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CC BY 4.0 · Neuropediatrics 2023; 54(03): 174-181
DOI: 10.1055/a-2002-2119
Original Article

Clinical Outcome Data of Children Treated with Cannabis-Based Medicinal Products for Treatment Resistant Epilepsy—Analysis from the UK Medical Cannabis Registry

Simon Erridge 
1   Department of Surgery & Cancer, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom
2   Department of Medicine, Sapphire Medical Clinics, London, United Kingdom
,
Carl Holvey
2   Department of Medicine, Sapphire Medical Clinics, London, United Kingdom
,
Ross Coomber
2   Department of Medicine, Sapphire Medical Clinics, London, United Kingdom
3   Department of Trauma & Orthopaedics, St Georges NHS Healthcare Trust, London, United Kingdom
,
Jonathan Hoare
1   Department of Surgery & Cancer, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom
2   Department of Medicine, Sapphire Medical Clinics, London, United Kingdom
,
Shaheen Khan
2   Department of Medicine, Sapphire Medical Clinics, London, United Kingdom
4   Department of Palliative Medicine, Guy's & St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust, London, United Kingdom
,
Michael W. Platt
1   Department of Surgery & Cancer, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom
2   Department of Medicine, Sapphire Medical Clinics, London, United Kingdom
,
James J. Rucker
2   Department of Medicine, Sapphire Medical Clinics, London, United Kingdom
5   Department of Psychological Medicine, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, Kings College London, London, United Kingdom
6   Centre for Affective Disorders, South London & Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, London, United Kingdom
,
Mark W. Weatherall
2   Department of Medicine, Sapphire Medical Clinics, London, United Kingdom
7   Department of Neurology, Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust, Amersham, United Kingdom
,
Sushil Beri   *
1   Department of Surgery & Cancer, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom
2   Department of Medicine, Sapphire Medical Clinics, London, United Kingdom
,
Mikael H. Sodergren   *
1   Department of Surgery & Cancer, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom
2   Department of Medicine, Sapphire Medical Clinics, London, United Kingdom
› Author Affiliations Funding None.
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Abstract

Background There is a paucity of high-quality evidence of the efficacy and safety of cannabis-based medicinal products in treatment of treatment-resistant epilepsy (TRE) in children.

Methods A case series of children (<18 years old) with TRE from the UK Medical Cannabis Registry was analyzed. Primary outcomes were ≥50% reduction in seizure frequency, changes in the Impact of Pediatric Epilepsy Score (IPES), and incidence of adverse events.

Results Thirty-five patients were included in the analysis. Patients were prescribed during their treatment with the following: CBD isolate oils (n = 19), CBD broad-spectrum oils (n = 17), and CBD/Δ9-THC combination therapy (n = 17). Twenty-three (65.7%) patients achieved a ≥50% reduction in seizure frequency. 94.1% (n = 16) of patients treated with CBD and Δ9-THC observed a ≥50% reduction in seizure frequency compared to 31.6% (n = 6) and 17.6% (n = 3) of patients treated with CBD isolates and broad-spectrum CBD products, respectively (p< 0.001). Twenty-six (74.3%) adverse events were reported by 16 patients (45.7%). The majority of these were mild (n = 12; 34.2%) and moderate (n = 10; 28.6%).

Conclusion The results of this study demonstrate a positive signal of improved seizure frequency in children treated with Cannabis-based medicinal products (CBMPs) for TRE. Moreover, the results suggest that CBMPs are well-tolerated in the short term. The limitations mean causation cannot be determined in this open-label, case series.

Keywords

pediatrics - epilepsy - treatment-resistant epilepsy - cannabidiol - tetrahydrocannabinol - cannabis

Data Availability

Data that support the findings of this study are available from the UK Medical Cannabis Registry. Restrictions apply to the availability of these data. Data specifications and applications are available from the corresponding author.


Authors' Contribution

All authors have contributed to and approved the final manuscript.


* Sushil Beri and Mikael H. Sodergren should be considered as co-senior authors.


Supplementary Material



Publication History

Received: 01 November 2022

Accepted: 13 December 2022

Accepted Manuscript online:
20 December 2022

Article published online:
30 January 2023

© 2023. The Author(s). This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, permitting unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction so long as the original work is properly cited. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

Georg Thieme Verlag KG
Rüdigerstraße 14, 70469 Stuttgart, Germany

 

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