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Could cannabis have saved Jett Travolta's life?

Canna Zine

Monday 05 Jan 2009

As far back as 2003, cannabis was shown to have a positive effect on the symptoms of epilipsy, and the topic is again at the forefront of peoples minds, as John Travolta and actress Kelly Preston struggle to come to terms with the grief of losing a child.

Jett Travolta was found unconscious on Friday morning (January 2nd 2009) in the bathroom of the family home at the Old Bahama Bay resort in the Bahamas.

Jett, aged 16, had suffered from "Grand Mal" seizures since the age of two years old and according to the family lawyers, he had been treated for some years with a drug that stopped the siezures from occurring.

But after prolonged use, anti-epileptic drugs (AED's) become ineffective as the body builds a natural tolerance, and it was said that long term use of AED's can cause unwanted and sometimes dangerous side effects such as irreversible liver damage.

So the course of drugs was discontinued and Jett started suffering a serious seizure every few days.

Whilst up to 70% of people with epilepsy could have their seizures controlled once the best medication is found for them, unfortunately some people may not get complete control of their epilepsy using currently available AED's, even though they may have had the most suitable treatment for their type of seizure(s).

If this happens, according to the National Society for Epilepsy in the United Kingdom, the drug treatment should be kept as simple as possible.

This minimises side effects and encourages people to take their medication as prescribed.

Cannabis - An under-rated AED?
Research published in an issue of 'Science' journal published in 2003, found that receptors in the brain, which respond to naturally-occurring cannabis-like chemicals (cannabinoids) made by the body, guarded neurons from being damaged by overstimulation.

Study co-author Beat Lutz, from Germany's Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry, said the group's experiments on mice followed anecdotal and clinical tests of cannabis to treat seizures.

"In my opinion, there are certain forms of epilepsy where patients may feel relief from the use of cannabis," Dr Lutz said.

Researchers added kainic acid to animals' brains to mimic seizure. The brain's response to THC, the active compound in cannabis was then monitored.

The researchers found that cannabinoid receptors were activated during seizure and reduced neuron reactions, lessening the damage caused by overstimulation or "excitotoxicity".

Drug treatments for epilepsy, or other brain diseases that involve neuron damage from fits or seizures, could be developed if the much needed research, using human patients, were allowed.

Some interest has been shown in the use of cannabidiol (a type of cannabinoid found in "whole plant" cannabis extracts) in treatment. A small amount of data is available about this, and cannabidiol has little or none of the psychoactive side-effects that treatment with cannabis (or THC) could induce.

*Unfortunately it seems there are no plans to make a great effort to concentrate on cannabis research in the field of epilepsy at present.

The British Medical Association has however stated that it may possibly prove useful as an 'adjunctive therapy' for patients who cannot be kept satisfactorily free of seizures on current medications.

Likewise, the National Institutes of Health workshop considered that this is 'an area of potential value', based largely on animal research showing anticonvulsant effects.*

 

 

 

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