“Introduction: Neuropsychiatric symptoms are an integral component of the natural history of dementia, occurring from prodromal to advanced stages of the disease process and leading to increased burden and morbidity. Clinical presentations are pleomorphic, and clinical management often requires combination of pharmacological and non-pharmacological interventions. However, limited efficacy and a non-negligible incidence of adverse events of psychotropic drugs reinforce the need for novel therapeutic options.
Aims: To review the evidence supporting the use of medical cannabinoids for the treatment of neuropsychiatric symptoms of dementia (NPS).
Results: Fifteen publications with original clinical data were retrieved, being 5 controlled clinical trials, 3 open-label/observational studies, and 7 case reports. Most studies indicated that the use of medical cannabinoids engendered favorable outcomes for the treatment of neuropsychiatric symptoms related to moderate and advanced stages of dementia, particularly agitation, aggressive behavior and sleep and sexual disinhibition.
Conclusion: Medical cannabinoids represent a promising pharmacological approach for the treatment of NPS, with preliminary evidence of benefit at least in moderate to severe dementia. Controlled trials with longitudinal design and larger samples are required to examine the long-term efficacy of these drugs in different types and stages of dementia, in addition to their adverse events and risk of interactions with other drugs. Many pharmacological details are yet to be determined, such as dosing, treatment duration and concentrations of active compounds (e.g., CBD/THC ratio) in commercial preparations of medical cannabinoids.”
“Background: Frontotemporal dementia (FTD) is characterized by progressive deterioration in behaviors, executive function and/or language. The behavioral variant (Bv) is characterized by disinhibition and obsessive/compulsive behaviors. These symptoms are sometimes resistant to medications. This series examines patients suffering with treatment-resistant Bv-FTD who were prescribed cannabinoid and related compounds for other indications.
“The aberrant accumulation of disease-specific protein aggregates accompanying cognitive decline is a pathological hallmark of age-associated neurological disorders, also termed as proteinopathies, including Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, Huntington’s disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and multiple sclerosis.
“Background: Older adults (≥50 years) represent the fastest-growing population of people who use cannabis, potentially due to the increasing promotion of cannabis as medicine by dispensaries and cannabis websites. Given healthy aging and cannabis use are both associated with cognitive decline, it is important to establish the effects of cannabis on cognition in healthy aging.
“Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a central nervous system disease characterized by dementia, which has now become a major threat to global health.
“Background/objectives: Use of cannabis is increasing in a variety of populations in the United States; however, few investigations about how and for what reasons cannabis is used in older populations exist.
“Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is an irreversible chronic neurodegenerative disorder that occurs when neurons in the brain degenerate and die. Pain frequently arises in older patients with neurodegenerative diseases including AD. However, the presence of pain in older people is usually overlooked with cognitive dysfunctions. Most of the times dementia patients experience moderate to severe pain but the development of severe cognitive dysfunctions tremendously affects their capability to express the presence of pain. Currently, there are no effective treatments against AD that emphasize the necessity for increasing research to develop novel drugs for treating or preventing the disease process. Furthermore, the prospective therapeutic use of cannabinoids in AD has been studied for the past few years. In this regard, targeting the endocannabinoid system has considered as a probable therapeutic strategy to control several associated pathological pathways, such as mitochondrial dysfunction, excitotoxicity, oxidative stress, and neuroinflammation for the management of AD. In this review, we focus on recent studies about the role of cannabinoids for the treatment of pain and related neuropathological changes in AD.”
“In the last few years research into Cannabis and its constituent phytocannabinoids has burgeoned, particularly in the potential application of novel cannabis phytochemicals for the treatment of diverse illnesses related to neurodegeneration and dementia, including Alzheimer’s (AD), Parkinson’s (PD) and Huntington’s disease (HD). To date, these neurological diseases have mostly relied on symptomatological management. However, with an aging population globally, the search for more efficient and disease-modifying treatments that could delay or mitigate disease progression is imperative. In this context, this review aims to present a state of art in the research with cannabinoids and novel cannabinoid-based drug candidates that have been emerged as novel promising alternatives for drug development and innovation in the therapeutics of a number of diseases, especially those related to CNS-disturbance and impairment.”
“Studies have reported changes in the endocannabinoid system in the brain of patients with Alzheimer’s disease (AD), playing a role in the pathophysiology of AD. Cannabinoids have been shown to have neuroprotective properties, reduce neuroinflammation, and enhance neurogenesis. Evidence suggests that the utilization of marijuana products containing both tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD) or CBD alone have been effective and safe for use in older people with agitation associated with dementia.
“Alzheimer’s Dementia (AD) is a devastating neurodegenerative disease that affects approximately 17% of people aged 75-84. Neuropsychiatric symptoms (NPS) such as delusions, agitation, anxiety, and hallucinations are present in up to 95% of patients in all stages of dementia. To date, any approved and effective pharmacological interventions for the treatment of NPS are still not available.