CBD, a cannabis compound with numerous benefits to treat chronic and central nervous system conditions such as Dravet syndrome, its relaxing properties are some of those that influence the improvement or treatment of the symptoms of this disease, helping to alleviate this condition. both children and adults.
A better version of quality of life, given a natural treatment with cannabinoids, especially cannabidiol, a non-psychoactive compound of the cannabis plant, below, we will delve into this wonderful discovery of science, which after years of being seen only as a drug more, it is being placed on the same shelf as effective medications for diseases like Dravet's.
Dravet disease
This syndrome is quite dangerous, since it usually debuts in childhood, more specifically in The first year of life, is considered a severe epileptic encephalopathy, this usually occurs with a high fever crisis and then continues with drug-resistant epilepsies, this therefore causes, already in the second year of life, a deficit in the patient's cognitive development.
The Dravet Syndrome Foundation carried out a study where the number of diagnosed patients was calculated from 348 to 540, however, according to its prevalence it should be a number above 2000 patients.
The symptoms of this disease are easy to identify, once you know its definition. These are nothing more than frequent epileptic seizures, which are triggered at the aforementioned age, by various factors, such as banal infections, fever and others, but it can also occur due to spontaneous form without the need for a trigger.
The developmental deficiency added to these recurrent epilepsies is also a warning sign that the boy or girl may suffer from Dravet, which encompasses behaviors such as hyperactivity, problems in communicating with other people, and more. The presence of associated conditions such as scoliosis, growth problems, feeding problems, among others.
A cause of Dravet syndrome of genetic origin has been associated with a high percentage of 80%, its diagnosis and subsequent medical attention is dispensable at an early age, since the child's development is at stake, which is why certain parameters are established to identify this condition and avoid confusing it with seizures of febrile origin.
There are numerous medications to treat this condition, but they can fail due to the resistance of the syndrome. It is good to keep in mind that taking certain medications before the diagnosis of the disease could aggravate the condition considerably.
Action of CBD against Dravet Syndrome according to science
The studies speak for themselves, and describe the wonders that this cannabis compound has to treat diseases such as Dravet, below, we will mention some research, and we will see the way in which this cannabis compound acts to mitigate the symptoms of Dravet .
A study conducted by Ian Miller, MD, director of the Epilepsy and Neurophysiology Program at Nicklaus Children's Hospital and published in 2019, reports how research demonstrated the effectiveness of CBD in seizures caused by Dravet Syndrome; This involved 199 children with an average of 9 years old who suffered from this condition, who were taking about 3 antiepileptic drugs and had already taken 4 others previously. They received doses of 190 mg/kg per day and 20 mg/kg per day, for 14 weeks, which resulted in a 47% and 56% decrease in seizures in these patients, compared to those who were given placebo.
Another study published in the New England Journal of Medicine demonstrated the effect of CBD against Dravet disease; 60 patients participated, of which 5% were completely seizure free after 14 weeks, considerably improving their quality and lifestyle.
In 2019, another study was completed, which once again confirmed the effectiveness of CBD in the treatment of recurrent seizures in Dravet syndrome, this time applying a 20:1 ratio of CBD and THC correspondingly, which allowed us to conclude that, the use of these compounds in combination, it was quite beneficial and due to the high concentrations of CBD, THC could not cause toxicity in the body or psychoactivity.
Conclusion on the topic
The use of CBD for the treatment of Dravet Syndrome appears to be highly effectiveIn fact, a drug called epidiolex was approved by the FDA for the treatment of severe and rare epilepsies such as Dravet's, this has allowed many children and adults to enjoy the benefits of the compound legally, ensuring an improvement in their quality of life.
If you are thinking about using this medication to combat the symptoms of said disease, we recommend that you consult with a specialist doctor, since he or she will be in charge of adding the compound to the conventional treatment, or in this case replacing it, as well as evaluating the resistance of the drug. patient to the compounds and promote correct administration of the same, although CBD has been shown not to cause overdosage even at high dosages, it is always good to get help to start administering a controlled amount.
Just as cannabidiol can treat severe forms of epilepsy, it could also help combat milder forms. If you want more information about this, you could visit our article titled, epilepsy treated with CBD.
The worsening of this disease could mean a permanent damage to the patient's development, so a complete treatment like CBD, which also does not cause side effects like conventional medications could, is ideal for relieving seizure symptoms, as well as improving sleep conciliation, avoiding sleep disorders.
To conclude, it is worth mentioning the neuroprotective effect of CBD, which allows the patient to ensure care of their neuronal cells, which are directly affected in this type of disease.