Accutane

Severe acne, both in the adolescent and adult, is a severely disabling and painful disorder. Historically, the most severe cases were treated with oral antibiotics such as the tetracyclines and erythromycin. While these drugs were effective in the treatment of some forms of acne, the efficacy of antibiotics generally diminished over time as the bacterial strains grew more resistant to the drugs.

Accutane is prescribed to treat acne and is linked to serious side effects. The introduction of Accutane (or isotretinoin, derived from retinoic acid) in 1982 by Hoffman La-Roche was heralded as a great step forward in the treatment of acne vulgaris, the most egregious and resistant form of the disease.

But Accutane has been linked to serious health risks, including: strokes, suicide, depression, inflammatory bowel disease, Pancreatitis, and Crohn’s disease.

Many users of the oral drug, however, are unaware that it can cause dangerous side effects, including birth defects, irritable bowel syndrome, Crohn's disease, and ulcerative colitis.

Accutane’s most common side effects are gastrointestinal. According to the Food and Drug Administration, the gastrointestinal adverse reactions include: "…inflammatory bowel disease, hepatitis, Pancreatitis, bleeding and inflammation of the gums, colitis, ileitis, nausea, other nonspecific gastrointestinal symptoms."

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