Topical nanoencapsulated cannabidiol cream as an innovative strategy combating UV-A–induced nuclear and mitochondrial DNA injury: A pilot randomized clinical study

Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology
Open Access

Clinical Summary

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What was studied

A prospective, single-center, pilot, split-body randomized trial tested nanoencapsulated cannabidiol (nCBD) cream versus vehicle on randomized, blinded buttock sites in 19 participants, applied twice daily for 14 days, then irradiated with ≤3× UV-A minimal erythema dose; biopsies were analyzed 24 hours later.

Key findings

At 24 hours, 21% of participants showed less erythema on nCBD-treated skin versus vehicle; nCBD reduced UV-A–induced epidermal hyperplasia (P=.01), lowered cytoplasmic/nuclear 8-oxoguanine glycosylase 1 staining (P<.01), and decreased mtDNA deletions (ND4 proxy 4977 bp, P=.003; ND1 proxy 3895 bp, P=.002) compared with vehicle.

Study limitations

Very small, single-center pilot with short follow-up (24 hours) and surrogate biomarker outcomes rather than clinical endpoints; intraindividual split-body design may limit generalizability.