Could cannabis be a natural treatment for Alzheimer’s disease?

Alzheimer’s disease is a growing problem in the United States. It is one of the top leading causes of death nationwide, and affects more than five million Americans. Approximately one in three senior citizens dies from complications associated with Alzheimer’s or another form of dementia. Experts have estimated that by the year 2050, over 13 million people will be diagnosed with this debilitating condition. This grim outlook has everyone asking, “What can we do to prevent and treat Alzheimer’s disease?”

Recent studies have suggested that medical marijuana may actually help treat patients that are afflicted by this degenerative condition. Researchers found that THC, the psychoactive component of cannabis, helps stimulate the removal of toxic plaque from the brain – which is a primary trait of the disease. THC can also help to inhibit inflammation in the brain, which can damage neurons.

David Schubert, senior researcher and a professor at Salk Institute for Biological Studies, wrote, “It is reasonable to conclude that there is a therapeutic potential of cannabinoids for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease.”

The director of scientific programs and outreach for the Alzheimer’s Association, Keith Fargo, is optimistic about the study’s results. Fargo has said that medical cannabis is a “legitimate avenue of research,” and that he believes in the therapeutic potential of marijuana’s components. The association has even funded some of Schubert’s early research.

Dr. David Casarett, chief of palliative care services at Duke University, also seems to be very open to the concept of medical marijuana actually being beneficial. While to those of us who are keen on natural health this is nothing new, the fact that members of the conventional medical field are beginning to agree is really rather exciting.

“I spoke to many family members of people with mild or moderate dementia who believed that THC or whole-plant marijuana was effective in alleviating the confusion and agitation that sometimes occurs,” Casarett stated.

Previous studies have also indicated that at the very least, cannabis may be useful in providing relief and comfort to patients suffering with dementia or Alzheimer’s disease. In 2014, Dutch scientists authored a review of medical cannabis. They found that among the countless studies of its benefits, two studies showed it was useful for treating the behavioral symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease.

A small study that was conducted in 2016 also found that in patients with Alzheimer’s disease, the THC in cannabis helped decrease symptoms such as delusions, agitation or aggression, apathy, irritability and sleep disturbances. Though the study featured just 11 patients, the results are still quite promising.

Hemp may also be able to provide health benefits. For example, it may be able to help balance cognitive responses in the brain. It can also help to reduce discomfort naturally. CBD oil derived from hemp is growing in popularity, but not all products are created equally. The Ranger’s own CWC Labs tests and verifies the CBD content of CBD oils, to help you ensure your product is authentic.

Beyond scientific research, there have been many anecdotal stories of people who have felt or witnessed the benefits that cannabis and cannabis extracts can provide. In 2014, Natural News reported on a story written about an older woman whose daughter treated her mom’s Alzheimer’s disease with cannabis oil. When the woman first got involved in her mother’s care doctors had given her mom just six months to live. The daughter wrote that her mother was combative, psychotic and deteriorating quickly. But cannabis changed all of that. After just a few doses of cannabis oil her mother began to regain some of her cognitive abilities, and her kind, warm disposition returned. Her mother went on to live another four happy years, and passed away peacefully without distress.

While medical marijuana may not have cured her disease completely, it certainly improved the quality of life she experienced in her remaining years. That is priceless.

Schubert began studying THC almost 10 years ago, and remains convinced that the single most important thing the federal government could do for modern medicine would be to reschedule marijuana as a Schedule II or Schedule III drug. This would at least make it easier for scientists to research its myriad benefits.

Schubert says, “The bottom line is I’m absolutely convinced that medical marijuana has real medical use.”

Sources include:

Edition.CNN.com

Alz.org