Study finds new way CBD reduces epileptic seizures in children

Feb. 13 (UPI) -- Researchers in New York have revealed a new way in which cannabidiol, or CBD, reduces seizures in children who suffer from various treatment-resistant forms of epilepsy.

The new study, published Monday and conducted at NYU Grossman School of Medicine, found CBD blocks signals carried by a molecule called lysophosphatidylinositol, or LPI, which is believed to amplify nerve signals but is more pronounced with epilepsy.

While researchers confirmed earlier findings that CBD blocks LPI's ability to amplify nerve signals in the brain's hippocampus, they also discovered for the first time that LPI also weakens signals that counter seizures.

"The study also clarified, not just how CBD counters seizures, but more broadly how circuits are balanced in the brain," said corresponding author Richard Tsien, chair of the Department of Physiology and Neuroscience at NYU Langone Health.

"Related imbalances are present in autism and schizophrenia, so the paper may have a broader impact," Tsien added.

The new study examined rodent models to explore the mechanisms behind seizures. By treating mice with CBD before introducing seizure-inducing stimuli, they found that the CBD blocked a "positive feedback loop" during which seizures increase the protein called G-coupled receptor 55, or GPR55, on neuron cell surfaces which encourages more seizures.

Researchers also found that while LPI amplifies incoming electrical signals, endocannabinoids such as 2-AG dial down the release of neurotransmitters from nerve cells.

"Theoretically, the brain could control activity by toggling between pro-excitatory LPI and the restorative actions of 2-AG," first study author Dr. Evan Rosenberg, a post-doctoral scholar in Tsein's lab, said while adding that the new findings could provide specific targets for future drugs.

"Drug designers could inhibit the enzymes that underpin LPI production or promote its conversion to 2-AG, as an additional approach to control seizures," Rosenberg said.

"LPI could also serve as a biomarker of seizures or predictor of clinical responsiveness to CBD, providing an area of future research."

A poll last year found a majority of parents would consider giving CBD products to their children, but pediatric neurologist Dr. Renee Shellhaas at the University of Michigan C.S. Mott Children's Hospital warned against unregulated CBD in children, urging all parents to talk with their pediatricians first.