Birmingham, AL: The long-term adjunctive use of a proprietary, plant-derived CBD extract (Epidiolex) does not adversely impact cognitive functioning in pediatric patients with treatment-resistant epilepsy, according to clinical data published in the journal Epilepsy & Behavior.
Researchers at the University of Birmingham performed cognitive assessments on 38 patients with pediatric epilepsy who had used Epidiolex twice-daily for a one-year period. Investigators reported “no statistically significant changes in cognitive function” among the study’s participants.
Authors concluded: “As noted previously, approximately 70 percent of the pediatric participants in the study experienced a meaningful improvement in seizure control after beginning CBD. The current findings indicate that improved seizure control can be obtained without adversely affecting cognitive or adaptive functioning.”
In 2018, the US Food and Drug Administration approved Epidiolex as anticonvulsant for patients with two rare forms of severe epilepsy: Lennox-Gastaut syndrome and Dravet syndrome. Earlier this month, FDA regulators expanded the prescription use of Epidiolex for patients with the genetic disorder tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC).
Epidiolex is the first FDA-approved medication containing organically derived cannabinoids.
Full text of the study, “Cognitive function and adaptive skills after a one-year trial of cannabidiol (CBD) in a pediatric sample with treatment resistant epilepsy,” appears in Epilepsy & Behavior.