Cannabis for epileptics
A cannabinoid has been found that is effective against the most severe form of epilepsy
Svetlana Maslova, Hi-tech+
Australian scientists have presented little-studied components of cannabis that effectively cope with the symptoms of epilepsy in animals. Their work allows us to take a fresh look at how a plant already widely used for these purposes can improve the treatment of the disease in the most severe form.
The benefits of cannabis in the treatment of epilepsy have been known since the beginning of the nineteenth century. Despite its long history, only the last two decades have really advanced scientific research to a new level. Scientists from The University of Sydney has been studying the antiepileptic effects of cannabis since 2015. During this time, they tested a mixture of hundreds of bioactive molecules from cannabis extract against seizures.
In a new paper, they presented several rare cannabinoids that are effective against Dravet syndrome, the most intractable form of epilepsy, manifested by severe seizures from birth and slowing cognitive development.
Cannabigerolic acid (CBGA), cannadivarinic acid (CBDVA), cannabidivarin (CBDV) and cannabigerovarinic acid (CBGVA) had antiepileptic properties in a mouse model of intractable epilepsy.
Article by Anderson et al. Cannabigerolic acid, a major biosynthetic precursor molecule in cannabis, exhibits divergent effects on seizures in mouse models of epilepsy published in the British Journal of Pharmacology – VM.
It is noteworthy that cannabigerolic acid turned out to be a precursor molecule for the synthesis of more well-known cannabinoids, including cannabidiol (CBD) and tetrahydrocannabinol (THC).
Further experiments have shown that CBGA is much more effective than CBD in reducing the symptoms of the disease.
Meanwhile, scientists have not yet tested the effect of all the components together. It is very likely that their combination will be more effective, they believe.
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