Cannabidiol Exerts Anti-Convulsant Effects in Animal Models of Temporal Lobe and Partial Seizures

Cannabidiol Exerts Anti-Convulsant Effects in Animal Models of Temporal Lobe and Partial Seizures

Cannabis sativa has been associated with contradictory effects upon seizure states despite its medicinal use by numerous epilepsy sufferers.

We have recently shown that the phytocannabinoid cannabidiol (CBD) reduces seizure severity and lethality in the well-established in vivo model of pentylenetetrazole-induced generalised seizures, suggesting that earlier, “small-scale clinical trials examining CBD effects in epileptic subjects warrant renewed attention”* and “cannabidiol displays antiepileptiform and antiseizure properties in vitro and in vivo.”**

Here, we report the effects of pure CBD (1, 10 and 100mg/kg) in two other established rodent seizure models, the acute pilocarpine model of temporal lobe seizure and the penicillin model of partial seizure.

Seizure activity was video recorded and scored offline using model-specific seizure severity scales. CBD (all doses) significantly reduced the percentage of animals experiencing the most severe pilocarpine-induced seizures.

In the penicillin model, CBD (all doses) significantly increased the percentage of seizure-free animals; CBD (100mg/kg) decreased the percentage of animals experiencing the most severe seizures, decreased median seizure severity and showed a strong trend to reduce mortality.

In conclusion, these results extend the anti-convulsant profile of CBD; when combined with a reported absence of psychoactive effects, this evidence strongly supports CBD as a therapeutic candidate for a diverse range of human epilepsies.

*Jones NA, Hill AJ, Smith I, Bevan SA, Williams CM, Whalley BJ, et al.

**J Pharmacol Exp Ther 2010;332:569-77