileptic encephalopathies
In 59 children with drug-resistant epileptic encephalopathies treated with CBD-enriched cannabis for a median of 20 months, 78% achieved at least 50% seizure reduction and 12% became seizure-free.
Quick Facts
What This Study Found
After a median 20 months of treatment, 78% of children had ≥50% seizure reduction and 47.5% had >75% reduction. Seven patients (11.9%) achieved seizure freedom. Median seizures decreased from 305/month to 90/month (71% median reduction, p<0.0001). Adverse effects were mostly mild to moderate. Treatment was discontinued in 28.8% due to lack of response, increased seizures, intolerance, or poor compliance.
Key Numbers
59 patients; mean age 10.5 years; median follow-up 20 months; 78% achieved ≥50% seizure reduction; 47.5% achieved >75% reduction; 11.9% seizure-free; median seizures 305/month to 90/month; 28.8% discontinued.
How They Did This
Prospective cohort study of 59 children (age 2-17, mean 10.5 years) with drug-resistant developmental and epileptic encephalopathies receiving CBD-enriched medical cannabis oil as add-on therapy. Median follow-up of 20 months (range 12-32).
Why This Research Matters
This is one of the longer follow-up studies of CBD for pediatric drug-resistant epilepsy, showing that benefits are sustained over time and not just a short-term effect.
The Bigger Picture
While pharmaceutical CBD (Epidiolex) has shown efficacy in controlled trials for specific epilepsy syndromes, this study suggests CBD-enriched cannabis oil may benefit a broader range of drug-resistant epileptic encephalopathies over extended treatment periods.
What This Study Doesn't Tell Us
Open-label without placebo control. Single center. Heterogeneous epilepsy types. Cannot separate CBD effects from other cannabis components. Nearly 30% discontinued treatment. No cognitive or quality-of-life outcome measures reported.
Questions This Raises
- ?Which specific epileptic encephalopathy subtypes respond best?
- ?How do these results compare to pharmaceutical CBD (Epidiolex)?
- ?What predicts which patients will respond vs. discontinue?
Trust & Context
- Key Stat:
- 78% achieved ≥50% seizure reduction over 20 months
- Evidence Grade:
- Prospective cohort with extended follow-up, but open-label design and no placebo control limit causal claims.
- Study Age:
- Published in 2022 with enrollment from 2018-2020.
- Original Title:
- Long-term use of cannabidiol-enriched medical cannabis in a prospective cohort of children with drug-resistant developmental and epileptic encephalopathy.
- Published In:
- Seizure, 95, 56-63 (2022)
- Authors:
- Caraballo, Roberto(5), Reyes, Gabriela(2), Demirdjian, Graciela(2), Huaman, Marina, Gutierrez, Robinson
- Database ID:
- RTHC-03741
Evidence Hierarchy
Enrolls participants and follows them forward in time.
What do these levels mean? →Frequently Asked Questions
How much did seizures decrease with CBD treatment?
Median seizures dropped from 305 per month to 90 per month, a 71% reduction. Nearly 12% of children became completely seizure-free, and 78% had at least a 50% reduction.
Were there side effects from long-term CBD use in children?
Adverse effects were mostly mild to moderate. However, about 29% of patients stopped treatment due to lack of response, increased seizures, intolerance, or poor compliance, showing that CBD does not work for everyone.
Read More on RethinkTHC
- CBD-oil-quality-guide
- anxiety-medication-after-quitting-weed
- cannabis-chemotherapy-nausea
- cannabis-chronic-pain-research
- cannabis-epilepsy-CBD-Epidiolex
- cbd-anxiety-research-evidence
- cbd-for-weed-withdrawal
- cbd-vs-thc-difference
- medical-benefits-of-cannabis
- quitting-weed-before-surgery
- quitting-weed-medication-interactions
- quitting-weed-pregnancy
- quitting-weed-pregnant
- seniors-older-adults-cannabis-risks-medications
- weed-breastfeeding-THC-breast-milk
Cite This Study
https://rethinkthc.com/research/RTHC-03741APA
Caraballo, Roberto; Reyes, Gabriela; Demirdjian, Graciela; Huaman, Marina; Gutierrez, Robinson. (2022). Long-term use of cannabidiol-enriched medical cannabis in a prospective cohort of children with drug-resistant developmental and epileptic encephalopathy.. Seizure, 95, 56-63. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.seizure.2022.01.001
MLA
Caraballo, Roberto, et al. "Long-term use of cannabidiol-enriched medical cannabis in a prospective cohort of children with drug-resistant developmental and epileptic encephalopathy.." Seizure, 2022. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.seizure.2022.01.001
RethinkTHC
RethinkTHC Research Database. "Long-term use of cannabidiol-enriched medical cannabis in a ..." RTHC-03741. Retrieved from https://rethinkthc.com/research/caraballo-2022-longterm-use-of-cannabidiolenriched
Access the Original Study
Study data sourced from PubMed, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health.
This study breakdown was produced by the RethinkTHC research team. We analyze and report published research findings without making health recommendations. All interpretations are based solely on the published abstract and study data.