Nearly 90% of dementia suffers from neuropsychiatric symptoms

In a recent study published in Frontiers in Medicine, researchers found that almost 90% of patients with dementia suffer from some type of neurobehavioral symptom, and there are no approved medications to address these symptoms. Neuropsychiatric symptoms NPS occur in up to 90% of patients with dementia and are associated with a reduced quality of life, according to the study.

A progressive decline in cognitive and functional abilities and challenging behavioral symptoms is one of the major causes of disability and dependency among older adults. The clinical trial aims to evaluate the safety and efficacy of Avidekel's medical cannabis oil for the reduction of behavioral disturbances among patients with dementia. There was a statistically significant difference between the proportion of subjects with a Cohen-Mansfield Agitation Inventory score reduction of 4 points at week 16: 24 40 60.0% and 6 20 30.0% for investigational and control groups.

The researchers noted that there was a statistically significant difference in the proportion of subjects with a Cohen-Mansfield Agitation Inventory score reduction of 8 points at week 16: 20 40 50% and 3 20 15% respectively. The treatment was mostly safe, with no significant differences between the two groups in the occurrence of adverse events, according to the researchers. There were 60 randomized patients with an average age of 79.4 years, 36 women 60.0% 52 86.7% completed the trial. The researchers said that only eight patients from the investigation group stopped receiving treatment.

The findings suggest that rich-CBD cannabis oil may help with agitation in older patients with dementia. They said that one trial isn't enough to make conclusions about the safety and efficacy of broad-spectrum CBD.

We recommend a large-scale randomized controlled trial on behavioral disturbances related to dementia and comparing clinical subtypes of dementia, researchers concluded.

From December 2017 to September 2019 on 60 years or older, the randomized, double-blind, placebo controlled trial was conducted in a tertiary hospital in Israel.

A diagnosis of the major neurocognitive disorder and associated behavioral disturbances was randomized 2: 1 to receive Avidekel, a broad-spectrum cannabis oil 30% cannabidiol and 1% tetrahydrocannabinol: 295 mg and 12.5 mg per ml, respectively, or a placebo oil three times a day for 16 weeks. During the 16 week treatment period participants came in for follow-up every two weeks, with the option of terminating their participation. After completing the study, all trial participants were offered the option to renew their cannabis treatment license.