5 benefits of medical cannabis for treating Alzheimer's

Medical cannabis has been an alternative for Alzheimer's patients since 2015 in Brazil, when the first plant-based products were authorized by Anvisa to enter the country. Since then, demand for the drug has only increased, thanks to its positive effects in treating the disease and its symptoms.

The therapeutic potential of the substance to control symptoms resulting from Alzheimer's is wide, and ranges from improving the quality of sleep to reducing aggressiveness and agitation in patients, including improving cognition, mood disorders such as anxiety and depression, among other benefits.

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1. Potential treatment to slow the progression of the disease (under study): some molecules present in cannabis can help control the production of beta-amyloid protein, one of those responsible for the advancement of Alzheimer's, in addition to reducing neuroinflammation, protecting neurons against brain aging . Thus, cannabinoids may be indicated to prevent and treat neurodegenerative diseases. That's what preclinical scientific studies published in Nature Magazine and Free Radical Biology and Medicine, for example.

2. Assist in the treatment of other medical conditions that go along with the disease: in addition to the pathology itself, scientific studies prove that therapy with cannabinoids can treat other symptoms and medical conditions that usually accompany patients with neurodegenerative diseases, such as anxiety, depression, insomnia and chronic pain.

3. Quality of life: The patient with Alzheimer's, in addition to losing their memory, also loses a lot of quality of life due to the disease, and this can be alleviated through treatment with medical cannabis. As the therapeutic potential of the drug is wide, it can promote a better quality of life, improving mood, making patients calmer, less agitated and aggressive, more willing and participative. There may also be an improvement in cognition in general.

4. Few side effects: medical cannabis has greater efficiency and fewer side effects compared to most common treatments for the disease, in addition to having a low risk of interference with other medications.

5. Patients and family members satisfied with treatment:  elderly patients who use medicinal cannabis for the treatment of neurodegenerative pathologies, such as Alzheimer's and other dementias such as Parkinson's and multiple sclerosis, as well as patients of various ages with chronic pain, anxiety, depression, insomnia, among others. All of them have shown good results and significant progress with treatment. There is no absolute contraindication to the use of cannabinoids, but some conditions require caution in the prescription, so a careful evaluation in the medical consultation is necessary.

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