Shaun Hussain

Dr. Hussain is assistant professor of pediatrics, director of the UCLA Infantile Spasms Program, and is the inaugural recipient of the Elsie and Isaac Fogelman endowed chair in pediatric neurology. The focus of his clinical and research endeavors is Infantile Spasms and other forms of severe pediatric epilepsy, including the syndromes of Lennox-Gastaut and Dravet. His cannabis-specific efforts include a large-scale analysis of medical cannabis use among children with these disorders, and an ongoing phase-2 clinical trial of synthetic cannabidiol for treatment-resistant infantile spasms. A potential role for cannabidiol in the treatment of infantile spasms is especially significant because thousands of infants develop the diseases each year in the United States, available therapies are highly toxic and inadequately effective, and unsuccessful treatment often results in catastrophic and irreversible intellectual harm.

“Cannabidiol is a very promising investigational treatment for epilepsy, but we have to remember that its effectiveness and safety are not yet proven. We still have more questions than answers,” stated Hussain, who advocates for more research on cannabis-based compounds for treatment of epilepsy and changed federal regulations on marijuana for research use. Currently, Hussain and his team have just completed a multi-center phase II clinical trial evaluating synthetic CBD in the treatment of children with infantile spasms who had previously failed all FDA-approved treatments, with results forthcoming in publication.”

Read the full article on Dr. Hussain’s commitment to cannabis research and its therapeutic potential for epilepsy patients here >