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Accutane is a member of the drug class known as retinoids, which have been shown to alter the way the body reads genes. Use of the drug while expecting a child is known to damage fetuses and reduce the quantity of brain cells that they produce. This is why cautions are taken to ensure that female who are pregnant or who can become pregnant do not use the drug. However, recent studies suggest that brain-cell production may be equally important in adolescents and adults. Scientists at the University of Baths and the University of Texas in Austin suggest Accutane might also interfere with the body's synthesis of the mood hormone serotonin.

While experience from the more than 13 million users of Accutane worldwide shows that just 5 to 10 percent experience from side effects, retinoids have also been implied in connections to Alzheimer's disease and schizophrenia, so specialists are eager to understand how the drug works.

Depression Linked to Acne Treatment

Acne treatment with the drug isotretinoin (Accutane) has been involved in an increase in feelings of depression among adolescent users, and while the link has never been demonstrated, researchers have collected evidence through an animal study.

Although scientist Dr. Sarah Bailey noted that it is not possible to ask a mouse if it is depressed, its behaviour can be observed and modeled through two tests. The first involves causing the adolescent mice to experience stress by forcing it to swim, while the other one induces stress by suspending the mice by its tail.

Acne Cure Tested for Side Effects

Normally, a mouse will swim, climb or struggle, and only periodically stop in a phase of resignation. A depressed mouse will stay in its resigned phase longer than one that is healthy. The mice receiving human-equivalent doses of Accutane tended to demonstrate increased depression-related behavior.

Accutane maker Roche claims, "While no causal link has been established between Accutane and either depression or suicide, we are permanently inspecting all available safety databases on Accutane worldwide." However, the World Health Organization has confirmed 720 cases of psychiatric complications associated to the use of Accutane, including 84 suicides and suicide attempts.

The argument that isotretinoin caused depression and suicide has won a few lawsuits, and is partially responsible for the strict control of the drug, especially in the US. Various case reports of depression, suicidal tendencies, suicide attempt, and suicide in patients treated with the acne skin care isotretinoin have been sent to the U.S. FDA Adverse Events Reporting System, with 431 cases documented between 1982 and May 2001 - of these 37 patients had committed suicide.

Idiosyncratic Effects From Acne Skin Care

Studies have demonstrated that patients with acne, the population group eligible to receive isotretinoin treatment, have an increased chance of clinical depression compared with the general population. Isotretinoin related depression is "an idiosyncratic side effect." Often anxiety can bring on acne and depression, creating more anxiety. Correspondingly, treatment of severe acne with isotretinoin has been demonstrated to minimize anxiety and depression.

One study utilising positron emission tomography (PET) showed functional brain imaging variations in patients using isotretinoin, however the clinical relevance of this finding is unclear.