Marijuana stops child’s severe seizures

 

“Saundra Young of CNN.com delved into the heated debate of medical marijuana and children, in her story about a little girl who has a rare, and severe form of epilepsy called Dravet Syndrome. While the debate continues, the pro-legalization side may have won a small victory in the form of Charlotte Figi, 6, who was given her life back by marijuana…

Desperate for a treatment, Charlotte’s father Matt searched the Internet and eventually found a boy with a similar case in which medical marijuana helped his seizures. The Figi’s turned to the Stanley brothers, one of Colorado’s largest marijuana growers and dispensary owners, for help.

“These six brothers were crossbreeding a strain of marijuana low in THC, the compound in marijuana that’s psychoactive, and high in CBD, which has medicinal properties but no psychoactivity,” writes Young. But the Stanley brothers didn’t know what to do with this particular strain, as no one seemed to want to buy it. Then they met Charlotte.

The first time Charlotte tried a small dose of cannabis oil, the results were astounding:

“When she didn’t have those three, four seizures that first hour, that was the first sign,” Paige recalled. “And I thought well, ‘Let’s go another hour, this has got to be a fluke.'”

The Stanley brothers started the Realm of Caring Foundation, a nonprofit organization that provides this particular strain of medical marijuana to adults and children suffering from a host of diseases. The strain used by Charlotte and 41 other patients is affectionately called Charlotte’s Web.

Charlotte’s seizures stopped for seven days after her first dose and today she is eating, and walking on her own — even riding a bike, her parents say. Charlotte gets a dose of the cannabis oil twice a day in her food and her seizures are down to 2 to 3 per month.

“I literally see Charlotte’s brain making connections that haven’t been made in years,” Matt said. “My thought now is, why were we the ones that had to go out and find this cure? This natural cure? How come a doctor didn’t know about this? How come they didn’t make me aware of this?”

Read the full article on CNN.com.”

More: http://www.philly.com/philly/health/Marijuana_stops_childs_severe_seizures.html

Modesto, Calif. dad turns to medical marijuana to save son

“Jason David from Modesto chronicles the ups and downs with his 6-year-old son Jayden, who was diagnosed with Dravet syndrome, on a Facebook page called Jason and Jayden’s Journey.” https://www.facebook.com/jasonandjaydensjourney

“Jayden was diagnosed with Dravet, a rare form of epilepsy, when he was a baby. Since then, he has had seizures preventing him from walking, playing and living life.

“At one point Jayden had seizures 24 hours a day lasting an hour and a half,” David said. “I went to my doctor and said, ‘I don’t think Jayden is going to last, he can’t sleep, can’t eat, he hasn’t used the restroom, he can’t do anything.'” 

David said his son has been taken away in an ambulance more than 40 times. He’s also taken 22 pills a day — 12 different kinds and none of them worked.

David said it got so bad that he wanted to kill himself and put a gun to his head.

But now, those thoughts are long gone.

As a last resort, David turned to medical marijuana. Specifically, a liquid form that contains a component known as CBD.

Jayden’s pediatrician prescribes it to Jayden and says the liquid form maintains medicinal qualities, while giving less of a high.

Jayden has been getting a few drops a day for the past two years and David said it’s been a remarkable difference.

Jayden is the most independent he’s ever been. He plays well, can walk and give his dad high fives, David said.

“(The) first day I gave him medical marijuana, thank God. (It was) the first day he went seizure free in his life,”he said.

David said he wants to share his story to help other parents in the same situation.

He says parents need to educate themselves and do what’s right for their own children.

The father and son have been featured in numerous articles and television shows. Jason and Jayden will be featured as a small piece in a special about medical marijuana with Dr. Sanjay Gupta that airs Sunday on CNN.

Jayden’s pediatrician said he is seeing more children with autism and seizures who are benefiting from medical marijuana.

The doctor admits not a lot of studies have been done on medicinal marijuana, which is why doctors across the board may have differing opinions.

However, doctors at the University of California-San Francisco are now studying the affects the CBD component in medical marijuana has on epileptic children.”

http://www.kcra.com/news/modesto-calif-dad-turns-to-medical-marijuana-to-save-son/-/11797728/21403126/-/item/0/-/12mmupr/-/index.html

Dad says marijuana saved his 6-year-old son’s life – msn

“”Miraculous” stories from people who say medical marijuana helped them when all else failed keep rolling in.”

Still of father and son who were saved by THC - via KCRA, http://aka.ms/dope-cure

“The latest? A 6-year-old boy from Modesto, Calif., named Jayden David. Just like a young girl in Colorado, he suffers from a rare form of epilepsy called Dravet Syndrome. The disorder gave Jayden seizures so severe and frequent, he couldn’t walk, play or do much of anything. He often had to be rushed to the hospital by ambulance. Doctors prescribed as many as 22 pills a day. Nothing worked. “At one point Jayden had seizures 24 hours a day lasting an hour and a half,” his father, Jason David, told local station KCRA. “I went to my doctor and said, ‘I don’t think Jayden is going to last. He can’t sleep, can’t eat. He hasn’t used the restroom. He cant do anything.'”

With no alternate options, the doctor prescribed a liquid form of cannabis called CBD, which gives less of a high. It was the first day of his entire life that Jayden went seizure-free. In the two years since, he’s taken CBD daily and now walks, plays and laughs happily. Jason credits medical marijuana with saving his son’s life — and says he’s speaking out now to help other parents with children in Jayden’s situation. “How can I not tell people, ‘Hey, save your children’s lives?'” he asks.”

http://now.msn.com/jayden-david-6-was-saved-by-medical-marijuana-dad-says

Medical marijuana stopped girl’s seizures when nothing else would – msn

Photo of Charlotte Figi - Realm of Caring via Facebook

 

“Charlotte Figi had her first seizure in 2006, when she was 3 months old. Her parents, Matt and Paige Figi, had every test conducted, yet no cause could be found. Years passed, and the seizures continued. Charlotte took medications, but she stopped developing cognitively. She was finally diagnosed with a severe form of epilepsy, Dravet Syndrome. Matt discovered the case of a boy with Dravet who’d been helped by low-level THC medical marijuana. By that point, Charlotte couldn’t walk, talk or eat, and she was having up to 300 grand mal seizures a week.

Desperate to find a solution, Matt and Paige applied for a medical marijuana card, making Charlotte, then 5, the youngest applicant in Colorado. They gave her a small amount of cannabis oil. The seizures stopped. Now Charlotte takes the oil twice daily with food, has only a few seizures a week, and is walking, talking and riding her bike. “My thought now is why were we the ones that had to go out and find this cure? This natural cure?” says Matt. “How come [a doctor] didn’t make me aware of this?””

http://now.msn.com/charlotte-figi-colorado-girl-has-seizures-treated-by-medical-marijuana

“Meet the first 6-year-old medical marijuana user” http://fox2now.com/2013/08/12/meet-the-first-6-year-old-medical-marijuana-user/

‘It’s the one medicine we have seen work’: Oregon parents use medical marijuana to help severely autistic son

“Alex Echols has Tuberous Sclerosis, a rare genetic disorder that led to autism and seizures from a young age. Medical marijuana is the only treatment that eased his violent behavior, his parents said.”

An Oregon family has turned to medical marijuana to manage their son's severe autistic rage. Eleven-year-old Alex Echols is severely autistic. 

“Most parents wouldn’t dream of giving their child marijuana. But an Oregon couple says it’s the only thing that’s been able to help their 11-year-old autistic son.”

 

Hope for autistic children might lie in medical marijuana, study says – msn

Marijuana in a prescription bottle (© Gary Morrison/Getty Images)

“Stanford University released a study that will most likely add more fuel to the already contentious debate over medical marijuana, especially regarding its possible use by kids. The study, released in April, shows that cannabinoids, which are found in cannabis, might help treat autism. In the human brain, endocannabinoid signaling affects memory formation, learning, and other processes, but forms of autism can block these signals. When cannabinoids were present in the brains of mice being studied, these signals were able to get through. While more research is needed, autism groups are hopefull about the possibilties of medical marijuana. As the Autism Daily Newscast put it, “Many children with autism are already given cocktails of drugs that may be even stronger than marijuana, with serious side effects and limited results.”

http://now.msn.com/marijuana-affects-autism-by-helping-brain-signals-get-through-says-stanford-study

A Link Between Autism and Cannabinoids

“Two autism-related mutations in a synapse-adhesion protein lead to deficits in prolonged endocannabinoid signaling in mice. It’s a surprising connection that suggests such signaling problems could be implicated in autism spectrum disorders, according to a paper published today (April 11) in Neuron.

Tonic endocannabinoid signaling is long-lasting and contrasts with the brief pulses characteristic of phasic signaling. Endocannabinoid signaling in general affects memory formation, learning, pain, and other important processes, but the distinctions between tonic and phasic signaling have been poorly understood.

“It’s a very stimulating finding which could be a real turning point in understanding tonic endocannabinoids and how this otherwise mysterious lipid signaling really works,” said Bradley Alger, a neuroscientist at the University of Maryland School of Medicine…

Alger added that, if the endocannabinoid system does turn out to be connected to autism in humans, medical marijuana could turn out to hold possibility for treating autism.”

More: http://www.the-scientist.com/?articles.view/articleNo/35088/title/A-Link-Between-Autism-and-Cannabinoids/

Medical Marijuana is Being Used to Successfully Treat the Symptoms of Lupus in Patients

“Cannabis is considered an ideal medication to help Lupus patients cope with the symptoms of the disorder like nausea and pain. It’s also known to be an anti-inflammatory, suppressing certain parts of the immune system.”

By lowering the levels of the inflammation-promoting protein interleukin-2, and raising levels of the anti-inflammatory protein interleukin-10, cannabis shows that it may be beneficial for treating autoimmune disorders where inflammation is the main complication.”

“There is no doubt that cannabis has some medicinal benefits, and helps patients to cope with symptoms of Lupus. On the contrary, medical cannabis is only legal in a number of states. The naturally grown “drug” remains illegal on a federal level, so one should consider the law and its consequences before deciding to self-medicate. Even if you live in a state where cannabis is legal medicinally, always consult your doctor before using cannabis to treat your condition.”

More Helpful Medical Marijuana & Lupus Resources:

  • http://www.mcsocal.com/blog/plaquenil-rheumatoid-arthritis-lupus-and-marijuana-cannabis
  • http://cure4lupus.org/store/index.php?main_page=page&id=164&chapter=1
  • http://www.thelupussite.com/
  • http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/info/lupus/
  • http://www.lupus.org/newsite/index.html
  • http://lupus.webmd.com/news/20030415/cannabis-may-suppress-immune-system
  • http://www.webmd.com/rheumatoid-arthritis/features/autoimmune-disease-and-ra
  • http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/lupus/DS00115/DSECTION=alternative-medicine

More: http://www.medicaljane.com/2013/01/07/lupus-and-medical-marijuana/

The Use of Marijuana or Synthetic Cannabinoids for the Treatment of Headache – MedScape

“Pharmacological preparations of cannabinoid compounds have a variety of therapeutic uses in medicine, including different pain syndromes, but have not been previously reported as beneficial for cluster headache.We present a patient with cluster headache who was refractory to multiple acute and preventive medications but successfully aborted his attacks with recreational marijuana use; subsequent use of dronabinol provided equally effective pain relief. The beneficial effect may be related to the high concentration of cannabinoid receptors in the hypothalamus, which has been implicated as a site of dysfunction in neuroimaging studies of patients with cluster headache.

The plant Cannabis sativa has a long history of medical use in the treatment of pain and spasms, the promotion of sleep, and the suppression of nausea and vomiting. However, in the early 1970s cannabis was classified in the Narcotic Acts in countries all over the world as having no therapeutic benefit; therefore, it cannot be prescribed by physicians or dispensed by pharmacists. In the light of this contradictory situation, an increasing number of patients practice a self-prescription with cannabis products for relieving a variety of symptoms.

  The majority of patients used natural cannabis products such as marihuana, hashish, and an alcoholic tincture; in just 5 cases dronabinol (Marinol) was taken by prescription…

 …this survey demonstrates a successful use of cannabis products for the treatment of a multitude of various illnesses and symptoms. This use was usually accompanied only by slight and in general acceptable side effects…”

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/738529

Medical Marijuana Achieves ‘Complete Remission’ Of Crohn’s Disease; Drug Improves Appetite And Sleep Function, With No Side Effects

“Smoking medical marijuana achieved remission in five of 11 subjects with Crohn’s disease who smoked twice a day for eight weeks, as part of a study.”

Crohn’s disease, one of several inflammatory bowel diseases, achieved “complete remission” in nearly half the subjects of one study that were exposed to smoking medical marijuana on a regular basis.

Published in the journal Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology, the study examined the effects of consistent marijuana use on Crohn’s patients who suffered from severe cases of the disease. The results of the 21-subject study point toward the drug’s anti-inflammatory properties as being responsible for quieting symptoms in many patients, and even reaching total remission in others.”

More: http://www.medicaldaily.com/articles/17529/20130718/medical-marijuana-crohns-disease-remission-anti-inflammatory-drug-inflammatory-bowel-disease.htm

“Study: Marijuana May Achieve Complete Remission of Crohn’s Disease”  http://blog.mpp.org/research/study-marijuana-may-achieve-complete-remission-of-crohns-disease/07192013/

 

Cannabis Induces a Clinical Response in Patients with Crohn’s Disease: a Prospective Placebo-Controlled Study... The marijuana plant Cannabis sativa has been reported to produce beneficial effects for patients with inflammatory bowel diseases… We performed a prospective trial to determine whether cannabis can induce remission in patients with Crohn’s disease…Complete remission was achieved by 5/11 subjects in the cannabis group…Three patients in the cannabis group were weaned from steroid dependency . Subjects receiving cannabis reported improved appetite and sleep, with no significant side effects.” http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23648372