Posted by Centipede Nation Staff on June 26, 2018 3:52 pm

Today, the FDA approved a purified form of the drug cannabidiol (CBD). This is one of more than 80 active chemicals in marijuana. The new product was approved to treat seizures associated with two rare, severe forms of epilepsy in patients two years of age and older.

Epidiolex was recommended for approval by an advisory committee in April, and the agency had until this week to make a decision. The strawberry-flavored syrup is a purified form of a chemical in the cannabis plant — but not the one that gets users high.

The twice-daily oral solution is approved for use in patients 2 and older to treat two types of epileptic syndromes:

  • Dravet syndrome, a rare genetic dysfunction of the brain that begins in the first year of life
  • Lennox-Gastaut syndrome, a form of epilepsy with multiple types of seizures that begin in early childhood, usually between 3 and 5.

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