Mississippi University Launches CBD Study on Children with Severe Epilepsy
[dropcap class=”kp-dropcap”]T[/dropcap]he University of Mississippi Medical Center (UMMC) announced on Nov. 8 that it has begun to conduct a study on the effects of cannabidiol (CBD) on children suffering from severe epilepsy.
Dr. Brad Ingram is a pediatric neurologist and the study’s lead investigator. “[We are] targeting the sickest of the sick. The early parts of this research are targeted at making sure this is tolerable by children who have failed all other medical therapies,” Ingram told Mississippi Today. Over one-third of children with epilepsy continue to suffer from seizures—with or without pharmaceutical medicine.
For the investigation, researchers will observe 10 Mississippi children with severe forms of epilepsy. Nine children have already been selected for the study, and the last child will be added shortly. Intractable epilepsy is fairly common, and there are about 2,000 children in the state who could quality.
The study has already begun, but it’s too early to arrive at any conclusions. “It is far too early for us to detail any kind of results at this point but thus far—we’re one month in on two patients and almost one month in on seven additional ones—and things are thus far going very, very well. We’re very, very excited about it. A real opportunity for Mississippi kids to get access to a really unique controlled product,” Ingram said.
Gov. Phil Bryant signed Harper Grace’s Law in 2014, which opened the doors to clinical trials of cannabis-based medicines in Mississippi. The new law made it possible for a partnership between University of Mississippi Medical Center and the National Center for Natural Products Research.
More research on the efficacy of CBD in children is desperately needed. Videos posted on social media have demonstrated that cannabis oil can greatly reduce the number and severity of seizures in children.
