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POLAND: Cannabis-Like Cream Effective Combating Pruritus

NORML

Thursday 15 Dec 2005

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Cannabis-Like Cream Effective Combating Pruritus, Study Says

Wroclaw, Poland: Application of a cannabis-like cream greatly reduces
uremic pruritus (mild to severe itching as a result of kidney disease)
and xerosis (abnormal dryness of the skin) in patients with end-stage
renal failure, according to clinical trial data published this month.

Twenty-one hemodialysis patients participated in the trial, performed by
Wroclaw, Poland's University of Medicine, Department of Dermatology. All
the subjects applied the test cream, which contained endocannabinoids
(marijuana-like chemicals produced naturally in humans and animals that
bind to the same receptors as do plant-derived cannabinoids such as
THC), twice daily for a period of three weeks.

At the completion of the study, pruritus was "completely eliminated" in
38 percent of the subjects and had been "significantly reduced" in
several others during the trial period, authors found. Likewise, 81
percent of subjects experienced a "complete reduction" in xerosis after
using the cream.

Currently, "no effective [prescription] treatment" exists for uremic
pruritus, authors noted.

They concluded: "The test product appeared to be effective in reducing
both pruritus and xerosis in hemodialysis patients. It is very probable
that the observed decrease of pruritus with the test product therapy was
not only the result of dry skin improvement but that the addition of
endocannabinoids may have also played a role. These preliminary results
are encouraging, however, additional controlled studies are needed to
clarify the exact usefulness of [encocannabinoids] in therapy of uremic
pruritus."

Previous research on endocannabinoids and the endocannabinoid system
indicate that they may play a role in maintaining homeostasis (metabolic
equilibrium) in humans and other living organisms. Some of the
biological functions regulated by endocannabinoids include appetite,
body temperature, blood pressure, reproductive activity, learning
capacity, and motor coordination.

For more information, please contact Paul Armentano, NORML Senior Policy
Analyst, at (202) 483-5500.

 

 

 

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