Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Marijuana Extract Found To Reduce Seizures In Kids With Epilepsy
The Washington Post: Marijuana Extract Sharply Cuts Seizures In Severe Form Of Epilepsy
An oil derived from the marijuana plant sharply reduces violent seizures in young people suffering from a rare, severe form of epilepsy, according to a study published Wednesday that gives more hope to parents who have been clamoring for access to the medication. Cannabidiol cut the median number of monthly convulsive seizures from 12.4 to 5.9 in 52 children with Dravet syndrome who took the medication over a 14-week test period, according to research published in the New England Journal of Medicine. Fifty-six children using a placebo saw the number of seizures drop only from a median of 14.9 to 14.1 per month. (Bernstein, 5/24)
The Associated Press: Marijuana Extract Helps Some Kids With Epilepsy, Study Says
“This is the first solid, rigorously obtained scientific data” that a marijuana compound is safe and effective for this problem, said one study leader, Dr. Orrin Devinsky of NYU Langone Medical Center. He said research into promising medical uses has been hampered by requiring scientists to get special licenses, plus legal constraints and false notions of how risky marijuana is. “Opiates kill over 30,000 Americans a year, alcohol kills over 80,000 a year. And marijuana, as best we know, probably kills less than 50 people a year,” Devinsky said. (Marchione, 5/24)
