Updated: Monday, April 13 2015, 10:52 PM CDT Texas families are begging lawmakers to give their children a new chance for life-saving medical treatment. A proposed bill would make Cannabidiol Oil an option for treating epilepsy. The oil is a compound of the cannabis plant, but the bill is not considered a medical marijuana bill. The Cannabidiol Oil would be administered with a syringe through the mouth. Researchers say it's not addictive and it won't make you high. Thats exactly why an Austin family wants the opportunity to see if it can save their son's life. Like most four-year-old kids, Elliott Graham loves Thomas the Train and fire trucks. Unlike most kids, he has debilitating epileptic seizures. Daily seizures upwards sometimes of 100 a day, explains Elliotts mom, Katie Graham. The seizures have lead to developmental, cognitive and speech delays. The medications to treat the seizures aren't working. For us as parents, where eight medications, a rigorous diet, an implant in a baby... has failed... this is where we would like the opportunity to try this, she explains. This is a new compound that we've just seen out of the cannabis plant that has this miraculous unique property of also … Continue reading →

WASHINGTON, DC - A medicinal liquid form of marijuana may show promise as a treatment for children with severe epilepsy that is not responding to other treatments, according to a study released today that will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology's 67th Annual Meeting in Washington, DC, April 18 to 25, 2015. The study involved 213 people, ranging from toddlers to adults, with a median age of 11 who had severe epilepsy that did not respond to other treatments. Participants had Dravet syndrome and Lennox-Gastaut syndrome, epilepsy types that can lead to intellectual disability and lifelong seizures, as well as 10 other types of severe epilepsy. The participants were given the drug cannabidiol, a component of marijuana that does not include the psychoactive part of the plant that creates a "high." The drug is a liquid taken daily by mouth. Participants all knew they were receiving the drug in the open-label study, which was designed to determine whether the drug was safe and tolerated well. Researchers also measured the number of seizures participants had while taking the drug. For the 137 people who completed the 12-week study, the number of seizures decreased by an average of 54 percent … Continue reading →

Children with two of the most severe forms of epilepsy can suffer scores of seizures each day, as well as long-term physical and cognitive problems. The two conditions, Dravet and Lennox-Gastaut syndromes, are quite rare but unfortunately very resistant to treatment with current epilepsy drugs. Now a compound found in marijuana plants has shown promising results in a preliminary study, during which it sharply reduced the number of seizures suffered by these children. Some were even seizure-free after three months of taking the drug, cannabidiol, the research showed. "We're very encouraged by the data," said Orrin Devinsky, director of the NYU Langone Comprehensive Epilepsy Center and leader of the research. A more rigorous study of cannabidiol's impact has begun and will help determine how effective it really is, he said. [Read more: Predicting epileptic seizures with 82 percent accuracy] In making cannabidiol, the marijuana plant's psychoactive material (THC) was removed. A 99 percent pure liquid version of the drug was given for three to six months to 137 people with the two syndromes. Most were children (the subjects ranged in age from 2 to 26), and before the experiment they suffered a disturbing average of 95.3 convulsive seizures every month. … Continue reading →

Study gave children with epilepsy a medicinal liquid form of marijuana Drug reduced number of seizures by an average of 53% across the group Children had severe types of epilepsy that hadn't responded to treatment However, 10% of children had to stop taking drug due to its side effects By Madlen Davies for MailOnline Published: 15:00 EST, 13 April 2015 | Updated: 16:21 EST, 13 April 2015 2.4k shares 82 View comments Cannabis could offer hope for children with severe epilepsy, a new study suggests. A medicinal liquid form of marijuana shows promise as a treatment for children with a severe form of the condition, researchers found. They discovered that treating epilepsy with the cannabis-derived drug led to an average 53 per cent reduction in seizures. However, 10 per cent of children in the study had to stop taking the drug due to side effects including tiredness, diarrhoea and decreased appetite. Read the rest here: CANNABIS could treat children with severe epilepsy … Continue reading →

A new marijuana-based medicine may reduce the number of seizures in children and adults with severe forms of epilepsy, according to earlyresults from an ongoing clinical trial. The drug, called Epidiolex,has a few side effects, but the preliminary results move GW Pharmaceuticals of London a step closer to debuting thethird FDA-approved medicinebased on the marijuana plant. The research, led byDr. Orrin Devinsky, a neurologist at New York University'sLangone Medical Center, aimed to determine whether the drug compound cannabidiolwas safe for young patients. Devinsky and collaborators across the country gave a daily dose for 12 weeks to 213 patients with severe epilepsy, including subgroups of patients with specific forms of the disorder such as Dravet syndrome and Lennox-Gastaut syndrome. The median age of patients in the trial was 11 years old. About 6 percent of patients, or 12 people, stopped taking the drug due to side effects including drowsiness, diarrhea and a decrease in appetite. Devinsky reported his results through the American Academy of Neurology and will present his findings at the organization's upcoming annual conference. I am delighted that a clinical trial in pediatric epilepsy with cannabidiol is being conducted, saidRaphael Mechoulam, a chemist at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem … Continue reading →

Mosaic Life Cares stroke center was awarded a Level II stroke certification by Missouris Time Critical Diagnosis System, based on the hospitals ability to provide rapid, coordinated and advanced care for stroke patients. Missouri recognizes hospitals that have systems in place to coordinate from the 911 dispatch to the EMS to the hospital, so this is tying all those pieces together to provide the most timely and quality of care to the patient having a stroke, said Debbie Carver, nurse stroke coordinator with Mosaic. An online service is needed to view this article in its entirety. You need an online service to view this article in its entirety. Need an account? Create one now. kAm%9:D 😀 E96 7:CDE E:>6 |:DD@FC:D %:>6 rC:E:42= s:28?@D:D $JDE6> 92D :DDF65 DEC@@DE EH@ 5@K6? >65:42= 46?E6CD H6C6 2H2C565 {6G6= xx 46CE:7:42E:@? 24C@DD E96 DE2E6] %96 9@DA:E2= H2D 6G2=F2E65 3J E96 |:DD@FC: s6A2CE>6?E @7 w62=E9 2?5 E96 $6?:@C $6CG:46D %:>6 rC:E:42= s:28?@D:D %2D< u@C46]kP\Aiqry q@5J r@AJ u62EFC6\mk^Am kAmkP\Aiqry q@5J r@AJ u62EFC6\mxE C64@8?:K6D FD 2D 92G:?8 E96 6IA6CE:D6[ E96 … Continue reading →

St. Mary-Corwin Medical Center recently was recognized nationally for the commitment and quality care provided to stroke patients. St. Mary-Corwin was recognized for achieving the Stroke Honor Roll Elite Plus and Gold Plus awards for the hospitals success and commitment to ensure that stroke patients receive appropriate treatment based on nationally recognized guidelines and using the most up-to-date scientific data. The awards were presented at the recent American Heart Association/American Stroke Associations International Stroke Conference. St. Mary-Corwin is dedicated to improving the quality of stroke care and the American Heart Association/American Stroke Associations Get with the Guidelines helps us achieve that goal, said Ashley Trujillo, a registered nurse and stroke program coordinator. I am so proud of our stroke team for working diligently to provide rapid, quality care for our stroke patients. St. Mary-Corwin was one of more than 550 hospitals nationwide to be recognized on the stroke honor roll and among nearly 1,000 hospitals honored with a quality achievement award. To be recognized with the honor roll award, hospitals must meet quality measures designed to reduce the time between the patients arrival at the hospital and treatment with a clot-buster drug for those suffering an ischemic stroke or a … Continue reading →