CBD helps dementia patients; the 'usual medical treatment' not so much

This study tracked dementia patients over 6 months to determine if daily CBD had any impact on their Behavioral and Psychological Symptoms of Dementia (BPSD). It was published in the journal Clinical Gerontologist in May 2023.

The researchers compared two groups of patients with dementia and severe BPSD. The first group received the same CBD tincture oil product while the second group received only the usual medical treatment (UMT) for a period of 6 months. The primary symptoms of dementia are agitation, aggression, and psychosis, and these symptoms are frequently the cause of patients moving into assisted living facilities.

The results:

The follow-up assessment with NPI [health care providers] showed significant improvement of the BPSD in all our patients who received CBD, and no or limited improvement in the second group, regardless of the underlying neuropathology of dementia.

While it was a small study, the results are very encouraging. The CBD group showed significant improvement while the group receiving the 'usual medical treatment' showed little to no improvement. This means that the state-of-the-art medical treatment regime most dementia patients receive doesn't help much, while CBD treatment helps a lot.

The authors' conclusion:

We suggest that CBD may be a more effective and safe choice for managing BPSD than the typical intervention.

The abstract is available here at PubMed Central. The full article is behind a paywall.