Scientists at the University of Reading have demonstrated for the first time that a previously unstudied chemical in cannabis could lead to more effective treatments for people with epilepsy.
The team at the University’s Department of Pharmacy and School of Psychology have discovered that cannabidivarin (CBDV) - a largely ignored natural compound found in cannabis - has the potential to prevent more seizures, with few side effects such as uncontrollable shaking, caused by many existing anti-epileptic drugs.
In the study, carried out by the University of Reading in collaboration with GW Pharma and Otsuka Pharmaceuticals, cannabidivarin strongly suppressed seizures in six different experimental models commonly used in epilepsy drug discovery.
Cannabidivarin was also found to work when combined with drugs currently used to control epilepsy and, unlike other cannabinoids (unique components in cannabis) such as THC, is not psychoactive and therefore does not cause users to feel ‘high’.
The findings are reported in the British Journal of Pharmacology journal.
