By Katie Demeria
The Epilepsy Foundation of Virginia is supporting the use of medical marijuana in clinical trials and research as a possible epilepsy treatment.
Dr. Paul Lyons of Winchester Neurological Consultants is on the Epilepsy Foundation of Virginia board. He said many do not recognize the numerous potential health benefits of the cannabis plant -- and how important it is to provide a new, different medication to those suffering from epilepsy.
Each epileptic patient is different, responding to various drugs to treat the neurological disorder. But after failing the first three drugs a physician prescribes, the chances of finding a medication that works is reduced to 1 percent.
"That's why some of these families are desperate, and all are anxious," Lyons said.
There are 600 chemicals in the herb marijuana, he said, and the ones researchers are interested in as a possible treatment for epilepsy are the 100 cannabinoids within the plant.
The chemical that causes the psychoactive effects, Lyons said, is not what would be used to treat epilepsy.
"Parents would not be giving their children an herb they need to smoke or inhale," he said. "The Epilepsy Foundation of Virginia is in favor of the medical use of the extracts of marijuana, and those are lacking the psychoactive properties.
"We want to help children with epilepsy," he continued.
One third of the patients with epilepsy suffer one seizure at least every day, week or month, Lyons said. It is a debilitating disorder, one which impacts how these individuals live their lives.
Link:
Epilepsy Foundation advocates medical marijuana research