Acne treatment could be dangerous

this may be interesting

Acne treatment found to cause depressive behaviour in mice
By Nigel Hawkes, Health Editor



Experiments using aninmals have lent support to claims that a widely-used acne drug can cause depression.



Roaccutane, introduced in the early 1980s, is highly effective in treating serious cases of acne, which can have a devastating effect on an individual’s well-being.

But in recent years the drug has been implicated in serious side-effects, including depression and suicidal behaviour. The packaging of the drug, sold by Roche, spells out these risks.

But why Roaccutane (marketed as Accutane in the US) should have this effect has never been clear. Nor has it even been certain that the drug is responsible, since adolescents with very severe acne are quite likely to feel depressed anyway.

A team at Bath University and the University of Texas at Austin investigated the effect of Roaccutane on mice, and reports the results in Neuropsychopharmacology.

"You can’t ask a mouse if it is depressed" admitted Dr Sarah Bailey of the University of Bath yesterday. "So we used two tests to model behaviour."

Both tests involve putting the mice under stress. In one, they are put in water and forced to swim; in the other, suspended by their tails.

Under these circumstances mice will normally swim, climb, or make running movements and thrash around in a bid to escape. But these bouts of activity will be interspersed with periods of immobility, during which the mice appear passive and resigned.

A mouse that is depressed spends longer in the immobile state than one that is healthy. So the team gave adolescent mice Roaccutance in doses that are equivalent to those given to human adolescents, and found that the periods of immobility were significantly increased.

The same tests have been used in the past to test anti-depressants, so are well validated. The conclusion, Dr Bailey said, was that Roaccutane does tend to increase depression-related behaviour in adolescent mice, at levels proportionate to those given to human patients.

The drug belongs to a class of chemicals called retinoids that are closely related to vitamin A. It is known that retinoids have an effect on the way genes are "read" by the body, and reduce the rate at which new brain cells are generated.

Roaccutane has been shown to have teratogenic effects, damaging the foetus in the womb, and careful precautions are taken to ensure that it is not used by women at risk of becoming pregnant.

But recent scientific evidence suggests that brain cell generation may be important not only in foetuses but also in those in adolescents and even adults, Dr Bailey said.

The suspicion is that Roaccutane may be influencing the system responsible for producing the mood hormone serotonin. If so, it could lower levels of serotonin, exactly the opposite effect to that achieved by anti-depressants such as Prozac.

The evidence on those given the drug suggests that only a minority, perhaps 5-10 per cent, are vulnerable to the effect. And some may question whether the tests on mice provide a valid model for human patients.

"Without more research it is difficult to say for sure whether the same link applies to people taking the drug" Dr Bailey said.



"However, establishing a link between the active molecules within the drug and a change in depression-related behaviour, albeit in mice, is an important step forward in our understanding of the effects of this drug in the wider context of brain function.

"Previously scientists thought that retinoids were only important in the development of the nervous system. Now there is a growing interest in retinoids as regulators of different aspects of brain function in adults."

The implications could go a lot wider than acne, she suggested. There have been suggestions that retinoids are also implicated in Alzheimer’s disease and schizophrenia, so understanding more about how they work could lead to new treatments for these conditions.

Dr Bailey did not call for the withdrawal of Roaccutane, but said the research should emphasise the importance of careful surveillance of anybody taking it, and alerting their families to the possible dangers. "It’s a very effective medication" she said.

Figures from the World Health Organisation show that there have been 720 reports of psychiatric problems arising from the use of Roaccutane, including 84 suicides and suicide attempts.

More than 13 million people worldwide have been treated with the drug over the past 20 years




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I just post the stories, for interest.. for everyone

Lord, what fools these mortals be!
- A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Act III, Scene ii

Voltaire said: "Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities."

H.L.Mencken wrote:"The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, all of them imaginary.”

Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former. Albert Einstein

Have you guys heard of the Accutane registry? All females must use two forms of birth control, submit to a pregnancy test, and sign a paper stating that if they become pregnant while using Accutane, that they'll get an abortion. Neato, huh?

Anything for the almighty buck. I'm not even advocating bringing deformed babies into the world, but it seems to me that this is just a little bit invasive. It's been said that Accutane can also damage sperm, but men aren't required to register, or submit to anything. I don't have a link, I read the brochure at my dermatologists office. I'll try to find some info on this.

I took Accutane in the late 80's. I had to submit to a pregnancy test every month before the refill despite having had a tubal. I am okay with the abortion clause in the contract but do understand your reservations on this issue, Sprogless. I guess the reason for that wording is that the docs are tired of all of these lawsuits when the women should have aborted. A better clause would be for the women to sign away any rights to sue *if* they choose to give birth despite the warnings. As for depression, I always suffered from it so I never blamed the Rx for it.

Hehe...my roommate in the mid 90's had to take accutane for a while. She was talking to the doctor about it, and the doctor was really stressing that she should not become pregnant while on the medication due to potential "fetal side effects" and she says "you mean Flipper Babies?"
The packaging was really neat, there was perforated(sp) cardboard over the foil you popped the pills out of, and on each of the perforated(sp) ovals was a tiny picture of a pregnant woman with a red circle with a slash through it.

the important part is **But recent scientific evidence suggests that brain cell generation may be important not only in foetuses but also in those in adolescents and even adults, Dr Bailey said**

it could affect adults..childfree or not


**Figures from the World Health Organisation show that there have been 720 reports of psychiatric problems arising from the use of Roaccutane, including 84 suicides and suicide attempts.

More than 13 million people worldwide have been treated with the drug over the past 20 years **

thats the really scary part. what about the people who havent been diagnosed, or have and they just say its summat else..



*********************************************************************************************************************************
I just post the stories, for interest.. for everyone

Lord, what fools these mortals be!
- A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Act III, Scene ii

Voltaire said: "Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities."

H.L.Mencken wrote:"The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, all of them imaginary.”

Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former. Albert Einstein