Synthetic Version Of THC Found To Reduce Agitation in Alzheimer’s Patients

A synthetic form of THC known as dronabinol was found to significantly reduce agitation in patients with Alzheimer’s disease, according to a new study reported in John Hopkins Medicine.

The research was conducted during an eight-year clinical trial led by the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and Tufts University School of Medicine.  The results were presented last month at the International Psychogeriatric Association conference in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Dronabinol is a synthetic version of marijuana’s main ingredient that has been approved by the FDA.    The study found that it produced calming effects among Alzheimer’s patients by an average of 30%, and without adverse effects such as seizures or delirium that can be produced by current treatments for agitation such as antipsychotics.

“These new findings represent eight years of work dedicated to people who have Alzheimer’s as well as their caregivers,” says Paul Rosenberg, M.D., professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and the study’s co-principal investigator. “Agitation is one of the most distressing symptoms of Alzheimer’s dementia, and we are pleased to make positive strides forward in treatment of these patients.”

The study involved 75 patients with severe Alzheimer’s agitation across five clinical sites, including 35 admitted to The Johns Hopkins Hospital between 2017 and 2024. To qualify, patients had to have a formal clinical diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease and show at least one major symptom of agitation for at least two weeks.  The patients were tested using the Pittsburgh Agitation Scale (PAS) and the Neuropsychiatric Inventory Agitation/Aggression subscale (NPI-C).

Participants were then randomly selected to get dronabinol in pill form or a placebo in pill form twice daily for three weeks, and then retested using the PAS and NPI-C.

Results from the dronabinol group show an average PAS starting value of 9.68 and an end value of 7.26 after three weeks, a 30% decrease compared to the scores in the placebo group which did not change. Dronabinol was also well tolerated by patients compared to current treatments for agitation.

“Results like this are encouraging. We are thrilled that FDA-approved dronabinol was robustly effective and appeared safe for treatment of agitation,” says Rosenberg. “This adds another tool in our efforts to improve the care of our loved ones with Alzheimer’s disease.”

According to the Alzheimer’s Association, a person with Alzheimer’s may feel anxious or agitated and may become restless, causing a need to move around or pace, or become upset in certain places or when focused on specific details.  The agitation, which affects about 40% of Alzheimer’s patients, can take the form of  excess motor activity, verbal aggression and/or physical aggression. An estimated 40% of people with Alzheimer’s develop agitation.  Medication is often used to manage symptoms of moderate to severe agitation.

“It is the agitation, not the memory loss, that often drives individuals with dementia to the emergency department and long-term-care facilities,” says Brent Forester, M.D., psychiatrist-in-chief and chairman of the Department of Psychiatry at Tufts Medical Center and co-principal investigator on the study. “Dronabinol has the potential to both reduce health care costs and make an important, positive impact on caregivers’ mental and physical health.”

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