Study: Researchers Find that Marijuana May Alleviate Skin Allergies

An international group of researchers have found that the main substance found in marijuana, tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), may help combat certain skin problems caused by allergic reactions, according to a journal published by Science.

A group of researchers from Germany, Israel, Italy, Switzerland, and the United States found that when they administered cannabinoids such as THC to mice with allergic contact dermatitis, a skin disease caused by allergens, the mice's inflammation was less severe than those that were not exposed to THC.

Allergic contact dermatitis is a skin disease which affects about 5 percent of men and 11 percent of women in industrialized countries, being one of the lead causes of occupational diseases in these countries. Allergic contact dermatitis can be caused by contact with a variety of allergens, although these allergens present no real harm to the majority of people. Some people with sensitive or allergic skin, however, may react and produce severe rashes after exposure to certain allergens.

In a study, Professor Mechoulam of the Hebrew University isolated two naturally occurring cannabis-like components from mammalian bodies. Anandamide, found in the brain, and 2-AG, found in the intestines, are naturally occurring cannabinoids which make up the endocannabinoid system. These chemicals have similar effects to chemicals found in the cannabis plant, marijuana. It has since been shown that the endocannabinoid system is involved in the protective reaction in the bodies of mammals to many neurological diseases including multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. The endocannabinoid system acts as a major regulator of skin contact hypersensitivity.

According to the article, written in the journal Science, an international group of researchers, led by Dr. Andreas Zimmer from the University of Bonn, conducted research on how to alleviate allergic skin disease using knowledge from the endocannabinoid system. The team of researchers used mice models lacking in cannabinoid receptors and exposed them to allergens. The mice showed intense inflammatory skin responses. From the data they suggested that enhanced activation of the endocannabinoid system may help to alleviate the inflammation. Accordingly, they administered cannabinoids such as tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) found in marijuana to the mice. As expected, they found that THC significantly lowered the allergic reactions when compared with the untreated mice.

The researchers specifically found that when the endocannabinoid system is enhanced with administered cannabinoids, certain chemicals in the skin such a chemokine are reduced. Chemokine is involved in skin allergic reactions. This is one of the links they found to why exactly endocannabinoid system enhancing chemicals such as THC reduce allergic responses in the mouse skin cells.

The results from the study indicate that marijuana could help to enhance the endocannabinoid system and thus could be used therapeutically to alleviate skin allergies in humans.