Cannabis improves dementia symptoms (Sept 2022 controlled trial)

The journal Frontiers in Medicine published a research article in September 2022 of a placebo controlled randomized clinical trial on the effects of a specific brand of CBD-dominant cannabis oil.

They used an oil tincture product called Avidekel, made by Tikun Olam. 52 patients with an average age of 79 completed the trial. The primary metric used to judge dementia-based cognitive impairment was the Cohen-Mansfield Agitation Inventory. A total score greater than 45 was considered clinically significant agitation.

The tincture was 30% cannabidiol (CBD) and 1% tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), or 295 mg and 12.5 mg per ml, respectively.

It was a full-spectrum extract that also contained 1% cannabichromene (CBC), 0.5% cannabigerol (CBG), and 0.5% cannabidivarin (CBDV). It was administered three times a day for 16 weeks.

The patients and their caregivers slowly increased their dosage to an optimal level (titration) between 1 and 21 drops per administration over a period of 6 weeks, then they continued that dose for the next 10 weeks. 

They settled on 15 drops per administration, or about 45 drops per day on average. That means they received 176 mg CBD and 7 mg THC per administration, or a daily total of about 528 mg CBD and 22 mg THC.

Conclusion: In this randomized controlled trial, ‘Avidekel’ oil significantly reduced agitation over placebo in patients suffering from behavioral disturbances related to dementia, with non-serious side-effects. 

There was a statistically significant difference in the proportion of subjects who had a Cohen-Mansfield Agitation Inventory score reduction of ≥ 8 points at week 16.

The primary outcome was a decrease, as compared to baseline, of four or more points on the Cohen-Mansfield Agitation Inventory score by week 16.

The full text article is here at FrontiersIn.org.