Author/Editor		Neubauer, David; Perković-Benedik, Mirjana; Osredkar, Damjan
Title		Cannabidiol for treatment of refractory childhood epilepsies
Type		članek
Publication year		2018
Volume		str. str.
ISSN		1525-5069 - Epilepsy & behavior : E&B
Language		eng
Abstract		Purpose: Refractory epilepsies in children present a major burden for patients and their families. Cannabidiol (CBD) has been suggested as a potential treatment for refractory epilepsies. The aimof this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of add-on therapy with CBD for the treatment of refractory childhood epilepsies. Method: Patients with childhood-onset refractory epilepsy, treated at the tertiary epilepsy center of the University Children's Hospital Ljubljana, Slovenia, were included in the study. Add-on therapy with CBD was initiated once the child's epilepsywas categorized as pharmacoresistant to other antiepileptic drugs/therapies. The dosage of CBD was gradually increased to at least 8 mg/kg/day. The effect of CBD treatment was evaluated by the reduction in seizure burden and presence of side effects (positive and negative). Serial electroencephalography was performed in some children. Results: Sixty-six patients were included in the analysis. Thirty-two (48.5%) patients had a more than 50% improvement regarding seizure burden, 14 of whom (21.2%) became seizure-free. None of the patients reported worsening of seizure frequency, but CBD had no effect in 15 (22.7%) patients. Some patients reported less vigorous seizures, shorter duration of seizures, shorter time to recovery, and other positive side effects of CBD treatment. Adverse effects were reported in 5/66 children. Conclusions: In our cohort of patients, CBD was found to have potential benefits as add-on therapy for refractory childhood epilepsies, mainly by reducing seizure burden.
Keywords		epilepsy cannabidiol electroencephalography epilepsija canabidiol elektroencefalografija