Vilnius University, Faculty of Medicine, Vilnius, Lithuania.
Vilnius University, Center for Neurology, Vilnius, Lithuania.
Epilepsy Behav. 2020 Oct;111:107214. doi: 10.1016/j.yebeh.2020.107214. Epub 2020 Jun 21.
The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether the topic of using cannabis as a treatment option for epilepsy is relevant among adult patients with the disorder and assess the possible determinant attitudes for having a history of cannabis consumption or being inclined to try it for medical purposes.
Willing adult (≥18 years) patients with diagnosed epilepsy participated in a cross-sectional survey study at a tertiary epilepsy center. The questions were related to cannabis use and opinions towards the safety and efficacy profile of cannabis for treating epilepsy.
From 250 respondents, 41 (16.4%) reported prior use of cannabis or its preparations (15 [36.6%] for self-treatment). There were 81 (32.4%) participants further interested in cannabis use for treating epilepsy. In a binary regression model (Nagelkerke R¯ = 0.331), the opinion that cannabis is safer because of its natural origin (β = 0.749, p = 0.027) and the premise of understanding its legal status (β = 0.418, p = 0.024) positively predicted which participants have reported cannabis use. These patients were also more likely to consult internet sources (p = 0.004) and agree that cannabis as an epilepsy treatment option is effective (U = 2231.5, p < 0.001), safe (U = 1822.0, p < 0.001) and has no side effects (U = 2470.5, p = 0.004). Patients who had not tried cannabis were more likely to envision the products as potentially addictive (p = 0.012) and presumably be deterred from using them due to beliefs in harmful effects (β = -0.632, p = 0.025). In general, nonusers were not inclined to try cannabis for treating epilepsy (Md = 2, range 1 to 7). However, those interested in the possibility of using cannabis to treat epilepsy would be more willing to try the respective preparations (p < 0.001).
Among adult patients with epilepsy, we report no particularly high rate of cannabis use or interest in applying cannabis for medical purposes. In order to clarify the scientific and legal status of the preparations, treating neurologists should consult prior users and patients interested in the possibility of trying cannabis as an epilepsy remedy.
本研究旨在评估大麻作为治疗癫痫的一种选择，对于患有该疾病的成年患者是否相关，并评估使用大麻或尝试将其用于医疗目的的可能决定因素态度。
愿意参加的成年（≥18 岁）癫痫患者在一家三级癫痫中心参加了横断面调查研究。这些问题与大麻的使用以及对大麻治疗癫痫的安全性和疗效特征的看法有关。
在 250 名应答者中，有 41 名（16.4%）报告曾使用过大麻或其制剂（15 名[36.6%]为自我治疗）。有 81 名（32.4%）参与者对大麻治疗癫痫的使用更感兴趣。在二元回归模型（Nagelkerke R¯=0.331）中，大麻因其天然来源而更安全（β=0.749，p=0.027）和理解其法律地位的前提（β=0.418，p=0.024）的观点，积极预测了哪些参与者报告了大麻的使用。这些患者也更有可能查阅互联网资源（p=0.004），并同意大麻作为癫痫治疗选择是有效的（U=2231.5，p<0.001）、安全的（U=1822.0，p<0.001）且没有副作用（U=2470.5，p=0.004）。没有尝试过大麻的患者更有可能认为这些产品可能具有成瘾性（p=0.012），并且由于相信有害影响，可能会阻止他们使用这些产品（β=-0.632，p=0.025）。一般来说，非使用者不太倾向于尝试大麻治疗癫痫（Md=2，范围 1 至 7）。然而，那些对使用大麻治疗癫痫的可能性感兴趣的人将更愿意尝试相应的制剂（p<0.001）。
在成年癫痫患者中，我们报告的大麻使用率或对将大麻用于医疗目的的兴趣并不特别高。为了澄清制剂的科学和法律地位，治疗神经科医生应该咨询以前的使用者和对尝试大麻作为癫痫治疗的可能性感兴趣的患者。
