Nebraska clinical trial shows cannabidiol benefits

Most epilepsy patients taking cannabis-derived oil in a clinical trial at the University of Nebraska Medical Center continue to see improvement in their seizures.

A study authorized by Nebraska lawmakers in 2015 has shown the majority of the 23 participating patients have experienced benefits from taking cannabidiol, commonly referred to as CBD oil. Patients participating in the two-year trial have forms of epilepsy that don't respond to regular treatments.

Christopher Kratochvil is UNMC's associate vice chancellor for clinical research. He says the patients who saw the greatest improvement have two of the most difficult forms of epilepsy to treat, Lennox-Gastaut syndrome and Dravet syndrome.

The drug used in the study is the Epidiolex oral solution, a product approved in June by the federal Food and Drug Administration.