A combination of the marijuana components THC and CBD leads to a significant and sustained reduction in agitation in the vast majority of people with Alzheimer’s disease of other forms of dementia, according to a new federally funded study.
The placebo-controlled, double-blind trial involved a cannabis preparation called T2:C100 that contained 2mg THC and 100mg CBD, and included 120 people with dementia who were eligible to receive hospice care and were experiencing clinically significant agitation.
The researchers, from Medical University of South Carolina and Georgetown University, found that there was a “statistically significant improvement” in scores on a standardized scale to systematically assess agitation among patients who received the cannabis medication as compared to the placebo group—measured at both two weeks into the trial and at the end of the full 12-week study.
After week two, 84 percent of participants receiving THC and CBD improved, according to the caregiver-rated scale, compared to 31 percent of those who got the placebo. After the full trial, 87 percent of those who got the cannabis medication manufactured by MediPharm Labs saw improvement, as compared to 24 percent in the placebo group.
The results, presented at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference this month, suggest that the “THC/CBD combination used in the study may be an important therapeutic tool” for patients with agitation and Alzheimer’s disease or other types of dementia, according to the abstract.
“This is a robustly positive, randomized, controlled trial that represents a major step forward in treatment for a population that has been historically overlooked in clinical research,” lead investigator Jacobo Mintzer said in a press release. “We now have evidence supporting a new and very effective treatment approach for agitation that may be appropriate for people in the final stages of dementia at the end of life, offering them grace and peace in what is often an extremely difficult time for patients and their families.”
“These trial results were extremely impressive and showed a level of response not seen before in clinical trials related to dementia,” he said. “Rarely do we see close to 90 percent of patients in a trial respond positively to a new medication.”
The Life’s End Benefits of cannaBidiol and tetrahYdrocannabinol (LIBBY) study, which involved patients with an average age of 80.5 years, was funded by the National Institutes of Health and the Alzheimer’s Association.
Read the full article at Marijuana Moment
