Cannabis for seizures caused by hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy or HIE?
A recent study highlights a new treatment for seizures in the setting of hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy or HIE. The new treatment? A cannabis-derived drug researchers are studying to see if the medication will lessen brain damage from HIE.
The baby was born by emergency c-section. The doctors diagnosed the child with HIE. Thereafter, the child underwent total-body cooling. The doctors then asked the parents if they wanted to enroll the child in the cannabis study. The parents agreed. A SkyNews article states, "The first phase of the trial, involving units in the UK and Europe, will take about a year to complete, with the babies' development being checked at 30 days, six months and 12 months after discharge."
What is HIE?
HIE stands for hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy. HIE occurs when there is significant lack of oxygen to the baby in utero, often during the labor and delivery process. Hypoxia means diminished oxygen. Ischemia means diminished blood flow. When those two things cause brain dysfunction in a newborn, you have HIE.
Some of the signs of HIE include, low Apgars scores (e.g., the baby is not breathing at birth), metabolic acidosis, kidney dysfunction, seizures, and other multi-organ injury.
The end result of HIE is often brain damage and cerebral palsy.
What are the causes of HIE?
There are many potential causes of HIE. Those include:
- Fetal intolerance to labor
- Uterine rupture
- Placental abprution
- Maternal hypotension (i.e., low blood pressure in the mom)
- Placental insufficiency
Sadly, a large percentage of cases of HIE, brain damage and cerebral palsy are caused by medical error.
What are treatments for HIE?
The most common treatment today is total body cooling for 72 hours. Since around 2012, whole body cooling for hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy has been the standard of care for babies born with suspected HIE. The prevailing belief is whole body cooling minimizes what is "re-perfusion injury" to the brain. Many studies support the efficacy of whole body cooling in the setting of HIE. Of course, the failure to implement total body cooling can result in further harm to a baby. Unfortunately, whole body cooling protocols are either inadequate, or not followed, and babies get injured routinely because of failing to cool.
New drugs are being studies all the time for managing HIE. The cannabis-derived drug in the new study out of the UK is just the latest. Seizures can seriously hurt the brain. As such, minimizing seizures for HIE is a good goal. Hopefully, this study will show that the cannabis-derived drugs work in preventing secondary brain injury due to seizures.
