The Effects of Cannabidiol (CBD) on Electrical and Autonomic Cardiac Function in Children With Severe Epilepsy

Summary

The investigators propose to study the effects of cannabidiol (CBD) on cardiac electrical function and the autonomic nervous system in children with Dravet syndrome (DS) and Lennox-Gastaut syndrome (LGS), when the CBD is administered as an artisanal oil obtained through state dispensaries or other sources. The intent is to begin to assess potential risks and benefits of this therapy in a vulnerable patient population by characterizing the effects of CBD on EKG findings, heart rate variability and the occurrence of seizures.

Timeline

Start

2017-02-16

Primary completion

2018-12-01

Completion

2018-12-01

Publications

• Background 1. Dravet C, Bureau M, Oguni H, Fukuyama Y, Cokar O. Severe myoclonic epilepsy in infancy (Dravet syndrome). In: Roger J, Bureau M, Dravet C, Genton P, Tassinari CA, Wolf P (eds) Epileptic syndromes in infancy, childhood and adolescence, 4th ed. John Libbey, London, 2005, pp 89 - 109.
• Background 2. http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/lennoxgastautsyndrome/lennoxgastautsyndrome.htm, Retrieved 6.10.2015
• Background Sakauchi M, Oguni H, Kato I, Osawa M, Hirose S, Kaneko S, Takahashi Y, Takayama R, Fujiwara T. Mortality in Dravet syndrome: search for risk factors in Japanese patients. Epilepsia. 2011 Apr;52 Suppl 2:50-4. doi: 10.1111/j.1528-1167.2011.03002.x.
• Background Skluzacek JV, Watts KP, Parsy O, Wical B, Camfield P. Dravet syndrome and parent associations: the IDEA League experience with comorbid conditions, mortality, management, adaptation, and grief. Epilepsia. 2011 Apr;52 Suppl 2:95-101. doi: 10.1111/j.1528-1167.2011.03012.x.
• Background Jehi L. Sudden death in epilepsy, surgery, and seizure outcomes: the interface between heart and brain. Cleve Clin J Med. 2010 Jul;77 Suppl 3:S51-5. doi: 10.3949/ccjm.77.s3.09.
• Background Kalume F. Sudden unexpected death in Dravet syndrome: respiratory and other physiological dysfunctions. Respir Physiol Neurobiol. 2013 Nov 1;189(2):324-8. doi: 10.1016/j.resp.2013.06.026. Epub 2013 Jul 9.
• Background 7. Wical, B, Wendorf H, Leighty D, Tervo M, Tervo R. Signs of Dysautonomia in Children with Dravet Syndrome. Presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Epilepsy Society, Boston, MA, Dec 2009.
• Background Delogu AB, Spinelli A, Battaglia D, Dravet C, De Nisco A, Saracino A, Romagnoli C, Lanza GA, Crea F. Electrical and autonomic cardiac function in patients with Dravet syndrome. Epilepsia. 2011 Apr;52 Suppl 2:55-8. doi: 10.1111/j.1528-1167.2011.03003.x.
• Background Nei M, Sperling MR, Mintzer S, Ho RT. Long-term cardiac rhythm and repolarization abnormalities in refractory focal and generalized epilepsy. Epilepsia. 2012 Aug;53(8):e137-40. doi: 10.1111/j.1528-1167.2012.03561.x. Epub 2012 Jun 18.
• Background Ergul Y, Ekici B, Tatli B, Nisli K, Ozmen M. QT and P wave dispersion and heart rate variability in patients with Dravet syndrome. Acta Neurol Belg. 2013 Jun;113(2):161-6. doi: 10.1007/s13760-012-0140-z. Epub 2012 Oct 13.
• Background Granjeiro EM, Gomes FV, Guimaraes FS, Correa FM, Resstel LB. Effects of intracisternal administration of cannabidiol on the cardiovascular and behavioral responses to acute restraint stress. Pharmacol Biochem Behav. 2011 Oct;99(4):743-8. doi: 10.1016/j.pbb.2011.06.027. Epub 2011 Jul 12.
• Background Bergamaschi MM, Queiroz RH, Chagas MH, de Oliveira DC, De Martinis BS, Kapczinski F, Quevedo J, Roesler R, Schroder N, Nardi AE, Martin-Santos R, Hallak JE, Zuardi AW, Crippa JA. Cannabidiol reduces the anxiety induced by simulated public speaking in treatment-naive social phobia patients. Neuropsychopharmacology. 2011 May;36(6):1219-26. doi: 10.1038/npp.2011.6. Epub 2011 Feb 9.
• Background Martin-Santos R, Crippa JA, Batalla A, Bhattacharyya S, Atakan Z, Borgwardt S, Allen P, Seal M, Langohr K, Farre M, Zuardi AW, McGuire PK. Acute effects of a single, oral dose of d9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD) administration in healthy volunteers. Curr Pharm Des. 2012;18(32):4966-79. doi: 10.2174/138161212802884780.
• Background Gloss D, Vickrey B. Cannabinoids for epilepsy. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2014 Mar 5;2014(3):CD009270. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD009270.pub3.
• Background 15. Ohlsson A, Lindgren JE, Andersson S, Agurell S, Gillespie H, Hollister L. (1984). Single dose kinetics of cannabidiol in man. Cannabinoids: chemical, pharmacologic, and therapeutic aspects. S. Agurell, W. L. Dewey and R. Willette. Orlando, FL, Academic Press Inc.: 219-225. doi: 10.1016/B978-0-12-044620-9.50003-8

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Indications