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Body's Own 'Cannabis (Marijuana)' Is Good For The Skin, Scientists Find

ScienceDaily (July 3, 2008) — Scientists from Hungary, Germany and the U.K. have discovered that our own body not only makes chemical compounds similar to the active ingredient in marijuana (THC), but these play an important part in maintaining healthy skin.

This finding on "endocannabinoids" just published online in, and scheduled for the October 2008 print issue of, The FASEB Journal could lead to new drugs that treat skin conditions ranging from acne to dry skin, and even skin-related tumors.

"Our preclinical data encourage one to explore whether endocannabinoid system-acting agents can be exploited in the management of common skin disorders," said Tamás Biró, MD, PhD, a senior scientist involved in the research. "It is also suggested that these agents can be efficiently applied locally to the skin in the form of a cream."

Biró and colleagues came to this conclusion by treating cell cultures from human sebaceous glands (the glands that make the oil on our skin) with various concentrations of endocannabinoids (substances produced by the body that are similar to the active ingredient in marijuana).

Then they measured the production of lipids (fat cells, such as those in skin oil), cell survival and death, and changes in gene expression and compared these outcomes to those in an untreated control group.

"This research shows that we may have something in common with the marijuana plant," said Gerald Weissmann, MD. "Just as THC is believed to protect the marijuana plants from pathogens, our own cannabinoids may be necessary for us to maintain healthy skin and to protect us from pathogens ."

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.


Scientists have discovered that our own body not only makes chemical compounds similar to the active ingredient in marijuana (THC), but these play an important part in maintaining healthy skin. (Credit: iStockphoto/Sandra Ford)
 
 
 

Run From the Cure - The Rick Simpson Story - Cannabis Honey Oil

 



New frontier for medical cannabis -- topical pot:                                 Anti-Inflammatory Traits Helped Heal Skin of Mice in Study

Kavita Mishra, Chronicle Staff Writer
Saturday, June 9, 2007

Skin allergies may be the next reason to use marijuana -- a topical form, at least.

Scientists have long suspected that marijuana, used for recreational purposes and to help fight chronic pain, nausea and even some mental disorders like anxiety and depression, also had anti-inflammatory effects in the body.

Now they think they know why.

In a study published in the current issue of the journal Science, researchers show exactly how they think that works, elucidating how the body's own cannabinoids, compounds that are similar to the ones found in marijuana, reduce inflammation.

Mechoulam on Cannabidiol (CBDs) - amazing new research on pain relieving, anti-inflammatory CBDs.

The emerging significance of cannabis components other than THC was again a prominent theme when the International Association of Cannabis as Medicine met in Cologne in early October, 2007. The IACM was founded in 1997 by Franjo Grotenhermen, MD (as the German ACM); it is a smaller organization than the ICRS and its focus is more clinical, less pharmacological.

Raphael Mechoulam of the Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Faculty of Medicine gave a talk on cannabidiol on the occasion, he noted, of his 45th year of involvement in the field. In October, 1962 Mechoulam had just gotten his PhD in chemistry and was looking for a research project that might lead to tenure at the Weizmann Institute. He chose to analyze the components of cannabis, he said, thinking “it’s a minor project, it will be finished off in six months.”

Hashish of Lebanese origin was obtained from the police —“There is a fantastic collaboration between Arabs and Jews in smuggling,” Mechoulam observed— and a dozen constituents were then identified by two types of chromatography. (Some cannabis constituents had been identified previously, including CBD, which Roger Adams of the University of Illinois isolated in the early 1940s.) Mechoulam and his co-workers elucidated the exact chemical structure of CBD in 1962 and of THC the following year. It was generally assumed for almost two decades that the cannabinoids exerted effects not by binding to a specific receptor but “nonspecifically” by altering the lipid structure of cellular membrane. Mechoulam established that the action was specific by purifying THC and showing that only the natural version of the molecule —and not its synthetic mirror image— was exerting the effect.


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Topical Application of a Natural Endocannabinoid  THC Effective in Reducing Pruritus in Clinical Study

Science: Posted 7th August 2006

Researchers of the University of Munster, Germany, conducted  an open  study with N-palmitoyl ethanolamine (PEA) in 22 patients with severe  pruritus (itching) of several causes. PEA was applied in an emollient cream  to the skin. It is an endocannabinoid that binds to cannabinoid receptors  such as THC and other cannabinoids. These receptors are present in  the skin. 

In 14 of the 22 patients a good antipruritic effect could be documented. The average reduction in itch was 86.4 per cent.  The therapy was well-tolerated by all patients without local or  general side effects. Researchers concluded that "topical cannabinoid agonists represent a new effective and well- tolerate therapy for refractory itching of various origins. Creams with a higher concentration may be even more effective with broader indications."

(Source: Stander S, Reinhardt HW, Luger TA. [Topical 
cannabinoid agonists : An effective new possibility for treating  chronic pruritus.] [Article in German] Hautarzt. 2006 Jul 28;  [Electronic publication ahead of print])


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