Cannabis component in epilepsy drug
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Your support makes all the difference.The cannnabis-based drugs maker GW Pharmaceuticals has revealed it is planning to use a new component of the plant to create a treatment for epilepsy.
This would add to its growing use as a treatment for multiple sclerosis and pain relief for cancer patients.
It follows the publication of research by the University of Reading into the previously largely ignored cannabidvarin which occurs naturally in cannabis. Scientists found that cannabidvarin works against epileptics' convulsions, but unlike other cannabis-based treatments does not make users "high".
Dr Stephen Wright, the research and development director at GW, said: "These results further underscore the potential of naturally derived cannabinoids as medicines to treat a range of diseases. GW has a track record of discovering and commercialising such compounds."
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