Review of CBD as add-on treatment for severe childhood epilepsy syndromes
CBD (Epidiolex) represents the first new class of antiepileptic drugs and has demonstrated efficacy as adjunctive treatment for seizures in Lennox-Gastaut and Dravet syndromes.
Quick Facts
What This Study Found
The review critically examined CBD's pharmacology and recent clinical trial data showing its efficacy and safety as add-on treatment for LGS and DS, two severe childhood epilepsy syndromes where existing treatments fail to control seizures in most cases.
Key Numbers
Epilepsy affects approximately 70 million people worldwide. Up to one-third are resistant to existing anticonvulsant therapy.
How They Did This
Critical review of CBD pharmacology and the most recent clinical studies evaluating efficacy and safety as adjunctive treatment for LGS and DS seizures.
Why This Research Matters
Up to one-third of epilepsy patients are treatment-resistant. LGS and DS are among the most severe forms, and CBD represents the first genuinely new mechanism of action for these patients in years.
The Bigger Picture
CBD's approval for epilepsy marked a turning point for cannabinoid medicine, moving from anecdotal reports and unregulated products to FDA-approved pharmaceutical-grade treatment with rigorous clinical trial support.
What This Study Doesn't Tell Us
Review summarizes existing clinical trial data rather than presenting new findings. Long-term outcomes and optimal dosing strategies are still being established.
Questions This Raises
- ?Could CBD be effective for other treatment-resistant epilepsy syndromes beyond LGS and DS?
- ?What is the optimal long-term dosing strategy?
Trust & Context
- Key Stat:
- First new antiepileptic class
- Evidence Grade:
- Strong: review based on multiple randomized controlled trials of pharmaceutical-grade CBD.
- Study Age:
- Published in 2019.
- Original Title:
- Cannabidiol as adjunctive treatment of seizures associated with Lennox-Gastaut syndrome and Dravet syndrome.
- Published In:
- Drugs of today (Barcelona, Spain : 1998), 55(3), 177-196 (2019)
- Authors:
- Lattanzi, S, Trinka, E, Russo, E, Striano, P, Citraro, R, Silvestrini, M, Brigo, F
- Database ID:
- RTHC-02125
Evidence Hierarchy
Summarizes existing research on a topic.
What do these levels mean? →Frequently Asked Questions
What are Lennox-Gastaut and Dravet syndromes?
They are severe, treatment-resistant epilepsy syndromes that begin in early childhood, where currently available medications fail to control seizures in most patients.
Is CBD the same as medical marijuana for epilepsy?
CBD (Epidiolex) is a pharmaceutical-grade, purified form of cannabidiol without psychoactive THC, distinct from artisanal cannabis products used informally for epilepsy.
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-02125APA
Lattanzi, S; Trinka, E; Russo, E; Striano, P; Citraro, R; Silvestrini, M; Brigo, F. (2019). Cannabidiol as adjunctive treatment of seizures associated with Lennox-Gastaut syndrome and Dravet syndrome.. Drugs of today (Barcelona, Spain : 1998), 55(3), 177-196. https://doi.org/10.1358/dot.2019.55.3.2909248
MLA
Lattanzi, S, et al. "Cannabidiol as adjunctive treatment of seizures associated with Lennox-Gastaut syndrome and Dravet syndrome.." Drugs of today (Barcelona, 2019. https://doi.org/10.1358/dot.2019.55.3.2909248
RethinkTHC
RethinkTHC Research Database. "Cannabidiol as adjunctive treatment of seizures associated w..." RTHC-02125. Retrieved from https://rethinkthc.com/research/lattanzi-2019-cannabidiol-as-adjunctive-treatment
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.