Could Cannabis Be A Treatment For Dementia?

[yuiyoshida]

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Cannabis as a medicinal treatment has a history spanning centuries back to ancient Chinese texts dated approximately five thousand years ago. Yet it’s medical potential hit a brick wall back in 1937 when the first legislation against cannabis spawned, providing an uphill battle for the miracle plant since. Unfortunately, due to the failed (and continuously failing) War on Drugs research on medicinal cannabis cannot receive federal funding in the absence of stringent vetting. Despite this fact, more and more studies are trickling through the fire-wall giving us insight into the science of pot’s medicinal benefits. A recent review article from the Current Neurological Neuroscience Report sifted through these studies to determine whether or not marijuana could, or should, be used as a treatment for dementia.

Now I don’t know about all of you, but I wanted to know a little bit more about what dementia was. I thought it was just some symptom of other neurodegenerative diseases that lead to memory loss. So, let’s discuss for a second what the characteristics of dementia are so that we can parse together how cannabis affects it, regardless of efficacy.

Dementia, as it so happens, is not a single disease, but a class of symptoms that when strung together provide behaviors that we describe as dementia, the most common of which is memory loss.

It is often associated with other neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s. The majority of patients with dementia or Alzheimer’s display symptoms of aggression, delusions, hallucinations, apathy, pain, anxiety and depression. These not only negatively affect the patient but also the people around them.

Due to the wide-spanning nature of dementia, there is not a single biological reason, and thus any treatment done does not have a specific target, necessitating a broadly effective drug.

more...
https://hightimes.com/health/cannabis-treatment-dementia/

[safeinOhio]

1. 2 years ago I flunked my memory test.

Later that year I got my medical card and, after a year, my neurologist tested me again and the test showed I had a slight improvement on the memory test.
Two things. One, my neurologist said it meant I don't have Alzheimer’s, as that is very progressive. Two, my medicine has not harmed my memory.

Thank you Yuiyoshida for the post.

[elehhhhna]

2. A friend works for a shop that sells cbd oil

It evidently help calm patients who are sundowners so they can live at home longer (w supervision). so there's that.

[The_REAL_Ecumenist]

3. ABSOLUTELY!!! I know two familes using FECO for their loved ones who

have been Dx with Alzheimer's & one of the patients had become almost completely nonverbal & showing symptoms of losing their ability to swallow. She was on home hospice & her family had been advised that she would likely be passing with a year to 18 months. Her granddaughter, who is the one who told me about this, started to surreptitiously giving her grammy 1/10 of a gram every time she was fed, which at that point was about 5 times a day & because of the degradation of her swallowing & gag reflex, was, by then, mostly liquified.

When she began dosing her, she not only didn't recognise my friend but didn't know who ANYONE was anymore. She went on to tell me that there was NO CHANGE at all for about 2.5 weeks. The family would take turns bringing in a wash basin first thing in th emorning to prepare her for the hospice nurse's arrival. So, this particular morning, it was her turn & after she filled the basin with water & picked up the towels and adult diapers, she walked into the room, only to just about drop EVERYTHING she had when she heard a VERY familiar voice saying, :"Morning, baby!"

She looked into the direction of the voice to see her Grammy beaming at her, which was something she hadn't seen in almost 2 years. Her mother heard the voice and walked into the room only to see & hear something that she never thought she'd see or hear again. She was amazed to hear her mother greet her in the same manner as my friend had gotten. She burst into tears & both of them went to hug their mother/grammy.

Now, don't mistake me, although the grandmother regained some measure of being able to communicate, she had, it seems, lost alot of her vocabulary. She seemed to regain "MOST" of her hygienic abllities but would occasionally need help to do things that would seem to be simple things, like knowing how to soak her partials & to brush her remaining teeth & rinse her mouth with listerine.

From what she's learned, the earlier someone Dx with dementia is placed onto Cannabis oil, the better. It appears that once alot of people lose their abilities, they are lost forever. All of these things are anecdotal & there are countless people, which include scientists who are researching the application of cannabis & the active compounds to treat everything from Cancer to Dementias to Motor Neurone diseases & so much more.

I know first hand what it does for Cancer because I've been using it to treat metastatic Cervical Carcinoma with Cannabis oil prepared using Coconut Oil & Lecithin in my slow cooker & FECO, (also known as RSO). I've watched tumours that were visible growing internally and cutaneous tumours that shrank 50% within the first 2 weeks. I haven't had any traditional Chemo since September 30, 2011 nor has I seen any oncologist since October of 2013.

YES, it absolutely works and as I said earlier, everything is to be considered anecdotal FOR NOW but there's no doubt that this medicine is invaluable for people who are Dx with catastrophic disease who have no real hope. Oh, you MIGHT be able to qualify for a drug trial BUT there's NO guaratee that it would work & don;'t get me started about the side effects.

Cannabis oil? NO real side effects other than feeling QUITE sleepy when the dosing begins & HORRIFIC Nausea & vomitting, dizziness & hallucinations IF one takes too much without starting with VERY small amount, (less than a 1/10 of a gram)& gradually increasing by small amounts. If anyone has any questions about using it for Cancer, I would be happy to answer them.

[JudyM]

4. Thanks for posting this, Yui. I am the cannabis caregiver for my dad, who has dementia

and I’ve been reading up on this for about a year. It seems to have helped him - definitely with pain and mood, and likely with improvement in cognition (e.g., recognizing me, having occasional deeper-thinking conversations).

I’m having a hard time finding info on how much we can increase his dosage, currently giving him about 20mg THC and 30mg CBD via oil (sublingual and vape pen), and the only side effect is sleepiness. One study I read suggested a 1:1 ratio is good for dementia, but how many mg overall? We are stepping it up slowly... he doesn’t want to feel stoned.

If anyone reading this has any info/sources on this I’d be grateful for a hand. I wrote to a California doctor who’s a specialist and she wanted $500 to review his record and consult, and United Patients Group wants $250 for a 1-hour consultation. I’m not looking for anything specific to him, though, just generally trying to find out the standard of practice for dosing for dementia, to the extent it exists, or at least some standard.

I’m also trying to find a reasonably good dry herb vape that’s simple/low maintenance to use, preferably not much more than $50, preferably convection, and no plastic offgassing... I keep looking for sales The vape pen he’s using from the dispensary is on-demand but it’s mostly CBD oil and I really want to up the Sativa ratio so he’ll have more energy and generally so we’ll be able to better tailor the strain.

Here’s some useful research, for anyone else who’s trying to learn more:

Very small prospective study, but strong positive results: Safety and Efficacy of Medical Cannabis Oil for Behavioral and Psychological Symptoms of Dementia:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26757043

Fascinating mouse study: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/marijuana-may-boost-rather-than-dull-the-elderly-brain/

This study is about Alzheimer’s, but also fascinating: http://www.salk.edu/news-release/cannabinoids-remove-plaque-forming-alzheimers-proteins-from-brain-cells/

Check out the list of references at the end of this writeup... I’m currently working my way through them: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11910-017-0766-6

More info and references here: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD012820/full

And, for those of us looking to prevent its onset, just wow: “long-term, low-dose daily exposure, during mid-life, to the complex blend of compounds found in the marijuana plant can effectively slow the brain processes underlying Alzheimer’s disease.”
https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/your-brain-food/201604/using-marijuana-prevent-alzheimer-s-disease

Namaste.