Cannabidiol is equally effective at reducing seizures in children and adolescents with treatment-resistant Dravet syndrome at low and high doses.
An international study of 199 eligible paediatric patients, from 38 centres across the US, Spain, Poland, the Netherlands, Australia and Israel, compared seizure frequency during 14 weeks of cannabidiol treatment at two doses, of 10 mg/kg/d or 20 mg/kg/d, and placebo.
All patients maintained doses of their regular medications including valproate, clobazam and stiripentol.
The study, published in JAMA Neurology, found the percentage reduction in convulsive seizure frequency from baseline was 48.7% for the CBD10 group, 45.7% for the CBD20 group, and 26.9% for the placebo group.
“Similarly, the percentage reduction from baseline in convulsive seizure frequency during the 12-week maintenance period was 49.2% for the CBD10 group, 48.6% for the CBD20 group, and 28.6% for the placebo group,” the authors wrote.
The proportion of patients achieving at least a 50% reduction from baseline in convulsive seizure frequency during the treatment period was 43.9% for the CBD10 group and 49.3% for the CBD20 group, compared to 26.2% for the placebo group.
The proportion of patients achieving at least a 75% reduction from baseline in convulsive seizure frequency was 30.3%, 17.9%, and 6.2% for the respective groups.
Caregivers of cannabidiol-treated patients were significantly more likely to report an improvement in overall condition than those of the control group.