Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2020 Jan 30;11(1):e0004.
doi: 10.5041/RMMJ.10387.

Medical Cannabis for Intractable Epilepsy in Childhood: A Review

Bruria Ben-Zeev  1   2
Affiliations
Review

Medical Cannabis for Intractable Epilepsy in Childhood: A Review

Bruria Ben-Zeev. Rambam Maimonides Med J. .

Abstract

In recent years, cannabis has been gaining increasing interest in both the medical research and clinical fields, with regard to its therapeutic effects in various disorders. One of the major fields of interest is its role as an anticonvulsant for refractory epilepsy, especially in the pediatric population. This paper presents and discusses the current accumulated knowledge regarding artisanal cannabis and Epidiolex®, a United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved pure cannabidiol (CBD), in epilepsy management in pediatrics, by reviewing the literature and raising debate regarding further research directions.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of interest: No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

References

    1. Friedman D, Sirven JI. Historical perspective on the medical use of cannabis for epilepsy: ancient times to the 1980s. Epilepsy Behav. 2017;70:298–301. doi: 10.1016/j.yebeh.2016.11.033. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Russo EB. Cannabis and epilepsy: an ancient treatment returns to the fore. Epilepsy Behav. 2017;70:292–7. doi: 10.1016/j.yebeh.2016.09.040. - DOI - PubMed
    1. O’Shaughnessy WB. On the preparations of the Indian hemp, or Gunjah: Cannabis indica their effects on the animal system in health, and their utility in the treatment of tetanus and other convulsive diseases. Prov Med J Retrosp Med Sci. 1843;5:363–9. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Gowers W. Epilepsy and Other Chronic Convulsive Disorders. London: Churchill; 1881.
    1. Consroe P, Wolkin A. Cannabidiol–antiepileptic drug comparisons and interactions in experimentally induced seizures in rats. J Pharmacol Exp Ther. 1977;201:26–32. - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources