There are numerous studies that demonstrate the effectiveness of CBD oil for epilepsy. However, the many real cases and testimonies of people affected by this condition that have proven the effectiveness of CBD extract may be more convincing for those skeptics.
For example, we have the case, among many testimonies, of the six-year-old girl Charlotte Figi from Colorado, who suffered up to 300 attacks due to a variety of incurable epilepsy called Dravet syndrome, and that no antiepileptic treatment was able to alleviate. Charlotte’s parents decided to treat their daughter with a variety of plant that is high in CBD. The frequency of her attacks was surprisingly reduced, with no attacks for a week. After eight months the frequency of her epileptic seizures had dropped by almost 100%. They could never have thought about the effectiveness of CBD for epilepsy.
However, we are still not sure how CBD works in the brain. Some theories point to the action on the CB1 and CB2 cannabinoid receptors present in our brain, within what is called the Endocannabinoid System or SEC. Another explanation, according to recent studies, affirm that it is the 5HT1A receptors, characteristic of the central nervous system and serotonin receptors (substance present in neurons that works as a neurotransmitter), that interact with the compound CBD.
Serotonin or 5-hydroxytryptamine, is responsible for regulating, for example, sleep, appetite, libido, mood, stress management, aggressiveness, body temperature, vomiting, among other physiological functions. When there is an imbalance due to a lack of this neurotransmitter, for example, as these functions can be altered. If we think about depressive states, this symptomatology is frequent. By acting CBD on these 5HT1A receptors, it has an anxiolytic, relaxing, mood-normalizing, antidepressant and sleep-regulating effect. On the other hand, the anti-inflammatory and analgesic effect is not explained in this way.
In any case, according to studies related exclusively to epilepsy, CBD has been shown to produce some type of reaction that slows electrical overactivity in the brain, causing epileptic seizures, either in CB1-CB2 or 5HT1A.
Many of the conventional medicine treatments have been shown not only to be ineffective in combating or alleviating the effects of epilepsy, but also to cause a series of adverse side effects that significantly worsen the patient’s quality of life due to to its toxicity, such as: confusion, dizziness, loss of concentration, nightmares, headaches, hair loss, menstrual disorder, suicidal thoughts.
Research carried out on human patients includes the example of the study carried out by Porter and Jacobson at Stanford University. This study documents the evolution of a group of 19 children (from 2 to 16 years old) who were administered doses of CBD oil and who were previously treated with different types of conventional drugs for the treatment of epilepsy.
The study confirmed that more than 50% of the individuals manifested drastic reductions in the number of seizures after being administered with doses of CBD oil and without the presence of adverse effects, such as those caused by traditional medicine. The dosage consisted of a daily dose of 0.5mg / kg up to 28.6mg / kg. During progressive follow-up, parents and family members stated that patients reduced seizures and seizures entirely after 4 months of uninterrupted daily use. Other cases reached up to 80% (which is not negligible) of reduction in the frequency of epileptic attacks. It should be noted other extra effects such as improved mood, better sleep quality and increased warning signs.
Other parallel studies conducted in healthy patients, administered with doses as high as 600mg of CBD, showed a very good tolerance and without producing psychotic symptoms in the individuals.
Further studies with greater scientific rigidity would be necessary to corroborate the well-founded hypothesis that CBD can be a solution for epilepsy cases. But this Porter-Jacobson study opens up a new horizon and hope for the thousands of people, most of them children and adolescents suffering from epilepsy disease.
What is epilepsy?
It is a disease characterized by abnormal behavior of electrical activity in our brain.
Electrical activity is happening in our brain all the time. A seizure occurs when there is a sudden explosion of intense electrical activity in the brain. This causes a temporary disruption to the way the brain normally works. The result is an epileptic seizure.
There are many different types of seizures. What happens to someone during a seizure depends on what part of their brain is affected. During some types of seizures the person may remain alert and aware of what is happening around them, and with other types they may lose consciousness. They may have unusual sensations, feelings, or movements. Or they can stiffen, fall to the ground, and jerk.
Symptoms of epilepsy
Seizures are the only visible symptom of epilepsy. There are different types of seizures, and the symptoms of each type can affect people differently. The seizures usually last from a few seconds to a few minutes. You can be alerted during the seizure or lose consciousness. You may not remember what happened during the seizure or even realize you had a seizure.
Seizures that cause you to fall to the ground or cause your muscles to tighten or jerk out of control are easy to recognize. But many seizures do not involve these reactions and may be more difficult to notice. Others may consist of only a few muscle contractions, a twist of the head, or a strange smell or visual disturbance perceived only by the seizure sufferer.
Epileptic seizures often occur without warning, although some people may have a glimpse of seizure early in the seizure. The seizure ends when abnormal electrical activity in the brain stops and brain activity begins to return to normal.
Tips for dealing with an epilepsy attack.
What to do:
The first thing is to help the person to lie down on the floor, since seizures can do it more abruptly, having the added risk of hitting the furniture or the floor itself.
Much attention should be paid when approaching the patient since he can hit with any part of the body, with enough force in an unconscious way.
You have to remove any object around you since you can hit or hit others with them.
With seizures one of the most common movements is that of the mouth. For this reason, the mouth will surely move uncontrollably, so try to block the mouth with an elongated and hard object between the teeth, since it can suffer severe damage to the tongue and lips due to uncontrolled bites.
Use a pillow or clothing folded under the head, to avoid shocks during seizures.
It is important not to try to displace the patient during the attack, it is advisable to wait for the attack to end. If these seizures last more than 5 minutes or the epilepsy sufferer is diabetic or pregnant, an ambulance should be called. When the epilepsy attack is over, you should be close to the patient as he will surely be disoriented, even with slight loss of orientation.
What not to do:
The patient should not be assisted with artificial respiration.
Changes in skin color are not due to lack of air, it is due to the reactivity of the cutaneous vessels.
The probability that the patient suffocates with his tongue is non-existent, the noises in the seizures are due to poor coordination of breathing and increased secretions.
The epileptic should not be shaken or hit. Keep the patient calm without shaking or knocking
The epileptic seizure starts and ends suddenly.
The technique of massaging the forehead with alcohol is a rumor, it is useless in a seizure. On the other hand, it can cause injury to the patient when alcohol reaches the eyes.
There is no point in supplying medicines in epileptic seizures. The patient is unconscious, epilepsy causes the mechanism to swallow this uncoordinated. Even anti-seizure drugs do not work instantly, they are supposed to work when they reach the blood in considerable amounts and after at least a week.
Once the epilepsy attack is over, no sedative is necessary. After the crisis, no sedative is needed.