Enecta CBD in the study of the University of Genoa

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  • they are not medicines;
  • they are obtained from hemp varieties registered in the Common European Register and in compliance with the other requirements provided by law 242/2016;
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Our blog articles are for informational purposes only and are not intended to qualify our products as medicines or to attribute therapeutic properties to them.

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Some time ago, the results of a recent Italian study by the University of Genoa were published on the use of our 24% CBD oil as a support for various forms of drug-resistant epilepsy.

For years, the results of controlled and randomized studies on some pharmaceutical formulations of cannabidiol (CBD) have proven promising in supporting certain therapies followed by patients suffering from various forms of drug-resistant epilepsy. At the same time, however, data on the effectiveness in treating epilepsy derived from other CBD products (such as cannabidiol oil) were scarce, if not nonexistent. One retrospective study, conducted by researchers from the University of Genoa, IRCCS Institute “G. Gaslini”, has provided a contribution to fill this gap. The research, in fact, offers the first confirmations of the effectiveness of cannabidiol oil (CBD) to address the symptoms and manifestations of epilepsy.

The results represent a significant step forward towards the future adoption of cannabidiol products in the context of therapies for patients affected by particular types of epilepsy: drug-resistant epilepsy. The study, in fact, evaluated the effectiveness of Enecta 24% CBD Oil, as an adjunct therapy, on 37 patients affected by this condition.

The commitment and support of Enecta to scientific research aim to ensure a conscious, safe, and informed use of cannabidiol-based products.

At the same time, we pay the utmost attention in the preparation of the oils and all other products containing cannabis extracts. The care and precision throughout the entire supply chain ensure that our products are used safely even in therapeutic and research settings.

How was the study on CBD against drug-resistant epilepsy conducted?

The research was conducted on 37 patients (20 male, 17 female) with various types of drug-resistant epilepsy who used our CBD oil at 24%. For data collection and evaluation of the results, the research team examined the medical records and information recorded by the people caring for the patient. The patients' ages varied widely (between 2 and 54 years). Twenty-two subjects suffered from epileptic encephalopathy, nine from focal epilepsy, and six from generalized epilepsy.

All participants took a daily dose between 5 and 50 milligrams per kilogram of body weight of 24% Enecta CBD oil.

The oil was administered sublingually, and its effectiveness was evaluated based on the episodes of epileptic manifestations reported during the follow-up period. The results were surprising. Seven patients no longer experienced epileptic manifestations, 27 patients saw a reduction in the number of seizures by over 50%, two patients reported a milder decrease, while only one discontinued the therapy because they found no effectiveness. One of the perhaps most important data points concerns the concomitant therapy with other antiepileptic drugs: in ten of the subjects involved, the so-called "weaning" from the drug was achieved after about 24 weeks from the start of CBD oil administration.

Finally, any adverse effects were evaluated. Nine patients experienced mild and, in any case, transient events, such as loss of appetite or slight drowsiness. Four of the seven patients who reported suffering from drowsiness were on combination therapy with valproic acid, a drug used to treat epilepsy. No changes were observed in liver enzyme functions.

Looking more closely at the results, it was found that 19 out of 22 patients with epileptic encephalopathy experienced a clear improvement, with a significant drop in the number of seizures. Among the nine patients with focal epilepsy, five observed a strong improvement in the number of epileptic seizure episodes, and three of these never experienced another seizure. The same thing happened to three of the six patients with generalized epilepsy: the seizures had disappeared.

Researchers did not observe a direct correlation between the amount of CBD oil and the absence of epileptic seizures. The dosage, in fact, varied over time. This is an element that requires further research to better understand the factors that determine the success of cannabidiol in an epileptic subject. It is important to remember that the 37 individuals involved in the study were taking multiple concomitant antiepileptic drugs during the reference period. Twenty-four patients took valproic acid and clobazam, both anticonvulsant substances. Patients who experienced at least a 50% reduction in epileptic seizures reduced the dose of concomitant drugs 24 weeks after the introduction of CBD-based oil.

At 40 weeks of follow-up, 10 patients (27%) were able to prevent epileptic seizures, in combination with only one drug. These results suggest a good possibility for the future use of CBD products for the treatment of drug-resistant epilepsies. Added to this is the fact that none of the subjects examined reported a worsening in the frequency of convulsive seizures.

CBD and epilepsy: a research journey

This is a first concrete step towards better understanding the effectiveness of CBD oil as an anticonvulsant treatment in patients with epilepsy for whom conventional medications have not produced the desired effects. The authors of the research, coordinated by Professor Pasquale Striano, also point out that there are still some limitations in their work. The assessment of CBD’s effectiveness was based on clinical results, without subjecting patients to monitoring via electroencephalogram. Furthermore, monitoring of cannabidiol levels in the blood was not available during the analysis period. The patients involved in this retrospective study varied the dose of CBD, adjusting the amount of cannabidiol according to their clinical responses.

The research by the Italian team is part of a “tradition” of studies that is being consolidated year after year. The results are in line with those of other studies aimed at evaluating the effectiveness of an oral pharmaceutical formulation of CBD (known as Epidiolex, a recognized medication that will soon also be dispensed in Italy). In these studies, the subjects were affected by Dravet syndrome and Lennox-Gastaut syndrome. In both contexts, patients showed a 36.5% reduction in tonic seizures and a 16% reduction in tonic-clonic seizures.

Already in 2017, it was observed that patients with Lennox-Gastaut syndrome who received an additional oral formulation of Epidiolex showed a reduction equal to or greater than 50% in the frequency of monthly epileptic seizures, compared to 24% of patients who received the placebo. The data from the literature published so far show that CBD does not have a significant effect on the frequency of non-convulsive seizures.

This suggests that the effect of CBD is anticonvulsant and that the active ingredient may have a specific action on convulsive seizures. For the moment, these are still data that are difficult to evaluate and almost serve as an invitation to insist on scientific research. The researchers at the Gaslini Institute in Genoa also recall that, in their recent study, there was no statistically significant difference in the maximum daily dose of CBD between the group of patients who showed an improvement of more than 50% (in seizure reduction) and the group that showed a lesser improvement.

The Enecta 24% CBD oil was well tolerated in most patients, regardless of the etiology.

The study was published in the journal Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research. It is the reference journal for the International Cannabinoid Research Society (ICRS), the International Association for Cannabinoid Medicines (IACM), and the Society of Cannabis Clinicians (SCC). It is a peer-reviewed publication that welcomes contributions from research teams worldwide who help advance scientific research on the active ingredients and products derived from the cannabis plant. The article is open access and can therefore be viewed free of charge. Enecta firmly believes in the transparency of scientific information and is committed to spreading the most recent knowledge about the relationship between cannabis and health as widely as possible.

The encouraging results of CBD

The positive results of the research hint at an applicative future for CBD products. Behind the numbers and statistics of studies like this, there are stories and personal experiences of living with a disease that has significant impacts both on the patient's life and on that of their loved ones. The reduction of epileptic seizures that cannabidiol can bring aims to improve the daily life of the person and their closest loved ones and this is what matters.

Studies highlighting the benefits of cannabidiol are gaining increasing public interest. More and more people in Italy are using cannabidiol-based products: one in four Italian citizens, in fact, has used cannabidiol at least once in their life.

is one of the findings from a survey published at the end of November, promoted by Cannabeta, an Enecta project for the scientific dissemination on the use of cannabis in the medical field.

The survey also revealed that, in addition to current users, there is a 30% of the population declared themselves in favor of using cannabis in the context of therapy.

Interest is high and the results are not lacking. Cannabidiol continues to establish itself in the context of wellness and health, both physical and mental, in a completely legal and safe way.

Our relationship with research

We started cultivating and processing Cannabis Sativa L. with the idea of promoting its conscious and responsible use, and from the beginning of our journey, we have supported the production process with assistance to the scientific research. Since 2017, we have collaborated with several Italian universities and supported various studies on hemp and cannabinoids, helping to explore their benefits in the medical, pharmacological, and environmental fields.

Often, our products also meet certain suitability requirements and are chosen to develop new studies. Being able to participate so closely in the progress of Cannabis research is a privilege we believe we have earned by working on the quality, effectiveness, and safety of our products.

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