Safety, pharmacodynamics, and pharmacokinetics of multiple oral doses of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol in older persons with dementia
Psychopharmacology March 11, 2015 Amir I. A. Ahmed, G. A. H. van den Elsen, A. Colbers et al.
In a small crossover trial, ten dementia patients (mean age 77) received low doses of oral THC (0.75 mg then 1.5 mg) or placebo twice daily for three days with a four-day washout. Only 6 of 98 reported adverse events were related to THC. Most pharmacodynamic measures (feeling high, external perception, body sway with eyes open, diastolic blood pressure) did not differ significantly from placebo. After 0.75 mg, internal perception and heart rate increased slightly; after 1.5 mg, body sway with eyes closed increased. Systolic blood pressure changed in opposite directions at each dose. THC was rapidly absorbed with dose-linear pharmacokinetics but wide interindividual variability. The authors conclude that pharmacodynamic effects were minor and call for further study of higher doses in older adults with dementia.