Martina Bebin, MD, MPA: Epidiolex and the Novelty of CBD in TSC

"About two-thirds of [TSC] patients develop drug-resistant epilepsy. It’s a very difficult condition to manage and having Epidiolex approved now for all these types of epilepsies is very exciting.”

Last month, the FDA approved a new indication for cannabidiol (CBD; Epidiolex; GW Pharmaceuticals) for the treatment of seizures associated with tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC), a rare disease that is the leading cause of genetic epilepsy. Epidiolex was first approved in June 2018 for the treatment of seizures associated with Lennox-Gastaut syndrome and Dravet syndrome.

The latest approval is for use in patients age 1 year and older in TSC, as well as expanding the approved age range to patients age 1 year and older for the treatment’s other indications. Martina Bebin, MD, MPA, professor of neurology and pediatrics, University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) Epilepsy Center, claimed this approval carries more weight due to the high seizure burden that patients with TSC face.

While CBD has been commonly known as a muscle relaxer to the general population, it has become a revolutionary treatment within the epilepsy community. Bebin caught up with NeurologyLive to discuss why the approval is important and how CBD has altered the epilepsy treatment landscape.