Study: Epidiolex reduces epileptic seizures by 42%

A study just published by the New England Journal of Medicine suggests that two doses of Epidiolex could significantly reduce the number of epileptic seizures in people with Lennox-Gastaut syndrome.

This research comes after a recent unanimous vote on the safety and efficacy of this drug based cannabidiol (CBD) prior to its future marketing authorization by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the American equivalent of the ANSM for drugs. Three other clinical tests have also produced similar positive results.

Epidiolex contains only natural CBD, unlike Sativex, which contains CBD and THC. Both drugs are produced by the same British company, GW Pharmaceuticals.

In the latest study, a team of researchers brought together 225 people suffering from Lennox-Gastaut syndrome, a severe form of epilepsy. Participants ranged in age from 2 to 55, and came from 30 different countries.

The researchers showed that a lower dose of Epidiolex compared with previous studies was already effective in slowing the number of seizures.

Participants were divided into 3 groups to study how two different doses acted compared with a placebo. The group receiving the lowest dose (10mg per kilo) saw the frequency of atonic seizures fall by more than a third. The placebo group saw this frequency fall by 17%, while the third group with a higher dosage (20mg per kilo) saw a reduction of 42%.

Orrin Devinsky, one of the study's authors, explains that this small dose could be the equilibrium point at which most patients can feel relieved without any side effects, such as drowsiness.

«This new study adds rigorous evidence to the efficacy of cannabidiol on seizure reduction for severe forms of epilepsy and, more importantly, is the first study of its kind to offer more dosage information,» said Orrin Devinsky.

The latter believes that the various research studies on Epidiolex and epilepsy should be sufficient to get the green light from the FDA, in June. It would then be the first natural cannabis-based medicine authorized in the United States (synthetic forms of cannabinoids are already in circulation).

Epidiolex is an oral solution containing 100mg of CBD per mL, dissolved in sesame oil, ethanol, a sweetener and a flavouring agent. The CBD comes from GW Pharmaceuticals plantations, from plants with high cannabidiol content.

Epidiolex is not yet available in France.