Cannabidiol (CBD) FDA Approved for Epilepsy – May Help Pain, Mood – Costs Review

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Epidiolex from GW Pharmaceuticals, is a cannabidiol (CBD) recently approved by FDA for treatment of epilepsy. Others have found CBD helpful for pain, migraine, and mood disorders. CBD is one of the more than 80 known cannabinoids in the cannabis plant, the marijuana plant. It has no psychoactive effect, that means it does not make anyone “high”. But urine drug tests will be positive for marijuana and anyone may risk losing their job if their employer checks – some drug tests do not specify marijuana.

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Medications can be prescribed off-label by your doctor for conditions other than the FDA approved epilepsy in this case, and hopefully covered by healthcare insurance. Below are costs of the Epidiolex brand reviewed by O’Shaughnessy’s newsletter, the newsletter originally for California cannabis doctors.

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FDA approval means CBD now has accepted medical use and should be no longer classified as Schedule I, though the ruse will likely be continued by congress.

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“GW Pharmaceuticals has announced its pricing stategy for Epidiolex, the CBD extract recently approved by FDA. In a Wall St. Journal interview, GW’s Justin Gover emphasized that the cost will be similar to other anti-epileptic drugs such as Onfi —$32,500/year. An officer of the Epilepsy Society expresses gratitude that GW didn’t set a much higher price.

Here’s Dale Gieringer’s back-of-the-envelope comparison of Epidiolex and a homegrown equivalent:

At $32,500 per year, Epidiolex, the new FDA-approved CBD drug, is a costly medication.  The standard dosage of Epidiolex is from 5 to 25 mg of CBD per kg bodyweight per day, which works out to 250 – 1,250 mg of CBD per day for a 100-pound patient (on the heavy side for pediatric cases).   Using high-potency flowers of 15% CBD, this works out to 1.67 to 8.33 grams of cannabis per day, or 1.2 – 6 pounds of cannabis per year.    At a price of $150/ounce, an equivalent amount of 15% CBD cannabis flowers would cost $2880 – $14,400 per year.   Another example of the high cost of FDA-regulated medication.   – D.G.

Here’s Peter Loftus in the August 8 Wall St. Journal:

GW Pharmaceuticals PLC said it plans to charge about $32,500 per patient annually in the U.S. for its new treatment for rare forms of epilepsy, the first prescription drug derived from the marijuana plant.

Chief Executive Justin Gover said in an interview Wednesday that the company set the price to be in line with other brand-name epilepsy drugs, such as H. Lundbeck A/S’s Onfi. He noted that the FDA designated the product an “orphan drug,” meaning it treats rare conditions, and that some other orphan drugs carry higher prices.

“We wanted to make sure we were pricing Epidiolex in such a way where the means to access this medication would be consistent with branded epilepsy drugs these patients already use,” he said.

Out-of-pocket costs for patients taking Epidiolex could range from $5 to $10 a month for those in state Medicaid programs to as high as $200 a month for some private insurance plans, Julian Gangolli, president of the company’s North America unit, said on a conference call with analysts Tuesday. Uninsured patients may qualify for receiving the drug free.

Dr. Jacqueline French, chief scientific officer of the Epilepsy Foundation, said there are low-cost generic epilepsy drugs on the market, but many patients with the rare forms of the disease have already tried them and the drugs didn’t help much.

Dr. French said Epidiolex improved symptoms for many children in clinical trials, and she is happy the price isn’t significantly higher.

The company expects to make the drug available after the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration assigns it a controlled-substance classification, a decision expected by late September. GW Pharmaceuticals will distribute the drug through specialty pharmacies that ship directly to patients and caregivers.

FDA approval of a CBD extract means that cannabidiol now has an acknowledged medical use and therefore doesn’t fit a key criterion of Schedule I status. DEA rescheduling is supposed to follow as day follows night. Logically, the DEA resked should apply to cannabidiol, the molecule. But fixisin.com says CBD will remain on Sked I, with an exception created for CBD in an FDA-approved pharmaceutical.”

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Migraine remission with ketamine – 20 years constant pain

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Ketamine

Migraine Case Report

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A 65 year old man reported 20 years of constant daily migraine without aura, with nausea, photophonophobia, triggered by barometric changes. Zomig or Imitrex would dull the pain a bit but it was never gone. Oxycontin 50 mg daily 6 months of every year dulled the pain but the nausea of migraine still persisted. He would taper off the opioid every 6 months, enduring weeks of withdrawal symptoms. He had been seen by some of the foremost migraine specialists in the country, and saw other neurologists before seeing me a few months ago.

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We elected to trial ketamine in a nasal spray – it can also be given under the tongue.

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I had never been convinced ketamine would work for migraine and often refer migraineurs to migraine specialists who offer Botox. However, I was encouraged by the report of the UCLA migraine expert, Alan Rapoport, MD, President of the International Headache Society, that injections of ketamine given repeatedly IM in the office,  help status migrainosis.

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The issue encountered with ketamine in treating this patient was side effects. Therefore, I asked him to lower the dose to a one that produces no side effects, repeat that lower dose 3 times per day for 2 or 3 days. That generally allows the body to develop tolerance to side effects so thereafter higher doses can be tested.

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Ketamine has no effect on pain, none whatsoever, until you reach your dose, that is different in everyone. The dose is idiosyncratic, it differs in everyone

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For pain, ketamine at an effective dose relieves pain in 10 to 15 minutes.

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He never reached an effective dose because of side effects. Instead, after a few weeks on a dose he could tolerate without side effects, migraine went into complete remission. Complete remission for months. For at least three months, he’s had no migraine. This is the first time in 20 years he has been headache free. Never free of migraine for even one day.

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Ketamine is a powerful glial modulator. It reduces pro-inflammatory cytokines in the CNS. We tried adding another glial modulator but in two or three days he developed a migraine, stopped the drug, and after another one or two migraines more, he has been migraine free for a few weeks since then. 

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For now, he remains on ketamine three times a day and is now trying twice daily dosing.

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As always, in any patient on medication that could have potential organ toxicity or lead to addiction, I monitor blood and urine regularly.

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This is unique.

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For about 15 years, I have treated patients with ketamine daily for chronic pain, those who have failed all prior medications, procedures, pumps and spinal cord stimulators. But we have always stopped if failing to achieve relief. I have no one who continued sub-therapeutic doses  for 4 weeks or more despite no effect. None. This man did and now has sustained complete remission with no side effects.

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Less is more.

Is that true for other forms of chronic pain?

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It is important not to lock onto one dose if less will work.  If, as research shows, ketamine lowers inflammatory cytokines in brain and cord, then over time, we may need less to maintain effect. At this time, we are very slowly decreasing daily frequency, very slowly, over months, to avoid triggering recurrence. 

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This site is not for email.

If any questions, please schedule an appointment with my office.

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Public Warning:

Ketamine is a controlled substance.

Administered improperly, or without the guidance of a qualified doctor,

Ketamine may cause injury or death.

No attempt should be made to use Ketamine

in the absence of counsel from a qualified doctor.

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“Off label” means ketamine is FDA approved for another purpose, decades ago it was approved for anesthesia. In qualified hands, ketamine is one of the safest medications we have in our formulary.

 

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The material on this site is for informational purposes only.

It is not a substitute for medical advice, diagnosis or treatment

provided by a qualified health care provider.

Relevant comments are welcome.

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For My Home Page, click here:  Welcome to my Weblog on Pain Management!

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Please be aware any advertising on this free educational website is

NOT advocated by me and NOT approved by me.

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Ketamine daily TID did nothing for migraine, but continuing it  at 80 mg TID for weeks – perhaps 2 months, migraine GONE first time in 20 years, for > 2 or 3 months. No sx of migraine at all

then added naltrexone 4.5 mg and triggered migraine!
Stopped LDN  couple days, and he had a couple migraine even after stopping, now none for couple weeks again, on ketamine.

Analgesic Response to Ketamine Linked to Circulating microRNA in Complex Regional Pain Syndrome

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Analgesic Response to Intravenous Ketamine

Is Linked to a Circulating microRNA Signature

in Female Patients

With Complex Regional Pain Syndrome

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The ability to measure Micro RNS’s (miRNA) in blood looks like it may become an important tool someday once it is available for the clinic. It could be used to predict if your condition will respond to various medications.

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MicroRNAs are emerging as important modulators of various psychiatric (schizophrenia, bipolar disorder) and neurological conditions including pain, epilepsy, cognitive dysfunction, neuronal development, structure and function. “MicroRNAs are small, non-coding RNAs that act as post-transcriptional regulators of gene expression.“  miRNA’s can be affected by morphine and affected by other drugs. It is hoped that complex clinical phenotypes may be profiled in assays of peripheral blood and may predict response to treatment such as in this study. Ketamine is given for selected patients that have failed to respond to standard treatment.

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This research was published in Pain, June 2015, by Professor Schwartzman’s group at Drexel University. Seven of his patients with Complex Regional Pain Syndrome were ketamine responders and 6 were poor responders. They note that, “Although [ketamine] treatment is generally effective, approximately 30% of patients have an inadequate response to ketamine.”

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“Stability in circulation and dysregulation in disease state are 2 features making extracellular miRNAs useful candidates for biomarker discovery. Alterations in miRNA profiles have been reported for rheumatoid arthritis and systemic lupus erythematosus as well as for painful conditions such as irritable bowel syndrome, chronic bladder syndrome, endometriosis, and migraine. Cerebrospinal fluid from patients with fibromyalgia showed differential expression of 9 miRNAs.”

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Quoting directly from the article:

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Highlights

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•We studied ketamine treatment–induced miRNA alterations in blood from patients with CRPS.
•Differential miRNA expression was observed in whole blood before and after treatment.
•Before therapy, 33 miRNAs differed between responders and poor responders.
•Lower pretreatment levels of miR-548d-5p may contribute to higher UDP-GT activity.
•Circulating miRNAs can be potential biomarkers in predicting treatment response.

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From the Abstract

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Investigation of the mechanistic significance of hsa-miR-548d-5p downregulation in poor responders showed that this miRNA can downregulate UDP-glucuronosyltransferase UGT1A1 mRNA. Poor responders had a higher conjugated/unconjugated bilirubin ratio, indicating increased UGT1A1 activity. We propose that lower pretreatment levels of miR-548d-5p may result in higher UDP-GT activity, leading to higher levels of inactive glucuronide conjugates, thereby minimizing the therapeutic efficacy of ketamine in poor responders.

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Perspective

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This study suggests the usefulness of circulating miRNAs as potential biomarkers. Assessing miRNA signatures before and after treatment demonstrated miRNA alterations from therapy; differences in miRNA signature in responders and poor responders before therapy indicate prognostic value. Mechanistic studies on altered miRNAs can provide new insights on disease.

 

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From the Discussion

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Ketamine is also considered to be the prototype for a new generation of glutamate- based antidepressants that can alleviate depression within hours of treatment. Several biological measures have been explored to characterize treatment response and to gain insight into mechanisms underlying the rapid antidepressant effects of ketamine. A plasma metabolomics study in patients with bipolar depression suggested that the basal mitochondrial b-oxidation of fatty acids differed between responders and nonresponders to ketamine. Other studies have shown differences in baseline plasma concentrations of D-serine, serum levels of interleukin 6, and plasma levels of Shank3, a postsynaptic density protein involved in NMDA receptor tethering and dendritic spine rearrangement.

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Differences in the ability to metabolize ketamine because of interindividual differences and pharmacogenetic factors have been proposed to contribute to the varied responses to ketamine therapy and its clinical outcome. Similar conclusions have been drawn for patients with depression; plasma from patients with treatment- resistant bipolar depression who had undergone a single 40-minute infusion of a subanesthetic dose of ketamine showed that although NK is an initial metabolite, it is not the major circulating metabolite. This again suggests that other downstream metabolites of ketamine may play a role in the pharmacological effects of the drug. It is also known that (2S,6S)-hydroxynorketamine is an active and selective inhibitor of the a7 subtype of the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor; this activity was shown to contribute to the pharmacological responses associated with the antidepressant activity of (R,S)-ketamine. We postulate that in patients with CRPS, 1 factor contributing to resistance is an altered pharmacokinetic profile produced by enhanced elimination of active metabolites downstream of NK, which is mediated by hsa-miR-548d-5p. However, because we have relied on indirect evidence of a higher percentage of direct/indirect bilirubin in poor responders, indicating increased UDP-GT enzyme activity, additional studies investigating hydroxynorketamine and its downstream metabolites along with their glucuronide conjugates in plasma and urine will provide direct evidence for the role of miR-548d-5p in mediating response to ketamine therapy in responders and poor responders.

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They noted a significant difference in body weight between responders and nonresponders (heavier), but not in duration of disease and analgesic response to ketamine. Toward that end, they will publish separately upon

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… investigating the link between miR-34a, which showed 28-fold reduction in poor responders relative to responders (Table 2), and the neuroendocrine system….

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From the Conclusion

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Our studies showed that miR-548d-5p can regulate UDP-GT but not CYP3A4, suggesting that UDP-GT activity in responders and poor responders may be mediated by differences in the level of circulating miR-548d-5p. Lower levels of miR-548d-5p in poor responders before treatment could result in higher UDP-GT activity, leading to the production of more inactive glucuronide conjugates and faster elimination of active ketamine metabolites downstream of NK. Thus, the levels of hsa-miR-548d-5p could minimize the therapeutic efficacy of ketamine and pain relief. Differences in miRNA signature can thus provide molecular insights distinguishing responders from poor responders. High failure rates of drugs targeted to treat neuropathic pain warrant changes in approaches. Studies targeting well-defined patient populations for clinical trials will play a crucial in developing drugs that may be efficacious in a subset of patients. Extending this approach to other treatment and outcome assessments might permit stratification of patients for maximal therapeutic outcome.

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How frustrating it is for patients and family who must cope with an intractable condition such as pain or Bipolar Disorder or treatment resistant Major Depression that has failed all commonly prescribed medications. For all of them, we need changes in approach.

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“High failure rates of drugs targeted

to treat neuropathic pain

warrant changes in approaches.”

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Perhaps scientists reading this would comment upon how it may relate to tolerance as it differentially occurs in those receiving intermittent ketamine vs continuous intravenous infusion.

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Dysregulation of miRNA’s has been shown in psychiatric disorders including depression and schozophrenia, neurodevelopmental disorders, cognitive dysfunction,  epilepsy, chronic pain states with implication for the cause and treatment of these disorders.

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Research targeting miRNA’s as novel treatment for depression has shown that chronic fluoxetine, repeated electroconvulsive shock therapy, and acute ketamine have the capacity to alter hippocampal miRNA levels.

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It is hoped these tests may be available someday clinically as the cost of off-label treatment not covered by insurance is a great burden for those already disabled by intractable pain or treatment resistant depression.

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PUBLIC WARNING

warning reprinted with permission of Demitri Papolos, MD
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Ketamine is a controlled substance.
Administered improperly, or without the guidance of a qualified doctor,
Ketamine may cause injury or death.
No attempt should be made to use Ketamine
in the absence of counsel from a qualified doctor.

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.

.

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The material on this site is for informational purposes only.
.
It is not legal for me to provide medical advice without an examination.

.
It is not a substitute for medical advice, diagnosis or treatment provided by a qualified health care provider.

~~
This site is not for email and not for appointments.

If you wish an appointment, please telephone the office to schedule.

~~~~~

For My Home Page, click here:  Welcome to my Weblog on Pain Management!

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Please ignore the ads below. They are not from me.

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