Trial of Dronabinol Adjunctive Treatment of Agitation in Alzheimer's Disease

Summary

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most prevalent neurodegenerative disease of aging. Neuropsychiatric symptoms (NPS) in AD are a major cause of burden to patients, caregivers, and society and are near-universal at some point in the AD course. One of the most troubling of these symptoms is agitation (Agit-AD), typified by a variety of problem behaviors including combativeness, yelling, pacing, lack of cooperation with care, insomnia, and restlessness. There is a great need for better interventions that target Agit-AD, a major source of patient disability as well as caregiver burden and stress, particularly in the case of moderate to severe agitation. This pilot trial could open the door to "re-purposing" Dronabinol (Marinol®) as a novel and safe treatment for Agit-AD with significant public health impact.

Timeline

Start

2017-03-01

Primary completion

2024-05-31

Completion

2024-05-31

Publications

• Rosenberg PB, Amjad H, Burhanullah H, Nowrangi M, Vandrey R, Pierre MJ, Outen JD, Schultz M, Marano C, Agronin M, Wilkins JM, Harper D, Laffaye T, Reardon E, Turner K, Ozonsi R, Drury M, Nguyen A, Hasoglu T, Cromwell J, Leoutsakos JM, Forester BP. A Randomized Controlled Trial of the Safety and Efficacy of Dronabinol for Agitation in Alzheimer's Disease. Am J Geriatr Psychiatry. 2026 Feb;34(2):167-179. doi: 10.1016/j.jagp.2025.10.011. Epub 2025 Nov 10.
• Cohen LM, Ash E, Outen JD, Vandrey R, Amjad H, Agronin M, Burhanullah MH, Walsh P, Wilkins JM, Leoutsakos JM, Nowrangi MA, Harper D, Rosenberg PB, Forester BP. Study rationale and baseline data for pilot trial of dronabinol adjunctive treatment of agitation in Alzheimer's dementia (THC-AD). Int Psychogeriatr. 2024 Dec;36(12):1245-1250. doi: 10.1017/S1041610221001150. Epub 2021 Oct 11.
• Bosnjak Kuharic D, Markovic D, Brkovic T, Jeric Kegalj M, Rubic Z, Vuica Vukasovic A, Jeroncic A, Puljak L. Cannabinoids for the treatment of dementia. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2021 Sep 17;9(9):CD012820. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD012820.pub2.
• Solomon HV, Greenstein AP, DeLisi LE. Cannabis Use in Older Adults: A Perspective. Harv Rev Psychiatry. 2021 May-Jun 01;29(3):225-233. doi: 10.1097/HRP.0000000000000289.

Drugs

Indications