Clinical outcome data of children treated with cannabis-based medicinal products for treatment resistant epilepsy - analysis from the UK medical cannabis registry.
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Published version
Author(s)
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
BACKGROUND: There is a paucity of high-quality evidence of the efficacy and safety of cannabis-based medicinal products in treatment of treatment-resistant epilepsy (TRE) in children. METHODS: A case series of children (<18 years old) with TRE from the UK Medical Cannabis Registry was analyzed. Primary outcomes were ≥50% reduction in seizure frequency, changes in the Impact of Pediatric Epilepsy Score (IPES), and incidence of adverse events. RESULTS: Thirty-five patients were included in the analysis. Patients were prescribed during their treatment with the following: CBD isolate oils (n = 19), CBD broad-spectrum oils (n = 17), and CBD/Δ9-THC combination therapy (n = 17). Twenty-three (65.7%) patients achieved a ≥50% reduction in seizure frequency. 94.1% (n = 16) of patients treated with CBD and Δ9-THC observed a ≥50% reduction in seizure frequency compared to 31.6% (n = 6) and 17.6% (n = 3) of patients treated with CBD isolates and broad-spectrum CBD products, respectively (p< 0.001). Twenty-six (74.3%) adverse events were reported by 16 patients (45.7%). The majority of these were mild (n = 12; 34.2%) and moderate (n = 10; 28.6%). CONCLUSION: The results of this study demonstrate a positive signal of improved seizure frequency in children treated with Cannabis-based medicinal products (CBMPs) for TRE. Moreover, the results suggest that CBMPs are well-tolerated in the short term. The limitations mean causation cannot be determined in this open-label, case series.
Date Issued
2023-01-30
Date Acceptance
2022-12-13
Citation
Neuropediatrics: journal of pediatric neurobiology, neurology and neurosurgery, 2023, 54 (3), pp.174-181
ISSN
0028-3797
Publisher
Thieme Gruppe
Start Page
174
End Page
181
Journal / Book Title
Neuropediatrics: journal of pediatric neurobiology, neurology and neurosurgery
Volume
54
Issue
3
Copyright Statement
© 2023. The Author(s). This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, permitting unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction so long as the original work is properly cited. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
License URL
Identifier
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/36539215
Publication Status
Published
Coverage Spatial
Germany
Date Publish Online
2022-12-20