Anecdotal reports suggest that using retinoids with vitamin E leads to improvements of some side effects due to isotretinoin. However, vitamin E blood levels have not been reported previously in patients with acne treated with isotretinoin. We aimed to investigate the serum vitamin E levels before and after isotretinoin therapy in patients with acne. A total of 70 patients treated with isotreti...

Isotretinoin a synthetic analogue of vitamin A is primarily used for cystic acne not responding to conventional treatment. Several ocular side effects including blurring of vision, decreased dark adaptation, corneal opacities and meibomian gland atrophy have been reported with prolonged use of isotretinoin. There have been reports of muscular damage caused by isotretinoin. Extra ocular myopathy...

PURPOSE The increase in online purchasing of medications raises safety concerns regarding teratogenic drugs. The use of the teratogenic drug 'isotretinoin' for women of childbearing age requires strict adherence to the Pregnancy Prevention Programme (PPP), a risk minimisation measure imposed on prescribers and users. We sought to determine how readily consumers can purchase isotretinoin online ...

Isotretinoin is an extremely effective drug if given systemically in severe forms of seborrhoea and acne, being the only retinoid with potent sebostatic properties. Its unique activity on the sebaceous gland still remains unclear since isotretinoin barely binds to cellular retinoic-acid-binding proteins and to retinoic acid receptors. Its bioavailability is approximately 25% and can be increase...

OBJECTIVE To examine whether isotretinoin therapy could result in deleterious ocular effects, as previously described in case report studies. DESIGN Retrospective cohort study. SETTING The study was conducted using the electronic medical databases of a large health maintenance organization in Israel. PATIENTS The study population consisted of 14 682 adolescents and young adults who were n...

BACKGROUND There has been concern that the use of isotretinoin to treat acne may lead to depression. To date, research has not conclusively determined if this concern is warranted when contemplating the use of isotretinoin. OBJECTIVE This study investigated the impact of isotretinoin use for patients with acne on mood status. The hypothesis was that an association exists between the use of is...

BACKGROUND The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has received reports of depression and suicide in patients treated with isotretinoin. OBJECTIVE Our purpose was to provide the number and describe the cases of depression and suicide reported to the FDA in US patients treated with isotretinoin and to consider the nature of a possible association between isotretinoin and depression. METHODS A...

BACKGROUND It has been suggested that there is a causal association between isotretinoin therapy and the risk of depression, psychotic symptoms, suicide, and attempted suicide. OBJECTIVE To further investigate the proposed association between isotretinoin therapy and the risk of depression, psychotic symptoms, suicide, and attempted suicide using a formal study design. DESIGN Large populati...

OBJECTIVE To assess utilization of oral isotretinoin within a managed care organization. METHODS A retrospective analysis of pharmacy and medical claims from a southern California HMO was performed to (1) determine the prescribing patterns of oral isotretinoin from 1997 to 2000, stratified by age and gender, (2) categorize and quantify the use of antiacne prescriptions in the 6-month period i...

Isotretinoin is the most effective treatment for severe acne, but there are several adverse effects associated with its use, some of them very exceptional (<1/10000). We report one case of hypoacusia and tinnitus in a 15-year-old boy treated with isotretinoin during 6 weeks, who quickly improved after isotretinoin withdrawal. Also, we comment other publications about hearing alterations in pati...