Dream Weddings Blog
Your Career Change
Entrepreneurs



    "helping you to feel better with healthier, clear looking skin..."


Accutane Side Effects: Should Depression Be A Concern?

New E-book Reveals Unique Holistic Strategies to Cure Acne. Discover How To Quickly And Easily Cure Acne Permanently...Even If Everything Else You Tried had Failed...Without Drugs, Without Over The Counters, and Without Nasty Side Effects - Guaranteed! Click Here!

Medical professionals and acne-pestered adolescents have no doubts about the effectiveness of the severe acne drug isotretinoin. It's the looming possibility of side effects such as depression and fetal damage that makes people uneasy when considering using this medication.

Accutane (isotretinoin) is one of Hoffman-LaRoche's most popular and controversial pharmaceuticals. This week, a study published in the Archives of Dermatology vindicated isotretinoin from causing depression. In this report, Christina Y. Chia, MD, from Saint Louis University Health Sciences Center, St. Louis, and colleagues examined whether patients with moderate to severe acne treated with isotretinoin experienced an increase in depressive symptoms compared with patients treated with a topical antibiotic, topical retinoid, and an oral antibiotic.

Dr. Chia found that "The use of isotretinoin in the treatment of moderate-severe acne in adolescents did not increase depressive symptoms. On the contrary, our study shows that treatment of acne improves depressive symptoms".

Five years earlier, in 2000, the isotretinoin-depression link still appeared misleading. That time, the Archives of Dermatology posted study, headed by Dr. Susan S. Jick, from the Boston University School of Medicine, which found no evidence that isotretinoin increases the risk for depression, suicide, or other psychiatric disorders.

Even though isotretinoin finds ample support among dermatologists and psychiatrists, a host of parents, politicians and medical professionals hail isotretinoin as a medical misfortune. For instance, Dr. David J. Graham, the Associate Director for Science and Medicine in FDA's Office of Drug Safety, recently warned that Accutane should be taken off the market.

And while there are few studies with any negative observations about isotretinoin, Dr. Douglas Bremner's research at of the Emory University School of Medicine has linked isotretinoin treatment with changes in brain function. At the conclusion of this study, published in the American Journal of Psychiatry, Dr. Bremner concurred with Dr. Graham's view that isotretinoin proves too dangerous for human use.

Dr. Bremner explains that to invoke depression, isotretinoin must influence the brain. During the investigation, brain function of the subjects was measured using positron emission tomography (PET) before and after four months of treatment with isotretinoin. Isotretinoin treatment was associated with decreased brain metabolism in the orbitofrontal cortex- the area of the brain known to mediate symptoms of depression. Yet, there were no differences in severity of depressive symptoms between the isotretinoin and antibiotic treatment groups before or after treatment.

The pessimistic effects of isotretinoin also caught the attention of Diane K. Wysowski PhD. Dr. Wysowski noted that in June 2000, isotretinoin ranked among the top 10 drugs linked to depression and suicide attempts in the FDA's Adverse Event Reporting System database. In 2001, Dr. Wysowski examined isotretinoin's depression inducing potential and posted her findings in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology.

Dr. Wysowski concluded that more studies of isotretinoin are needed. She also advised patients and their parents to immediately report mood swings and symptoms that are suggestive of depression such as sadness, crying, loss of appetite, unusual fatigue, withdrawal, and inability to concentrate to their prescribing physician. These protective measures can avoid more serious side effects and permit appropriate treatment, including consideration of drug discontinuation and referral for psychiatric care.

While dissension among researchers still exists about whether or not isotretinoin causes depression, one idea most of them can agree on is that more research on the side effects of isotretinoin are desirable. If you are not in the mood for being an isotretinoin guinea pig, Geoffrey Redmond MD, author of The Good News about Women's Hormones, suggests using hormone therapy and/or using Retin-A if isotretinoin seems too chancy for you.

Health author and Stanford University graduate Naweko San-Joyz lovingly writes from her home in San Diego. Her works include "Acne Messages: Crack the code of your zits and say goodbye to acne" (ISBN: 0974912204) and the upcoming work "Skinny Fat Chicks, Why we're still not getting this dieting thing" (ISBN: 0974912212) for release in June of 2005. For useful acne self-help articles visit http://www.Noixia.com


MORE RESOURCES:

New York Magazine

See Acne's New Transvestite Collection; Ex-Vogue Intern Swipes Mags
New York Magazine
Acne made three androgynous shirts they say are specifically targeted to transvestites and cross-dressers. [Vogue UK] • Dolce & Gabbana on its split with ...

and more »


Message To Teens: Popping Zits Can Make Acne Worse
CBS2 Chicago
AP For teens who suffer from acne, the quest for a clear complexion can be daunting; especially now with school back in session. ...
Tips on how to treat teen acneabc7.com

all 2 news articles »


A Chance to Meet Justin Bieber Is Just One Click Away
PR Newswire (press release)
Celebrating its 15th anniversary in 2010, Proactiv® Solution is America's #1 acne system, and a leader in acne prevention and treatment. ...

and more »


Acne – It's What's Inside That Counts
WebWire (press release)
Many acne sufferers spent hundreds, even thousands of dollars in the effort to find a cure for their embarrassing and uncomfortable acne. ...



American Health and Beauty (press release)

Lasers To Treat Hair Removal and Acne
American Health and Beauty (press release)
Avalon Laser in San Diego provides laser treatments for hair removal and acne - for both men and women! Since opening its doors, Avalon Laser has aimed to ...



Washington Post

Frank McCourt sought a $25-million cash infusion for Dodgers last year
Los Angeles Times
He proposed deal to Bill Guthy, cofounder of the firm that markets Proactiv acne treatment, in which Guthy would either be repaid in five years or convert ...
McCourt: Change corrected blunderPress-Enterprise

all 760 news articles »


Grazia

Acne's new 'Tranny shirts for everyone!'
Grazia
... we're more than happy to try one in denim, and if we see ANYONE (girl or boy or trans) out in the same one we'll feel proud to be part of the Acne club!



'Acne drove me close to suicide'
thisiskent.co.uk
A battle with severe acne and the death of her mother had left her depressed and reclusive but 18 months on Maya has turned her life around. ...



New York Magazine

Kristen Bell's Dream of Having Tons of Acne Crushed by Disney
New York Magazine
... all over my face and Disney kind of pulled me back and said, 'This isn't a horror film, let's just do your standard run-of-the-mill acne please. ...

and more »


A novel idea: health insurance for the sick
San Francisco Chronicle (blog)
Having cancer, diabetes, high blood pressure or even something as seemingly minor as facial acne guarantees your premiums will be higher than those of ...

and more »

Google News

home | site map | links | about | group privacy policy

© 2009 Career Consulting Limited
Powered By CCL WebServices