New Study: Better Quality of Life for Epilepsy Patients Using CBD
The September issue of the Science Direct Journal of Epilepsy and Behavior has just published research led by the John Hopkins University School of Medicine in which researchers dug deep into how and...
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The September issue of the Science Direct Journal of Epilepsy and Behavior has just published research led by the John Hopkins University School of Medicine in which researchers dug deep into how and why CBD helps people with Epilepsy. They evaluated cross-sectional and longitudinal associations of artisanal CBD product use with quality of life, mental health, healthcare utilization, and epilepsy-specific outcomes with a very broad group of individuals with the seizure disorder. Data was taken to compare the effects of those who used CBD products as well as other cannabinoid based products.
It's important to note that CBD did not give any better seizure control than other cannabis products – although the studies primary focus was on primarily on CBD and how it worked for the patients. Multiple surveys were done on the patients using plant medicine as well as on control subjects who were not. One of the highlights is that people taking the strong anti-seizure medications were able to handle them better with less side effects when they used cannabinoids – and the fact that users had far less mental health issues than those who only used pharmaceuticals.
Researchers stated "Artisanal CBD Users reported significantly better epilepsy medication tolerability, use of fewer prescription medications overall, and reduced healthcare utilization compared with Controls. These findings are consistent with research indicating that practitioners recommending CBD in clinical care for epilepsy report integrating the use of CBD both as a means to improve patient quality of life as well as for seizure control."
News of how CBD helps patients has flooded the airwaves since the Farm Bill passage that allowed hemp to grow once again in the United States with federal support. Various studies, research papers, and even clinical trials have highlighted one cannabinoid as being the go to for those with Epilepsy. Studies that feature other cannabinoids have been scant to say the least with focus on CBD as funding sources are within this cannabinoid.
Researchers also focused on the limited availability of pharmaceutical CBD and how patients who went into the open market gained various strengths of CBD. They stated that patients often decide to use CBD products that are less refined than the pharmaceutical version and include other elements of the plant. Many are already aware that controlled studies evaluating the efficacy or safety of 'over the counter' CBD are extremely rare, making conclusions about these products uncertain at best.
The Global Cannabinoid Research Center's stance on this is that we've only scratched the surface and studies like this are a good sign of that. Funds and laws must loosen up for us to prove other cannabinoids should be featured in research articles such as this one. As well, the study focus was on both Pharmaceutical CBD and OTC or what they refer to as Artesian. A commingling of the two are done making any conclusion within this leaning towards favoring CBD when other elements of the plant are used.
The Second Author of this paper is The Realm of Caring (R.O.C.), a non profit associated with the production of the largest and most well known CBD brand there is. In full evaluation of the research, the R.O.C. involvement was likely critical in gaining access to the patients that were 1.) Using the pharmaceutical version of CBD 2.) Using a product from the open market 3.) Using only pharmaceuticals – and for this reason was critical in gaining the cross sectional and longitudinal evaluation necessary to complete this.
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The entire research paper is located on Science Direct –
Received 1 May 2021, Revised 22 June 2021, Accepted 29 June 2021, Available online 27 July 2021.
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Thank you for visiting the GCRC Blog,
–Mike Robinson, Founder – Global Cannabinoid Research Center
This article is educational commentary from GCRC. It is not a report of study findings and is not medical advice. Speak with a qualified healthcare professional about your own health.
