Is Regular Use of CBD Oil Likely to Benefit Someone With Alzheimer’s?

Is regular use of CBD oil likely to benefit someone with Alzheimer’s?

Check out this answer from Consensus:

Regular use of CBD oil shows promise in benefiting individuals with Alzheimer’s disease by improving cognitive functions, reducing behavioral symptoms, and providing neuroprotective effects. While preclinical studies in animal models are encouraging, further large-scale, controlled clinical trials in humans are necessary to confirm these findings and establish clear guidelines for its clinical use.

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder characterized by cognitive decline, behavioral changes, and neuroinflammation. Cannabidiol (CBD), a non-psychoactive compound found in cannabis, has gained attention for its potential therapeutic properties, including anti-inflammatory, neuroprotective, and antioxidant effects. This synthesis examines whether regular use of CBD oil is likely to benefit individuals with Alzheimer’s disease.

Key Insights

• Cognitive and Behavioral Improvements:
  • CBD has been shown to improve cognitive functions such as social recognition memory, spatial learning, and object recognition in AD mouse models2 6 7 10.
  • CBD treatment has been associated with reductions in agitation, apathy, irritability, and sleep disturbances in AD patients, leading to improved caregiver distress3.
• Neuroprotective and Anti-inflammatory Effects:
  • CBD exhibits neuroprotective properties by reducing neuroinflammation and oxidative stress, which are key pathological features of AD4 5 9.
  • Long-term CBD treatment enhances the hippocampal immune response and autophagy, potentially improving the pathological process of AD9.
• Reduction in Amyloid-β Levels:
  • Chronic CBD treatment has been shown to moderately reduce amyloid-β (Aβ) levels in the hippocampus of AD mouse models, although the effects on neuroinflammation and neurodegeneration were limited2 8.
• Potential for Symptomatic and Disease-Modifying Effects:
  • CBD has demonstrated potential in reversing and preventing cognitive deficits in AD rodent models, suggesting both symptomatic relief and possible disease-modifying effects5 7.
  • Combination therapies of CBD and THC may offer greater therapeutic benefits than either compound alone, with CBD mitigating the psychoactive effects of THC5.
• Caregiver Perceptions and Usage Trends:
  • Caregivers of individuals with AD report positive effects of CBD oil on managing behavioral symptoms and believe it should be offered as part of treatment, although there are concerns about legality and potential dependence1.

Is regular use of CBD oil likely to benefit someone with Alzheimers?

Andrea Mastinu has answered Uncertain

An expert from University of Brescia in Botany, Pharmocognosy, Pharmaceutics, Plant Biology, Cannabis

I think there are still few studies that define the mechanism of action of CBD. My recent experiences have indicated that CBD acts on ion channels of the TRPV family and modulates intracellular Ca2 + entry. Alzheimer’s disease is a complex disease, so it could only have secondary palliative effects.

References:

Bonini SA et al. Cannabis sativa: A comprehensive ethnopharmacological review of a medicinal plant with a long history. J Ethnopharmacol. 2018

Kumar A et al. Cannabimimetic plants: are they new cannabinoidergic modulators? Planta. 2019

Is regular use of CBD oil likely to benefit someone with Alzheimers?

María L de Ceballos has answered Likely

An expert from Cajal Institute, in Cell Biology, Neurobiology, Biochemistry, Neurochemistry

Cannabidiol (CBD) is one of the major cannabinoid components of the cannabis plant. It has been recently endorsed by the US FDA (Food and Drug Administration) for the treatment of refractory epilepsy (not responding to pharmacologic treatment). In regard to Alzheimer’s disease (AD) there is a lot of evidence that it works in several models of AD, both in vitro (eg in cultured cells) and in vivo (eg rodent models of AD). CBD is able to counteract nerve cells death, to prevent inflammatory processes, and it has antioxidant properties, that contribute to its beneficial effects. More important upon chronic administration CBD prevents the memory deficits of AD mice. One important point is that CBD has few psychotropic effects. In other words, it does not induce the “high” brought about but other cannabinoids. In addition, few side effects have been described with the use of CBD.

However, to date no human clinical trials in AD patients, of any given severity, has been conducted. In my opinion, CBD effects are preventive, meaning that it will not benefit severely ill patients. Nevertheless, weakly affected patients at the initial phases of the disease could benefit with CBD, since it has anxiolytic activity and regulates sleep behavior.