Researchers studying whether medical cannabis could help late-stage dementia patients

LEXINGTON, Ky. (WDKY) — University of Kentucky researchers who are involved in a clinical trial on the use of medical cannabis for late-stage dementia patients say the results could be a game changer, especially for those with minimal options.

Greg Jicha, M.D., Ph.D., a neurologist and director of clinical trials at UK’s Sanders-Brown Center on Aging, is involved in the National Institutes of Health-funded and Food and Drug Administration-approved LiBBY Study, which involves looking into ways to keep those with late-stage dementia as comfortable as possible during their final years.

“The idea really came on the basis of a patient whose name was Libby, and she was cared for by a friend and colleague nationally,” Jicha said.

Jicha explained there is currently a pressing need for alternative treatments, and medical cannabis could be pointing towards a solution that involves easing agitation for these patients.

“We have very few medicines used to provide comfort in the later stages of dementia. While the field is largely focused on finding ways to prevent or potentially slow or stop the disease in its early stages, we’ve forgotten about those later-stage patients that aren’t eligible for those types of treatments,” Jicha said.

A patient’s symptoms can become more acute during late-stage dementia, sometimes called “end-stage dementia.” Performing even the most simple tasks, like showering and eating, can become difficult, the Alzheimer’s Research Association explains. Late-stage dementia patients “constantly require care” and “would become bedridden.”

Like all studies, the ongoing research involves gathering as much crucial data as possible, and Jicha said it takes more than just local research to get this information.

“It has been available, and we have been enrolling folks in this study who are in the late stages of [the] disease since June, but we need hundreds or more nationally to fill that trial to get the medical data that we need to potentially, in the future, get dementia on the list of conditions that are eligible for medical marijuana,” Jicha said.

The current widely available treatments often include sedatives, but Jicha said the goal is to find other ways to go about this, ways that involve the patient getting the absolute most of their time with their family.

“Our ultimate goal is to not sedate and render unconscious these patients so that they feel nothing but rather provide them comfort and relief that allows them to engage in their final years of life,” Jicha said.

Jicha said this study needs volunteers. Anyone who knows anyone in the later stages of dementia who might benefit from this option can find additional information here or by calling the Sanders-Brown Center on Aging at (859)-323-5661.