Cannabidiol for Drop Attacks in Lennox–Gastaut Syndrome

Drop seizures — generalized tonic, atonic, and severe myoclonic — occur frequently (usually multiple times a day) and are often the most severely disabling seizures of patients with secondary generalized epilepsies such as Lennox–Gastaut syndrome (LGS). When patients are ambulatory, drop seizures can result in falls. Other than surgical transection of the corpus callosum, medical and other therapies (vagal nerve stimulation and ketogenic diet) rarely provide meaningful seizure control.

In a multicenter, placebo-controlled trial, investigators tested cannabidiol (CBD) for efficacy in the treatment of drop seizures in patients with LGS. They randomized 225 patients aged 2 to 55 years to one of two doses of oral cannabidiol (10 mg/kg or 20 mg/k…