Cannabidiol (CBD), one of the major active components found in cannabis plants, has been used for medicinal purposes for many years, and research suggests it could be an effective treatment for a number of seizure disorders. In 2018, the FDA for the first time approved a CBD treatment for Dravet syndrome and Lennox-Gastaut syndrome, two forms of childhood epilepsy. Recent research conducted by pharmacologists at the University of Sydney shows that three rarer and lesser known cannabinoid acids may be even more effective than CBD at treating seizures, based on tests performed using a mouse model for Dravet syndrome.
The three cannabinoid acids highlighted in the study are cannabigerolic acid (CBGA), cannabidivarinic acid (CBDVA) and cannabigerovarinic acid (CBGVA), which were shown to have anticonvulsant effects and, when combined with the anti-seizure drug clobazam, increase anticonvulsant effects against hyperthermia-induced and spontaneous seizures. CBGA, which is known as the “mother of all cannabinoids” and is a precursor molecule for the creation of CBD and tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), was noted to be the most promising candidate, prompting further investigation of its pharmacological effects.
Although CBGA was found to be more effective at reducing fever-induced seizure activity than CBD, the researchers noted some limitations. For example, higher doses of CBGA had proconvulsant effects in other seizure types. The researchers plan to further explore the effects of lesser-known cannabinoids in their search for more potent Dravet syndrome therapies. This research was published in the British Journal of Pharmacology.
“We have assessed the cannabinoids one by one and now we are exploring what happens when you put them all back together,” said lead author Lyndsey Anderson. “There remains a real possibility that all these individual anticonvulsant cannabinoids might work better when combined.”
Cannabinoid acids are not found in most commercially available cannabis-based products because manufacturing processes that use heat causes the acidic compounds to decarboxylate into neutral compounds. However, “cold extraction” methods used to produce some artisanal cannabis oils could be used to preserve the acids and their potential therapeutic effects, the authors noted.