• Diet Therapy,  Epilepsy

    Matthew’s Friends – Ketogenic Dietary Therapies

    Intractable (Drug Resistant) Epilepsy; 1 in 104 people are affected with epilepsy in the UK** and over 50 million worldwide.  It is one of the most common serious neurological conditions with approximately 30 different epilepsy syndromes and over 38 different types of seizures. The majority of cases of epilepsy can be treated successfully with modern anti-epileptic drugs (AED’s) used either as single agents or in combination.  However, approximately 30% of cases are classed as having drug-resistant or intractable epilepsy, where seizures persist despite the appropriate use of two or more AED’s and the possibility of achieving seizure freedom with additional medication is extremely low. Ketogenic Dietary Therapies:  The Ketogenic Diet…

  • Epilepsy

    Clinical Trial Begins on a New Treatment Using Cannabis for Intractable Seizures in Children

    CANNABIDIOL (CBD), the non-psychoactive compound of cannabis There is a study underway to test the safety and efficacy of Cannabidiol (CBD), the non-psychoactive compound of cannabis. Some of the experts involved are the Angelman communities’ very own specialists Dr. Elizabeth A. Thiele and Dr. Ronald Thibert of Massachusetts General Hospital. Both Physicians are members of the Scientific Advisory Committee of the Angelman Syndrome Foundation. The study will provide a better understanding of the maximally tolerated dose and potential side effects of CBD as well as display its efficacy in two well-defined childhood epilepsy syndromes, Dravet and Lennox-Gastaut, which are very difficult to control even with medication. Angelman Today will be…