An Alternative Medicine Perspective on the Role of the Endocannabinoid System in the Treatment of Epilepsy

According to the American Epilepsy Society, more than three million Americans live with epilepsy [1]. Availability of numerous antiepileptic drugs has not substantially reduced the proportion of patients with medically refractory epilepsy. Their quality of life and therapeutic response to currently available medications remains poor. Patients need new treatments that control seizures and have fewer side effects. This gap in epilepsy treatmentespecially in refractory forms of childhood epilepsy has led patients to seek alternative treatments. To this purpose, emphasis has been given to phytocannabinoid treatment which has become more accepted. Phytocannabinoids are naturally occurring cannabinoids derived from the cannabis plant.