Dementia is a common general term for people who are experiencing a loss of memory, language, problem-solving, or other thinking abilities that negatively impact them to the point that it interferes with their daily life. Alzheimer’s disease is the most common cause of dementia.

According to international researchers, “57 million people had dementia worldwide, over 60% of whom live in low-and middle-income countries. Every year, there are nearly 10 million new cases.” Anyone who has a loved one who suffers from dementia knows how sad it is to watch.

A team of researchers based in Brazil and affiliated with various academic institutions in the South American nation recently conducted a clinical trial exploring whether cannabidiol (CBD) could help treat patients suffering from dementia. Their findings were published in the Journal of Psychopharmacology.

The researchers’ stated objective was “to evaluate the efficacy, tolerability, and safety of CBD in reducing behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD) in older adults with vascular dementia (VaD).”

“This randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial included 30 participants with VaD and clinically significant BPSD, who received either CBD (300 mg/day) or placebo for 4 weeks. Primary outcomes were changes in the Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI) and the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS) scores.” the researchers stated about their methodology. “Secondary outcomes included cognitive (Mini-Mental State Examination, Informant Questionnaire on Cognitive Decline in the Elderly) and functional (Katz Index, Lawton Scale) measures, along with adverse effects (Udvalg for Kliniske Undersøgelser scale). A mixed-design repeated measures analysis of variance with post hoc Sidak tests was used.”

“CBD significantly reduced NPI scores (interaction: F(1.58, 44.31) = 3.61, p = 0.05, partial eta squared (ηp2) = 0.11) and BPRS scores (interaction: F(2.12, 59.43) = 4.02, p < 0.05, ηp2 = 0.13) compared to placebo. No significant differences were observed in cognitive or functional outcomes. Adverse events were mild and similar between groups.” the researchers found.

“CBD was well tolerated and effectively reduced BPSD in VaD without cognitive or functional impairment. These findings warrant further trials with larger samples, extended durations, and dose-optimization strategies to confirm its therapeutic potential.” the researchers concluded.