Researchers found that these drugs can improve general cognitive performance and apathy, the most common neuropsychiatric symptom in Alzheimer’s patients. An analysis published in the Journal of Neurology Neurosurgery & Psychiatry reviewed 19 clinical trials on the use of noradrenergic drugs-often used to treat anxiety, depression, and ADHD-in people with neurodegenerative disease. Treatment options for Alzheimer’s disease are limited, but new research suggests that medications for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) may treat certain symptoms of Alzheimer’s. Repurposing drugs could speed up the approval process and reduce the costs of having to develop an entirely new medication. The drugs specifically helped improve cognition and apathy in Alzheimer's patients. Key Takeaways Researchers suggested that ADHD medications may alleviate some symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease. The results – which are published in the journal Molecular Psychiatry – indicate that, compared to non-dependent subjects, these participants did indeed exhibit reduced dopamine levels. Given that THC – the active ingredient in cannabis – is known to stimulate dopamine neurons throughout the brain, lead researcher Anissa Abi-Dargham explained that “it is important to look more closely at the potentially addictive effects of cannabis on key regions of the brain.” To do so, she and a group of colleagues used a technique called positron emission tomography (PET) to examine the levels of dopamine released in the striatum of 11 cannabis-dependent people after receiving a dose of oral amphetamine, which stimulates the brain to release the neurotransmitter. Importantly, dopamine deficits in the striatum have been associated with reduced cognitive performance. This is what makes many drugs so addictive (and cake so irresistible), although research suggests that excessive use of these substances causes a dopamine imbalance, with lower concentrations of the chemical being released in parts of the brain such as the striatum. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that plays a key role in the brain’s so-called reward center, and is released in response to pleasurable stimuli like eating cake, having sex, and taking drugs. The latest research into this controversial subject has found evidence of a connection between excessive cannabis use and decreased dopamine levels in the brain, which could in turn lead to memory, attention, and problem-solving deficits. There’s no doubt that getting high can make you do some pretty dumb stuff, although the scientific community remains split over whether or not smoking too many joints causes lasting cognitive impairment.
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