Practice:Lindane

Lindane, also known as gamma-hexachlorocyclohexane, (γ-HCH), gammaxene, Gammallin and erroneously known as benzene hexachloride (BHC),[2] is an organochlorine chemical variant of hexachlorocyclohexane that has been used both as an agricultural insecticide and as a pharmaceutical treatment for lice and scabies.[3][4] Lindane is a neurotoxin that interferes with GABA neurotransmitter function by interacting with the GABAA receptor-chloride channel complex at the picrotoxin binding site. In humans, lindane affects the nervous system, liver and kidneys, and may be a carcinogen.[5][6] It is unclear whether lindane is an endocrine disruptor.[7][8][9] The World Health Organization classifies lindane as "Moderately Hazardous," and its international trade is restricted and regulated under the Rotterdam Convention on Prior Informed Consent.[10] In 2009 the production and agricultural use of lindane was banned under the Stockholm Convention on persistent organic pollutants. A specific exemption to that ban allows it to continue to be used as a second-line pharmaceutical treatment for lice and scabies. [11]