“Mutations in brain isoforms of voltage-gated sodium channels have been identified in patients with distinct epileptic phenotypes. Clinically, these patients often do not respond well to classic anti-epileptics and many remain refractory to treatment.
Exogenous as well as endogenous cannabinoids have been shown to target voltage-gated sodium channels and cannabidiol has recently received attention for its potential efficacy in the treatment of childhood epilepsies.
In this study, we further investigated the ability of cannabinoids to modulate sodium currents from wild-type and epilepsy-associated mutant voltage-gated sodium channels.
These findings suggest that cannabidiol could be exerting its anticonvulsant effects, at least in part, through its actions on voltage-gated sodium channels, and resurgent current may be a promising therapeutic target for the treatment of epilepsy syndromes.”