United States: Dronabinol is a synthetic THC, and that – according to this new study – patients with the disease have their agitation reduced by 30%. Unlike the contemporary medications, dronabinol had no such side effects as delirium or seizures, therefore, it was safe to consume.
Seventy-five patients were used in an eight-year clinical trial where researchers noted reduced agitation standards without side effects. This discovery means that Alzheimer’s symptoms should be more manageable in the future and that the stress of caregivers should be reduced.
A 30% reduction of Alzheimer’s disease agitation was found by a Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and Tufts University School of Medicine led study using a pill form of the FDA approved synthetic version of marijuana known as dronabinol, which is a main ingredient of the substance.
The researchers explain that, in relation to interventions presently used to manage agitation like antipsychotics, patients calmed similarly using dronabinol without side effects like delirium and seizures.
Findings of the eight years clinical trials were discussed at the International Psychogeriatric Association conference held in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on September 26.
“These new findings are the payoff for eight years of work committed to patients with Alzheimer’s and their carers,” they said Dr Paul Rosenberg, M.D., a professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and co-principal investigator in the study.
“Restlessness is one of the more challenging aspects of Alzheimer’s dementia, and we are happy to start the positive treatment of such patients.”
Alzheimer’s disease is the most extensive neurodegenerative illness in the United States, and over 6.7 million elderly Americans are living with the illness, according to the NIH.
This number is expected to rise to 13.8 million in 2060. Restlessness is challenging, especially to control. It is defined as motor restlessness (pacing, stereotyped movements) and verbal or physically threatening behavior.
An estimated 40 percent of the people with Alzheimer’s develops agitation.
Although mild agitation can sometimes be moderated by behavioral intervention in moderate to very severe cases and some form of the medication is typically required to manage symptoms and provide relief for the caregivers.
“It is the agitation, not the memory loss, that often drives individuals with dementia to the emergency department and the long-term-care facilities,” says Brent Forester, M.D., psychiatrist-in-chief and chairman of the Department of the Psychiatry at Tufts Medical Center and co-principal investigator on the study.