Epilepsy
Targeted
Cannabis
About Cannella
CANNELLA Epilepsy is dedicated to raising public awareness regarding the clinically proven connection between epilepsy and medical cannabis and directly serving the medical cannabis needs of the Epilepsy community. Our cultivation and research is performed in our Israel based facility where we control the entire life cycle of the cannabis drug development process. Although most of CANNELLA’s product development occurs in Israel, we additionally collaborate on R&D and product formulation projects with various esteemed research facilities around the world.
The company is co-owned by the public cannabis company Intelicanna, a daughter company of pharma-grade product manufacturer Alvit LCS Pharma and CANNELLA Epilepsy CEO Adv. Inbar Paz-Benayoun.
Alvit researches and develops pharma-grade cannabis products that make cannabis speak in a language doctors understand. Alvit is constructing the largest EU-GMP certified cannabis cultivation, extraction and production facility in the EU in Malta and will be launching its flowers, oils and pharma-grade products into Europe in the beginning of 2020.
About
Epilepsy
39,000,000
People With Epilepsy
80%
In The Developing World
Epilepsy is a group of neurological disorders that cause epileptic seizures. These seizures are the result of excessive and abnormal neuronal activity in the cortex of the brain that can cause anywhere from brief periods of nearly undetectable shaking to long periods of vigorous shaking. Unfortunately for patients suffering from Epilepsy, seizures tend to recur and usually with no immediate underlying cause.
The cause of most cases of epilepsy is unknown. Some cases occur as the result of brain injury, stroke, brain tumors, infections of the brain, and birth defects through a process known as epileptogenesis. Known genetic mutations are directly linked to a small proportion of cases. The diagnosis involves ruling out other conditions that might cause similar symptoms, such as fainting, and determining if another cause of seizures is present, such as alcohol withdrawal or electrolyte problems.
As of 2015, about 39 million people have epilepsy. Nearly 80% of cases occur in the developing world. Epilepsy is more common in older people. In the developed world, onset of new cases occurs most frequently in babies and the elderly. In the developing world, onset is more common in older children and young adults, due to differences in the frequency of the underlying causes. About 5–10% of people will have an unprovoked seizure by the age of 80, and the chance of experiencing a second seizure is between 40- 50%. In many areas of the world, those with epilepsy either have restrictions placed on their ability to drive or are not permitted to drive until they are free of seizures for a specific length of time.
Epileptic Seizure
The most common type (60%) of seizures are convulsive. Of these, one-third begin as generalized seizures from the start, affecting both hemispheres of the brain. Two-thirds begin as focal seizures (which affect one hemisphere of the brain) which may then progress to generalized seizures. The remaining 40% of seizures are non-convulsive. An example of this type is the absence seizure, which presents as a decreased level of consciousness and usually lasts about 10 seconds.
Focal seizures are often preceded by certain experiences, known as auras. They include sensory (visual, hearing, or smell), psychic, autonomic, and motor phenomena. Automatisms may occur, which are non-consciously-generated activities and mostly simple repetitive movements like smacking of the lips or more complex activities such as attempts to pick up something.
There are six main types of generalized seizures: tonic-clonic, tonic, clonic, myoclonic, absence and atonic seizures. They all involve loss of consciousness and typically happen without warning.
Tonic-clonic seizures occur with a contraction of the limbs followed by their extension along with arching of the back which lasts 10–30 seconds (the tonic phase). A cry may be heard due to contraction of the chest muscles, followed by a shaking of the limbs in unison (clonic phase). Tonic seizures produce constant contractions of the muscles. A person often turns blue as breathing is stopped. In clonic seizures there is shaking of the limbs in unison. After the shaking has stopped it may take 10–30 minutes for the person to return to normal; this period is called the "postictal state" or "postictal phase." Loss of bowel or bladder control may occur during a seizure. The tongue may be bitten at either the tip or on the sides during a seizure. In tonic-clonic seizure, bites to the sides are more common. Tongue bites are also relatively common in psychogenic non-epileptic seizures.
Myoclonic seizures involve spasms of muscles in either a few areas or all over. Absence seizures can be subtle with only a slight turn of the head or eye blinking. The person does not fall over and returns to normal right after it ends. Atonic seizures involve the loss of muscle activity for greater than one second. This typically occurs on both sides of the body.
About 6% of those with epilepsy have seizures that are often triggered by specific events and are known as reflex seizures. Those with reflex epilepsy have seizures that are only triggered by specific stimuli. Common triggers include flashing lights and sudden noises. In certain types of epilepsy, seizures happen more often during sleep, and in other types they occur almost only when sleeping.
Epilepsy & Cannabis
The CBD molecule in cannabis has been clinically tested in the recent years, proving that the use of CBD extracted oil during epileptic seizure can diminish the symptoms of the seizure and shorten its length. By proving the beneficial effect of CBD oil, the legislation has been changed is several countries around the world, enabling patients to be treated by medical cannabis in oil form.
Medical cannabis is currently prescribed mostly for patients that do not respond to standard medicine (30% of epilepsy patients), many patients request for the CBD oil extract to manage their seizures due to minimal side effects.
