This article was originally published on Cannabis.net and appears here with permission.
There are over 5.8 million persons in the United States living with Alzheimer’s disease, and of this number, 80% are above 75 years and older. Of the 50 million persons with dementia worldwide, about 70% already suffer from Alzheimer’s disease. This disease is a brain disorder where it gradually wastes away, leading to the death of its cells resulting in dementia. As the brain cells die, memory and other essential functions decline and become lost.
Alzheimer’s cannot be cured but can be managed for life. As a result, many people living with this condition have to live on drugs or be confined to a nursing home. Scientists have developed lots of medications over the years to manage this condition.
However, none have proven as helpful as CBD. While CBD may not reverse or halve dementia, it can only help with its management and might even prevent the onset of various brain diseases. This is because CBD has some chemical properties that make it a good drug for combating neuropathies.
What is CBD?
CBD is extracted from the cannabis Sativa plant, distant relative to the marijuana plant. The plant is first dried in its processing, and the active components THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) and CBD (cannabidiol) can then be extracted. THC is the psychoactive component of the mixture and is used to induce a feeling of “highness.” Cannabidiol is the portion that is relevant medically. CBD can be administered orally as capsules and pills or applied on the skin as oils and balms, but generally, it has been shown to improve health.
CBD is gaining more popularity in medicine as it possesses no dependence on its users. It also is not intoxicating but enhances a calm, coordinated way of life. It can treat; anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, insomnia, pain, and even dementia. Most recently also, CBD was used in producing the drug Epidiolex that the FDA approved as prophylaxis for epilepsy. As a result, there are indications that CBD might show some promising effects in protecting the brain against Alzheimer’s disease.
How exactly will CBD help seniors with Alzheimer’s and Dementia?
Chiefly because Alzheimer’s and dementia cause a sustained immune response as the pathology progresses, CBD can intervene in the pathogenesis of this disease. Here are various ways CBD can help seniors with Alzheimer’s:
CBD and Anxiety
Anxiety is one of the foremost symptoms of dementia. CBD can help deal with agitation and anxiety, earning it a plus in the list of drugs used in combating Alzheimer’s Dementia. Severe pathological agitation is a widespread behavioral defect in these seniors, not necessarily because they did anything to potentiate this.
This anxiety can be very distressing for seniors, and they would have to resort to medications for help. The problem here is that most other medicines used to treat this defect have side effects. Thus, CBD is the surest bet to subdue the agitation and prevent any adverse reaction.
CBD is a potent anti-inflammatory agent and will help reduce inflammation, reduce oxygen accumulation in the brain, and slow down the rate of decline in neurological functions. Seniors can drop CBD oil under their tongue or use the best e-liquid to vape CBD. Click here to get Cbdgenesis wholesale cbd.
CBD and Inflammation
Inflammation is a stepwise process characterized by pain, heat, redness, and loss of function. It might occur suddenly or be chronic, but it only happens when there are irritants in the body. Inflammation results whenever there is a cut or injury to the body’s internal structures.
However, unlike chronic inflammation in other bodily organs, neurological inflammation will cause different types of dementia. In Alzheimer’s disease, proteins adhere abnormally to each other, reducing the brain’s efficiency over time. This causes a gradual loss of function. When administered, the anti-inflammation property of CBD will help relieve the ongoing inflammation.
CBD and Oxygen Build-Up
Accumulation of oxygen in the brain is another noteworthy sign of ongoing inflammation within the brain. Typically Oxygen is released within the body; besides that, respiration indicates that the body is stressed. Similarly, with more and more accumulation of this gas in the brain, the organ loses its function all the more.
This results in repeated memory failure, confusion, loss of consciousness, gradual loss of sensation, slurring of speech, possible blindness, and severe headaches if left unattended. CBD is a highly effective stress reducer, so taking CBD will help tackle the excessive oxygen levels in the brain.
CBD and Preservation of Memory and Other Neurological Functions
Dementia steals the ability of the brain to function optimally. It takes away all hope that the sufferers can live everyday life. It can be acute or chronic, but the senior will become a shadow of himself in the end.
This is why there are still many ongoing studies on what CBD can do for these seniors who have Dementia. Meanwhile, studies have shown that CBD can help preserve or slow down and even restore neurological functions lost to dementia.
