Below, we have summarized some research involving individuals with dementia or Alzheimer's and essential oils. To read some stories about how individuals have been supported by essential oils, click
here.
Lavender essential oil
The International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry reports
two studies using essential oils to calm agitated patients with dementia. A placebo-controlled study that involved 15 patients in
Canada reported that lavender had a modest efficacy in the treatment of agitated patients with dementia (Holmes et al. 2002), while a placebo-controlled cross-over study that was conducted
in China with 70 patients reported a “significant decrease in
agitated behavior” (Lin et al. 2007).
References
Read powerpoint presentation summarizing the results of Lin et al. (2007)
here.
Rosemary, lemon, lavender and orange essential oils
28 days of aromatherapy consisting of the use of
rosemary and
lemon
essential oils in the morning, and
lavender and
orange essential oils in the evening,
resulted in significant improvement in personal orientation related to
cognitive function in Alzheimer’s patients.
Reference
Daiki Jimbo, Yuki Kimura, Miyako Taniguchi, Masashi Inoue, Katsuya Urakami.
Effect of aromatherapy on patients with Alzheimer’s disease.
Psychogeriatrics. 2009 Dec. 9(4):173-9. PMID:
20377818.
Melissa essential oil
In a double-blinded randomized placebo controlled experiment, at four months,
Melissa officinalis
extract produced a significantly better outcome on cognitive
function than placebo (ADAS-cog: df = 1, F = 6.93, p = 0.01;
CDR: df = 1, F = 16.87, p < 0.0001). There were no
significant differences in the two groups in terms of
observed side effects except agitation, which was more
common in the placebo group (p = 0.03).
Akhondzadeh et al. concluded that
Melissa officinalis extract is of value in
the management of mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease and
has a positive effect on agitation in such patients.
Reference:
S Akhondzadeh, M Noroozian, M
Mohammadi, S Ohadinia, A Jamshidi, and M Khani Roozbeh. 2003
Melissa officinalis extract in the treatment of patients with mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease: a double blind, randomised, placebo controlled trial. Journal of Neurological and Neurosurgical
Psychiatry
74(7): 863–866.
More reading:
- An article entitled "Aromatherapy for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease" summarizes additional scientific studies about this topic. The scientific studies involved lavender, lemon balm (melissa), marjoram, patchouli and vetiver. Read more here.
- "What is remarkable is that all treatments resulted in significant
benefit, including (in most instances) reductions in agitation,
sleeplessness, wandering and unsociable behaviour."
- An article in the Alternative Daily states that lavender, rosemary, lemon balm (aka melissa), ylang ylang, bergamot and peppermint essential oils can support individuals with dementia. Read more here.
- This article recommends the same 6 essential oils, in addition to ginger essential oil. Read more here.