Aggression and other disruptive behaviours linked to Alzheimer鈥檚 disease are notoriously difficult to treat, sometimes leading to patients being restrained or medically sedated, but some doctors are now investigating the potential for success with a new strategy: CBD oil.
Family members of patients with dementia say CBD oil, short for Cannabidiol and derived from the cannabis plant, can make a world of difference.
David Scholey鈥檚 yelling used to echo through the hallways of his Ontario long term care facility in Fenelon Falls, Ont. Ever since he tried CBD oil two months ago, the 76-year-old鈥檚 dementia-related disruptions have declined.
鈥淲ithin a couple of days you could tell it was working because of the fact that he was a lot quieter, he was a lot calmer,鈥� said Catherine Mantle, a registered nurse and care director at Fenelon Court.
David鈥檚 brother, William Scholey also noticed a major improvement. 鈥淚 think it is wonderful for not only David but for people and family just to see that he is not... as anxious and frustrated,鈥� he said.
William Scholey says 鈥渢he problem鈥� with sedatives for his brother was that they made it more difficult for David to communicate simple things like which movies he wants to watch.
鈥淗e鈥檚 a movie buff and he is constantly looking for new titles. He likes the old war and cowboy movies and stuff and David has a great memory in that regard,鈥� Scholey said.
Scholey joked that his brother is now a 鈥減othead,鈥� but also said that the therapy doesn鈥檛 appear be making David 鈥渉igh.鈥� That鈥檚 likely because CBD is not the chemical in cannabis that makes people feel euphoric. The 鈥渉igh鈥� comes mainly from Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC).
鈥楪odsend for caregivers鈥�
Betty Wigle鈥檚 family has also turned to CBD oil. Her son, James Tripp, says the drug shifted his 92-year-old mother鈥檚 mood from anxious and depressed to cheerful.
As her caregiver, Tripp says the CBD therapy has been a godsend.
鈥淚 was so worn out from looking after her. It is hard enough looking after seniors but an Alzheimer's patient is literally a 24/7 job. I was sleeping two hours a day. I was exhausted dealing with my own health issues,鈥� he said.
鈥淲hen we got her on the (CBD) therapy it solved so many of the volatility issues,鈥� Tripp added.
鈥楴o miracle cures鈥�
Dr. Rhonda Collins, the Chief Medical Officer of Revera, is part of what鈥檚 called an open label study at more than 20 Ontario long term care facilities, conducted in partnership with Canopy Growth. Some 500 seniors some with dementia will be assessed before and after starting medically prescribed CBD oil for pain, anxiety, insomnia and the often-disruptive behaviours of dementia. Preliminary data could be available in about six months.
Dr. Collins says there is little research so far on whether CBD oil is a safe and effective treatment for elderly patients, and it鈥檚 unclear how it could react with medications. But she there is a definite need for 鈥渘ew tools鈥� to handle things disruptive behaviours.
鈥淎necdotally, I鈥檝e heard several reports of cannabis being effective for managing a wide variety of symptoms including these behaviours of dementia including these psychological symptoms,鈥� she said. 鈥淗owever, there are not enough of them currently to say yes we need to run with this.鈥�
鈥淥ne of the things I like to caution people about is that there is no miracle cure,鈥� she added.
Dr. Collins points out that all medications come with the risk of potential side effects.
鈥淎nd what works for me might not necessarily work for you because we are all different,鈥� she added. 鈥淲e all have different chemistries. We have different genetics.鈥�
鈥淚 don鈥檛 want everybody to get on the cannabis bandwagon because we have a few scattered reports which is why this study is so important,鈥� she said.
