CBD Drug For Tuberous Sclerosis: Caregivers Continue Epidiolex Treatment Citing Seizure Reduction And Cognitive Improvements

The majority of caregivers of patients with tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC) say they plan to continue Epidiolex treatment, citing benefits like reduced seizure frequency and improvements in cognition and communication. That's according to data from the BECOME-TSC (BEhavior, COgnition, and More with Epidiolex) caregiver survey, announced by Jazz Pharmaceuticals plc JAZZ.

New data on Epidiolex is being presented at the American Epilepsy Society (AES) 2024 Annual Meeting, being held December 6-10 in Los Angeles, California via nine company-sponsored posters.

Epidiolex is the only FDA-approved prescription CBD treatment for severe forms of epilepsy. It was developed and produced by GW Pharmaceuticals, which was acquired by Jazz Pharmaceuticals in 2021.

Epidiolex was first approved for treating seizures connected to Lennox-Gastaut syndrome and Dravet syndrome. In 2022, Epidiolex was approved for treating seizures related to tuberous sclerosis complex, a rare genetic disorder that causes non-cancerous tumors to grow in many parts of the body, including the brain, skin, heart, eyes, kidneys and lungs.

Read Also: The Only FDA-Approved CBD Treatment For Severe Epilepsy Completes Key Phase 3 Trial In Japan Despite Missed Primary Goal

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“Our real-world data presentations at AES 2024, including novel findings from the BECOME-LTC, BECOME-TSC and EpiCom studies, demonstrate the meaningful impact of Epidiolex in the treatment of patients with rare epilepsies,” said Sarah Akerman, MD, head of neuroscience global medical and scientific affairs of Jazz Pharmaceuticals. “These findings increase our understanding of Epidiolex’s benefits beyond seizure control, addressing unmet needs across a range of epilepsy syndromes for people living with rare epilepsies and demonstrating reproducibility and consistency of effect across different populations.”

Other highlights include:

• Among 102 nurses surveyed, 85% reported a reduction in overall frequency of any seizure type after Epidiolex initiation, with 49% reporting a greater than 50% reduction, according to results from the BECOME-LTC survey.
• Demonstrated reduced caregivers’ need for additional support of their dependents’ physical, emotional and behavioral care after Epidiolex initiation and characterized improvements in their dependents’ well-being as well as caregivers’ experiences, results from CARE-EpiC (Caregiver Analysis of Real-world Epidiolex in Epilepsy Context), a cross-sectional caregiver survey showed.
• TSC-associated neuropsychiatric disorders (TAND)-associated outcomes demonstrated improvements after initiating adjunctive Epidiolex treatment in the severity of behavioral problems in patients with TSC as reported by the TAND Self-Report Quantified Checklist and Aberrant Behavior Checklist, according to the analysis of the EpiCom trial.

Read Next:

• CBD-Based Life-Changing Drug For Tuberous Sclerosis Patients, Epidiolex, Now Available Via England’s NHS