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Centre for Policy on Ageing | |
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| Effects of dronabinol on anorexia and disturbed behavior in patients with Alzheimer's disease | | Author(s) | Ladislav Volicer, Marilyn Stelly, Judith Morris, |
| Journal title | International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, vol 12, no 9, September 1997 |
| Pages | pp 913-919 |
| Keywords | Malnutrition ; Weight ; Dementia ; Behaviour disorders ; Drugs ; United States of America. |
| Annotation | A placebo-controlled crossover design with each treatment period lasting 6 weeks was used to investigate effects of dronabinol in 15 patients with a diagnosis of probable Alzheimer's disease (AD) who were refusing food. 11 patients completed both study periods; one patient who died of a heart attack 2 weeks before the end of the study was also included in the analysis. The study was terminated on 3 patients: one developed a grand mal seizure and 2 developed serious intercurrent infections. Body weight of study subjects increased more during the dronabinol treatment than during the placebo periods. Dronabinol treatment decreased severity of disturbed behaviour, and this effect persisted during the placebo period in patients who received dronabinol first. Adverse reactions observed more commonly during the treatment than the placebo periods included euphoria, somnolence and tiredness, but did not require discontinuation of therapy. These results indicate that dronabinol is a promising novel therapeutic agent which may be useful not only for treatment of anorexia, but also to improve disturbed behaviour in patients with AD. (RH). |
| Accession Number | CPA-980827266 A |
| Classmark | CSM: 4X6: EA: EP: LLD: 7T |
Data © Centre for Policy on Ageing |
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| ...from the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing. |
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